iOS 16 can’t fix all of Apple’s iPhone problems

I like my iPhone 13 Pro quite a lot, but it helped me to realize why I love Android. The number of problems I faced when switching to an iPhone really drove the point home to me, and there have been several issues with iOS over the years — some of which are completely nonsensical. While Apple prides itself on creating the phone that just works, there are some elements of that experience that are downright confusing. iOS 16 is just around the corner, and it’s almost certain it won’t fix all of the iPhone’s problems.

Here’s the thing though: the number of issues Apple has in iOS can technically all be fixed in iOS 16. It’s just that they almost certainly will not be. Terrible notifications, slow animations, and an inflexible home screen all frustrate me to no end, but there’s more to it than that. iOS as an operating system “just works”, but that mantra is flawed when it comes to several aspects. There’s a lot that we’re hoping to see in iOS 16, but we’re almost guaranteed not to get much of it at all.

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Problems with iOS

Notifications need a major overhaul

Notifications are probably the most universally understood problem of iOS, and there are several reasons why. They feel like an afterthought when using an iPhone, and there’s a lot of work needed to make them significantly better. iOS 15 introduced “summaries”, which went a long way towards helping the situation, but they’re in no way a solution.

When comparing iOS notifications to Android, it’s really no comparison. On Android, from a notification, you can open the app, long press to change the notification’s priority, dismiss it by swiping in either direction or expand it to get additional contextual-based interactions. You can respond to messages, send pre-defined actions, and a whole lot more. iOS has the basic functionality of opening the notification or being able to swipe it away to the left, but try to swipe it to the right and you’ll have a problem. Some apps do allow you to hold down on a notification and get additional functionality, but those tend to just extend into opening the app in a particular way.

There are other problems with notifications on iOS too, including being able to clear all of your notifications away. It can be done by tapping on the ‘x’ button in the notifications center and tapping it again, but that doesn’t always show up, and it doesn’t clear your most recent notifications either. Notifications work on iPhones, but there are a lot of problems and things that need polishing, and it seems to be a rather universal experience. The notifications system in iOS needs a major overhaul.

To be clear, rumors suggest that there is going to be an overhaul of the notification system with iOS 16. As a result, this may be one of the few issues that Apple actually does do something about. Here’s hoping for the best.

Siri is ten years out of date

The craziest thing about Siri to me is how outdated it has become. I remember when it launched with the iPhone 4s how insanely ahead of the competition it felt. You could talk to a virtual assistant and ask it anything, from genuinely useful queries to silly questions such as “Siri, what’s the meaning of life”. Now, whenever I use Siri, it feels like I’m using the same software from ten years ago. It’s just faster.

Siri is Apple’s long-time voice assistant, and it’s also incredibly useless for any complicated task. The Google Assistant simply fares a whole lot better, and a large part of that is thanks to the context that Google Assistant actually understands. For example, I asked Siri what the weather was like in Dublin. I then asked when is it expected to rain, and it told me that it was raining in my hometown right now. In context, I asked Google the same, and it understood that I was asking about rain in Dublin still. It’s the little things like this that show just how far behind Siri actually is.

Those aren’t the only problems though. If you ask Siri a question that would be Google-able, say, when the Bob’s Burgers movie will be released, you’ll be presented with a list of links to go through and select from. I asked Google the same question, and was told “In the United States of America, the Bob’s Burgers movie came out last Friday”. It’s the little things, but a virtual assistant should assist. If I’m asking an assistant to find a date for me, I don’t want to sift through a bunch of links to find the answer like some kind of animal. I could have just Googled it myself at that point.

So yeah, currently, Siri still sucks.

The home screen is too restrictive

The home screen is one of the least egregious issues that I have with iOS, and that’s because it’s both really good, and really annoying. On the one hand, it’s simplistic and it works, and it’s a pretty good launcher all things considered. It’s smooth, the widgets are good (though took a LONG TIME to actually release), and it’s feature-packed. On the other hand, there are still quite a few issues. For starters, the fact it’s not possible to have blank spaces anywhere on the home screen is incredibly annoying. It’s just not possible to take a more artistic approach to the home screen without resorting to workarounds.

As well, widgets themselves are incredibly limited. As we noted in our wishlist, there are no interactive widgets. You can’t use the Music widget to pause/play/skip, for example. This makes them so limiting — especially since the legacy widgets support controlling an app or getting info without launching the actual app. Rumors suggest some changes to widgets in iOS 16, but none say that we’ll get proper interactivity.

There is no universal back gesture

Here’s a curious omission on iOS that you might not have necessarily realized: there is no universal back gesture. While every app generally has a way to swipe from left to right to go back, it’s up to the app how it wants to incorporate back gestures. Some apps will only let you swipe back at the top, others require you to press a back button at the top left.

As a result, a lot of apps tend to have it slightly different, and pretty much no app allows you to swipe from right to left to go back, something that’s way more convenient when holding the phone in your right hand. On Android, this isn’t the case, as a swipe on the right or the left is handled by the system and sent as an input to the app to say that you want to go back.

Animations are too slow

iOS has some extremely slow animations

iOS has some extremely slow animations, to the point that I feel like they slow down my phone. Closing apps, opening apps, animations within apps… all of it feels so slow. The Apple Bionic A15 can handle all of it no question, yet it’s frustrating to use my iPhone when I want to jump between different applications quickly. It’s a smaller gripe, but one that can sometimes get on my nerves. You can enable “Reduce motion” in the accessibility settings, but I didn’t really find that it increased the speed I could do things on my phone.

It’s still not really possible to sideload apps

It would be amiss to talk about problems with iOS without mentioning sideloading. It’s possible to do through the likes of AltStore, but it’s not an easy process. To use emulators and other unapproved apps on your smartphone, you’ll need to install and configure AltStore… you can’t just download an IPA file (the iPhone equivalent of an APK) and install it. I never realized how much I appreciated that freedom until I was faced with a lengthy and annoying process just to play Pokemon on my phone. I don’t think this will ever be changed, but I’d love it so much if it was.

Typing should be easier

Given that smartphones are smartphones, typing is one of the most important things we do on our phones. As a result, it should probably be the most frictionless experience of the entire ordeal, but on iPhones, I can’t really say that it is.

One of the most irksome parts of typing is when something is autocorrected by a letter, and to fix it, you can’t just tap into the center of the word to change it. You either need to backspace through the word or tap to the end of it, then hold on to the space bar and drag. It’s such a bizarre way to make minor edits and can take way too long.

As well, and this is more of a personal preference, but I hate that I can type a message and the last letter is auto-corrected in between me hitting enter, and the message actually being sent.

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What to expect in iOS 16 and when

iOS 16 is expected to arrive at this year’s Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and we’ve already heard a lot of rumors of what to expect thanks to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Gurman purports that Apple will finally introduce support for lock screen widgets — through a new wallpaper format — and bring in an always-on display on upcoming iPhone 14 Pro models. Furthermore, he states that he believes that Apple will support social network-like features in the Messages app.

WWDC is only a week away, so we don’t have long to wait until we find out what’s new and what isn’t. While iOS has a lot of issues, I think that it’s still a good operating system, and improvements and changes are good for the entire smartphone ecosystem.

We’re excited, are you?

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Browservio is a speedy WebView-based browser with a built-in ad blocker

One of the great things about Android is the ability to choose a different default browser. You have the most popular option in Google Chrome, along with other Chromium-derived ones like Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, Brave, and more. However, if you have a cheaper (or older) device, you may find the top picks unsatisfactory and memory-hogging.

Luckily, several third-party browsers are designed to be as fast as possible, squeezing every bit of performance out of whatever hardware they’re running on. Browservio​ by XDA Senior Member tipzrickycheung is one such browser, and it offers many useful features. Not only is the app free and open-source, but it also uses Android’s built-in WebView component as its backend to keep the footprint low.

On any modern Android version, the WebView module is automatically updated through the Play Store. Of course, there are a few differences between a WebView wrapper and a browser written on the foundation of Chromium’s Blink engine, but you probably won’t be able to tell. Browservio isn’t merely a wrapper, though, as it has all the essentials for a regular user. You can turn on the desktop view for individual sites, opt for tabbed browsing, and even switch between light and dark modes. Ad blocking and the Do Not Track features are also available.

Browservio packs in quite a few advanced features as well. For example, there is an option to define a custom user agent while accessing a webpage. You can also disable JavaScript content to see what a site looks like without all the moving parts.

Here’s a rundown of the features offered by Browservio​:

• Multi-tab (Android 5.0+)
• App Shortcuts (Android 7.1+, requires supported launcher)
• Desktop mode and custom UA support
• History records
• Favorites
• Ad Blocker and Do Not Track feature
• Search suggestions
• Better error page

If you’re looking for a lightweight browser to try out, do give Browservio a shot. You can find the latest version on the project’s GitLab repo or grab the APK directly from the forum thread linked below.

Browservio: XDA Download and Discussion Thread || GitLab Repo

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Google Pixel Watch: Everything we know so far about Google’s first smartwatch

Google’s long-rumored Pixel Watch is finally official, and it’s coming this fall alongside the new Pixel 7 series phones. The company unveiled the Pixel Watch during the I/O Developer keynote on May 11, giving us our first official look at the watch that someone left at a restaurant earlier this year. The Pixel Watch is arriving after years of supposed leaks, rumors, delays, and cancellations. So without any further buildup, let’s put together everything we know about the Google Pixel Watch in one place to see how it’s shaping up.

Before we begin, it’s worth mentioning that we’re also including leaks and rumors in this article in addition to the official info that’s already out there. Not everything that you’re about to read is official unless mentioned otherwise. We’ll add more details to this page over time as we get closer to the launch day, so keep your eyes peeled.

Navigate this article:

• Pricing & Availability
• Specifications
• Design
• Software
• Google Pixel Watch wishlist

Google Pixel Watch: Pricing & Availability

Word on the street is that the Pixel Watch could be priced in the range of $300 to $400. That would put it in the same league as some other popular smartwatches on the market including the Apple Watch Series 7, the Galaxy Watch 4, and more. There’s no official confirmation on this just yet, so we’ll have to wait for the announcement to see if that will be the case. Google also appears to be cooking as many as three Pixel Watch models with different connectivity options. According to the FCC website, one of the models offers Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, while the others have LTE support as well.

Google has confirmed that it’s launching the Pixel Watch in the fall. It makes complete sense to bring both the watch and the new phones to the market together. If the past events are something to go by, then we would guess that the Pixel Watch will launch alongside the Pixel 7 family in October. We’ll see if the Pixel Watch will be available to purchase in all major markets worldwide. Google has a habit of limiting its Pixel phones to only a handful of markets, although that could change with the Pixel Watch.

Google Pixel Watch: Specifications

We didn’t get to hear a whole lot about the Pixel Watch in terms of the specs. Google is saving those details for the launch later in the fall. Some early reports suggest that the Pixel Watch may pack the Exynos 9110, a relatively old chipset, along with 1.5GB of memory and 32GB of storage. The Exynos 9110 is built on a 10nm process, packing two Cortex-A53 cores. It’s more efficient than Qualcomm’s latest chipset for wearables, which means it could pair nicely with the rumored 300 mAh battery. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus, however, isn’t exactly a benchmark for comparison.

The Pixel Watch needs to be better than Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 or even the rumored Galaxy Watch 5, which is expected to launch sometime before Google’s offering. The Galaxy Watch 5 is said to pack at minimum, an Exynos W920, which is likely to beat the Exynos 9110. All this is just speculation for now, and it’s best to reserve our judgments for later. It is worth mentioning that the FCC listing says the Pixel Watch will have a USB-C charging cable. It’s said to come with the same magnetic charging puck that we have seen on the Galaxy Watch 4 and other watches, with a USB-C port on the other end of the cable. As for the battery life, it looks like the Pixel Watch will have single-day battery life. It’s an estimate that Google is said to have made internally, although it remains to be seen whether or not it accounts for an always-on display and sleep tracking feature.

Google didn’t tell us much about the Watch during the I/O 2022 keynote. It’s probably for the best because the watch itself isn’t going to ship before the fall. We’ll update this section with a fully fleshed-out specifications table once we have enough information to fill it up.

Google Pixel Watch: Design

Google has already given us our first official look at its upcoming smartwatch during the I/O 2022 keynote, leaving nothing about the design to our imagination. There have also been numerous leaks leading up to the keynote, so it’s safe to assume that we have a very good idea of what the Pixel Watch looks like. It has a circular face that almost looks like it’s floating above the bands. Google calls it a “domed” design on its website. You can also see a button on the right side of the device along with the crown for navigating through the UI.

In terms of the color options, we’ve seen models with black, gray, and gold casings so far with black, gray, and lime green color bands. Google hasn’t revealed if it’s using aluminum or steel, but we may see both options. We suspect the Pixel Watch also uses proprietary bands, meaning you might not be able to use standard watch bands. The bands we’ve so far in the renders appear to be using high-quality rubber material, but we expect Google to actively release new ones for the watch.

As you can probably tell, the round display of the watch seems to have big bezels. You can see them only in some of the renders because Google has done a pretty good job of masking them by using a clock face with dark background in almost all of its press renders. Here’s a GIF image in which you can gauge the size of those bezels. Google didn’t tell us the size of the display, and neither about the different sizes of the Pixel Watch.

Google Pixel Watch: Software

According to Google’s Rick Osterloh, the Pixel Watch will come with an improved UI. It’s likely to have fluid animations and support a smarter way to interact with incoming notifications. Notably, the Pixel Watch will also have support for Google Assistant with which you’ll be able to get things done with your voice. It remains to be seen how helpful Google Assistant will be. An LTE-enabled version of the Pixel Watch was also shown running Google Maps on the stage during the keynote. We expect a lot of similar features to take advantage of the LTE connection to help you manage things better when you’re out and about without your phone.

A lot of the Wear OS features supported by the Pixel Watch are still under the wraps but we expect to learn more about them in the coming weeks and months, leading up to the official release. We suggest you take a look at our Wear OS 3 review to learn more about the features in detail, although the Pixel Watch experience could be fairly different from Samsung’s approach on the Galaxy Watch 4 series..

Google’s Pixel Watch is also expected to have a strong footing in the health and fitness department. We don’t know much about the sensors at play here, but Google says this is going to be a great wearable for fitness tracking. This could be the watch that brings Fitbit’s class-leading tracking features to the mainstream market. We’ll also see the new Health Connect API playing a huge role in creating a vast ecosystem of products that work in tandem to bring rich experiences.

Google Pixel Watch: Wishlist

We’ve been hearing about Google’s first smartwatch ever since it rebranded Android Wear to Wear OS, so it’s safe to say that our expectations are set. Here’s our wishlist for the Google Pixel Watch:

Long-lasting battery

This one’s certainly on top of our Pixel Watch wishlist for some obvious reasons. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, for instance, can last you more than a day on a single charge. We expect the Pixel Watch to offer something along those lines or possibly even better. Being able to use the watch for more than a day with all the useful features would be great. We doubt if the rumored 300 mAh battery will be enough to pull it off, though. Continuing on the topic of battery, it would also be nice to have support for a universal charging method. We hope it uses Qi wireless charging and is also compatible with the Pixel Stand accessory.

Assistant voice typing

Google has confirmed that the Pixel Watch will be getting the Google Assistant when it comes out later this year. More than that, we want to see the Assistant voice typing feature on the Pixel Watch. Voice dictation is better — and smarter — than ever on the Pixel 6 and it works flawlessly. Having that killer feature would make the Pixel Watch that much better for responding to messages and emails without having to reach the phone. It could very well be the main reason why many would purchase the watch.

Sizable onboard storage

If you are someone who likes to download music, podcasts, and a lot of apps on your watch, then you’d probably need more storage than an average user. The Pixel Watch will likely have 32GB of onboard storage, which we think should be enough for all your needs. It’s higher than the Galaxy Watch 4’s 16GB of onboard storage and we think it should be enough to store large playlists of high-quality content, and other apps too.

Pixel feature drops for the Watch

There’s no doubt the Pixel Watch will have a  ton of awesome features at launch. But we won’t stand against the idea of getting feature drops for the Pixel Watch, like the Pixel phones. Regular OTA updates with new features will certainly make the Pixel Watch better than the barrage of wearables out there. It may sound like wishful thinking considering this is Google’s first smartwatch, but the company also seems to have taken its sweet time to bring this watch to the market.

Google Pixel Watch “Sports Edition”?

The Pixel Watch is likely to have a lot of fitness tracking features. This is where we expect Google to turn to Fitbit’s expertise to deliver a quality health and fitness-focused smartwatch. But how about a dedicated sports edition watch for fitness enthusiasts? Perhaps a variant with a different strap design and more tracking features.

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Well, that brings us to the end of our wishlist and also this article, for now. As we mentioned earlier, we’ll continue to update this page with fresh information as they become available to us. In the meantime, be sure to let us know what you’re looking forward to the most about the upcoming Pixel Watch. Also, drop a line in the comments below if you have an interesting addition to the Pixel Watch wishlist.

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OnePlus Nord 2T Review: Nailing the fundamentals, the same as it did before

Remember the OnePlus Nord 2? It was a phone that I crowned as one of my favorite phones ever released by OnePlus at the time, and with good reason. It packed excellent performance, a decent camera, and a good software experience into one affordable package. To me, that’s the entire essence of what OnePlus is about. Now the company is back with a refreshed OnePlus Nord 2T, and it’s more of the same with some additional bits and subtle differences on top.

Really, if you’re looking to pick up a solid mid-range smartphone and didn’t grab the Nord 2, then you should get the Nord 2T instead. If you have the OnePlus Nord 2, then you definitely aren’t missing out. As we identified in our review of the OnePlus 10 Pro, the difference between the 65W charger and the 80W charger is negligible at best, and that’s the “biggest upgrade” here.

The MediaTek Dimensity 1300 is basically the same on the surface as the Dimensity 1200 from what we could gather and even using the devices side-by-side, the screens seem practically identical. Basically, the bottom line is that if you have a OnePlus Nord 2, then don’t feel jaded or as if you’re missing out: you really aren’t. However, the Nord 2 did set the bar pretty high, and the Nord 2T maintains that, marking it as an excellent smartphone for the price if you need a new one.

OnePlus Nord 2T

The OnePlus Nord 2T is the latest mid-range offering from OnePlus, packing a lot of punch for the price.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

See at OnePlus

OnePlus Nord 2T: Specifications

Specification	OnePlus Nord 2T
Dimensions & Weight	8.2mm 190g
Display	6.43-inch FHD+ AMOLED 90Hz refresh rate HDR10+ support
SoC	MediaTek Dimensity 1300
RAM & Storage	8GB/12GB LPDDR4X RAM 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 storage
Battery & Charging	4,500mAh 80W wired fast charging support
Security	N/A
Rear Camera(s)	Primary: 50MP IMX766, OIS Ultra-wide: 8MP, 120° FoV Mono: 2MP
Front Camera(s)	32MP, EIS
Port(s)	USB Type-C
Audio	N/A
Connectivity	Wi-Fi Bluetooth
Software	OxygenOS 12.1 based on Android 12
Colors	Gray Shadow Jade Fog

OnePlus Nord 2T: A slightly different design

The OnePlus Nord 2T looks more or less the exact same as the OnePlus Nord 2, and that’s because it’s an extremely similar device as is. The biggest change is the back camera placement, which looks a little bit odd in comparison. There are two large circles and two smaller cameras inside the bottom circle. These cameras are the same as what was available on the original OnePlus Nord 2, just moved around a bit.

As for the display, you’d be hard pushed to find any differences between the two. It’s the same size, same brightness, same resolution, and same design. There is no visible difference between either of these two devices from the front. There’s still an alert slider on the side too. The display is consistent on my unit, both in its color uniformity and the 90Hz refresh rate.

As for the display, you'd be hard pushed to find any differences between the two

All in all, it’s pretty much the same as what we found with the original Nord 2. I feel that it’s a bit of a downgrade in design, but functionally, it performs the exact same. There aren’t any real compromises that I’ve found, and you still even get the same gel case and pre-applied screen protector in the box.

I’m not sure why OnePlus even changed up the design, though it may be partially to give the illusion of change giving nothing else is really different. The same mediocre speakers are present, and the fingerprint sensor is still under the display.

OnePlus Nord 2T: Same performance as before

The Dimensity 1300 features an octa-core SoC, with a “prime” Cortex-A78 core clocked up to 3GHz, while the other three performance cores are Cortex-A78 cores clocked up to 2.6GHz. The other four cores are Cortex-A55 clocked at up to 2.0GHz. The Dimensity 1200-AI in the Nord 2 was worked on as a collaboration between OnePlus and MediaTek, whereas the Dimensity 1300 appears to be more of an off-the-shelf offering.

As for the GPU, it comes with a nine-core ARM Mali-G77 GPU, supporting MediaTek’s HyperEngine 3.0 gaming technologies. This includes 5G call and data concurrency support, as well as a multi-touch boost for increased touchscreen responsiveness. The complete combination also allows support for ray tracing in games and AR apps, and it also supports super hotspot power savings.

We couldn't really find any discernible difference between the Dimensity 1200 and the Dimensity 1300

You would think that the bumped-up chipset would at least net some gains, right? Seemingly that isn’t the case though, which we kind of expected given that we couldn’t really find any discernible difference between the Dimensity 1200 and the Dimensity 1300. The performance seems to be more or less the same, with both CPU Throttling Test and Geekbench 5 giving basically the same results, too.

When it comes to performance, really, it’s basically the same phone as the OnePlus Nord 2. I asked OnePlus about the differences when it came to the chipset, and the differences that they were able to note were in the video and photography realm. Our same findings still apply here as with the OnePlus Nord 2, and I tested a few games and benchmarking applications to ensure that was definitely the case. Games such as PUBG Mobile and COD Mobile run fine, and you can play games through the likes of Dolphin Emulator to varying degrees of success. It’s not going to be a perfect emulation device, but for the price and performance it offers, it does a pretty great job as a portable emulation machine on a budget.

Otherwise, you get up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. It’s a fast and smooth device, and if you’re not a gamer, then you likely won’t even notice that it’s not a flagship chipset in tow. There’s literally no reason to upgrade from the Nord 2 based solely on performance though, as it’s basically the same phone under the hood.

OxygenOS is still OxygenOS

The OnePlus Nord 2 was the first device from the company to launch with the merged result of ColorOS and OxygenOS, and it’s the same software here. It’s still clearly a skin on top of ColorOS, but that’s not inherently a bad thing. I love ColorOS on the OPPO Find X3 Pro for example, and it has a lot of excellent features. The OnePlus 10 Pro, on the software front, was one of the most polished experiences I’ve had with a OnePlus phone in years.

In terms of features, all of your favorite OxygenOS features are here on the OnePlus Nord 2T. It has the same user interface, the OnePlus Shelf (as part of the OnePlus Launcher), gaming mode, zen mode, and parallel apps to name a few. All of the features that people loved from OxygenOS were brought over in the integration, and so, the usual OnePlus-goodness should be present.

What’s interesting is that OnePlus notes the Nord 2T will get two years of updates, but it launches with Android 12. In theory, its software support window will bring it an extra platform upgrade ahead of the OnePlus Nord 2, though, given both devices’ similarities, I wouldn’t be too surprised if the company decided to treat them more or less the same when it came to updates.

OnePlus Nord 2T Cameras: Same cameras, too

The OnePlus Nord 2T is bizarrely the same phone in pretty much all aspects when it comes to the camera, too. OnePlus noted that there should be better nightscape results thanks to improved AI capabilities, but otherwise, the photos and videos are going to be the exact same. The photos and video taken below are from the OnePlus Nord 2, but they should be representative of what you can expect. The primary camera is capable of taking fantastic shots, though the others aren’t anywhere near as good.

As noted at the time, the video performance of the OnePlus Nord 2 also greatly impressed me. It handled loud environments well and was a great aid in recording On Melancholy Hill by Gorillaz at a concert in London.

I wish OnePlus had bumped up some of the cameras here, particularly the auxiliary cameras. The wide-angle camera isn’t great, and the depth sensor could have been made into literally anything else that was more useful. The primary sensor is good, but that’s all there really is to write home about.

OnePlus Nord 2T Charging: 80W ≈ 65W, and battery is unchanged

The 80W charger is pretty much worse than the 65W charger included alongside the Nord 2

Here’s the other problem with the 80W charging “upgrade”. As we noted in our OnePlus 10 Pro review, it’s barely an upgrade, and the 80W charger is pretty much worse than the 65W charger included alongside the Nord 2.

OnePlus’ 65W charging brick is a great charger not just because of the high amperage it can provide to OnePlus phones, but it’s actually one of the best USB Power Delivery compliant chargers in general. It can charge a litany of devices at 45W without any problems, and I often used it to charge laptops, my Google Pixel, my Nintendo Switch, and other devices that accept USB Power Delivery.

In other words, bumping up to 80W charging feels very much like a marketing gimmick. It doesn’t really achieve much, and even if you gain a couple of minutes back of your time that you’re not wasting charging (if even), you’re losing out on so much utility from the charging brick.

On top of that, battery life is unchanged from my own usage. You’ll still get the same five to six hours of screen on time depending on how heavy your usage is, which is better than what most flagship devices are capable of putting up right now. The OnePlus Nord 2T can also charge up in roughly half an hour, which is extremely fast.

Why did OnePlus release the OnePlus Nord 2T?

Don’t get me wrong, the OnePlus Nord 2T is an excellent smartphone in its own right… but I don’t understand why it was released in the first place. Whenever the company releases a “T” upgrade, there’s generally something substantial that has actually been changed, but that just isn’t the case here. Furthermore, the OnePlus Nord 2 was an already great phone that nobody was asking for an immediate successor to, so… why?

My theory is that MediaTek’s release of the Dimensity 1300 meant that the Dimensity 1200 was actually replaced. They’re essentially the same chipset from what we can gather, with a few minor improvements that to most users, won’t be noticeable. In that case, OnePlus decided to re-release the Nord 2 as it was a device that sold well according to reports, but couldn’t continue to produce more of it with the Dimensity 1200. Hence why we presume that the Nord 2T is being released with the Dimensity 1300, along with 80W charging tech just because the company has it. It would have been very confusing for consumers had OnePlus just launched this phone under the exact “Nord 2” branding — so the T moniker makes it easier to differentiate on these changed specs.

Of course, that could be entirely conjecture and may not be the reasoning at all, but it’s the only thing I can think of that makes sense. It’s not a ploy to try and get people to upgrade from the Nord 2 early, because I can’t imagine why anyone actually would — most people don’t upgrade year-on-year either. Instead, it’s OnePlus possibly dealing with supply chain constraints and finding a way to make the most of a difficult situation.

Practically every review you've read of the OnePlus Nord 2 will apply to this one, too

So, should you buy the OnePlus Nord 2T? The answer is actually a good yes. If you need a new smartphone and don’t want to spend top dollar on one, the Nord 2T is an excellent choice as the Nord 2 was before it. It even costs the same as the last Nord too, starting at €399 for the base model. Basically, it’s a great device in its own right, but practically every review you’ve read of the OnePlus Nord 2 will apply to this one, too. The biggest difference is honestly the slightly different design, and you don’t need to own the phone or see it in real life to get an idea of whether you like it or not.

You still get that flagship experience, and to most people, that’s more than enough. If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, you may as well pick this up over the Nord 2, even though it’s basically the same phone… unless you really want the older 65W USB PD-compliant charger instead. That would genuinely be a pretty difficult choice for me.

OnePlus Nord 2T

The OnePlus Nord 2T is the latest mid-range offering from OnePlus, packing a lot of punch for the price.

See at OnePlus

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Should I install the iOS beta version on my iPhone?

iPhones are solid smartphones that receive software updates for plenty of years. Apple tries to bring as many of the new features and security patches to its older phones as possible. As a result, a lot of users don’t feel the urge to upgrade to newer iPhones often. That’s because major software updates can refresh the look and experience of an older device. It feels like we’ve switched to a new model, even though the hardware is still the same. This makes it tempting to install iOS beta builds, especially when considering the simplicity of the process. Through beta builds, users get to try out new features early. The cost is an unstable experience and bugs that vary in seriousness. So is ditching this stability worth it? Should you install iOS beta versions on your iPhone? Here’s what you need to know.

Generally speaking, iOS beta builds tend to be more stable than Android beta versions. So if you’ve survived living with the latter, it’s safe to assume you’ll experience no major issues with the former. The great thing about iPhones is that you can easily roll back to a stable version if the beta is too buggy for your liking. So unlike the Apple Watch, you’re not stuck with very limited options.

Nonetheless, it’s probably a bad idea to install an early beta build of an upcoming iOS version on your daily driver. Some banking apps could stop working, not to mention that core phone features might break. So if you depend on your phone in your everyday life, expect inconveniences and obstacles here and there.

Personally, I’ve never experienced any intolerable glitches that forced me to roll back. I’ve been running every iOS beta for years now, and it’s certainly doable. Though, different people have different standards and expectations when it comes to these matters. Some people might not be okay with some of the bugs I ignore and vice versa. Ultimately, if you know what you’re doing, there’s no harm in trying out the beta route.

Apple iPhone 13

The iPhone 13 is Apple's latest iPhone with better cameras, a bigger battery, and a smaller notch.

View at Best Buy

View at AT&T

Apple iPhone 13 Pro

The iPhone 13 Pro is a part of Apple’s 2021 iPhone lineup. It's powered by the new A15 Bionic chip and runs on iOS 15.

View at Best Buy

View at AT&T

Will you be installing iOS beta? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section below.

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‘Gamevice for Android’ is a cheaper and improved version of the Razer Kishi

Today, Gamevice has announced a new milestone, selling one million units of its gaming controller accessory. Along with the announcement, the company also released two new controllers, the “Gamevice for Android” and the “Gamevice for iPad.” The former might look familiar to those in the know, as it is nearly identical to the Razer Kishi, which was released in 2020. In our review, we found that the Razer Kishi offered great benefits when gaming, but we did have an issue where it could not accommodate larger smartphones. The new Gamevice for Android apparently fixes this, claiming support for even larger phones like the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

An improved Razer Kishi for a better price

If unfamiliar with Gamevice, the firm has been around for nearly a decade, offering gaming accessories for various Android smartphones and iOS devices. While its initial efforts were tailored to specific smartphones, its more recent offerings allow maximum compatibility with its universal design. To provide the best experience possible, Gamevice’s latest controller uses a direct connection via USB-C. This provides the lowest latency when compared to a wireless connection. The USB-C connection also offers the added benefit of supporting pass-through charging, which means that you can charge your phone while you play.

Furthermore, the Gamevice for Android offers a variety of inputs like dual clickable full-size analog joysticks, A, B, X, and Y buttons, a D-pad, two analog triggers, two analog bumpers, home, start, and select buttons. Despite its claim of offering support for larger smartphones, there is the possibility that your smartphone might not work. This is especially true if your device has a larger camera hump on the rear. If you’re interested in the new controller, you can purchase it directly from the Gamevice website and Amazon.com for $59.95. As an added bonus, you’ll get a digital code for a free month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Gamevice for Android

Gamevice for Android is a new controller accessory for your Android device

Purchase from Gamevice

Purchase from Amazon

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Source: Gamevice
Via: 9to5Google

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Instagram updates Reels to 90 seconds, adds easy-mode with Templates

Meta intends to take Instagram to the next level, whatever that iteration of the service may look like. But for now, it must do all it can to thwart advances from the likes of TikTok and Snapchat. Today, Instagram announced that it would be offering new features, specifically targeting creators using its Reels feature.

Creators will now have access to an enhanced sound effects library to add more flavor to their Reels. Creators will also be able to import their audio directly into Reels. The feature can be accessed through the “Import Audio” toggle. This will take an existing video clip that is at least five seconds or longer from their camera roll and import the sound from the video into Reels. Of course, others will be free to use the same sounds once uploaded to Reels.

Instagram is on the offensive, once again “borrowing” from its rivals

Previously, Instagram offered support for interactive stickers through its Stories. Now, the feature is coming to Reels. Furthermore, you will be able to make polls, inviting an audience to share what they want to see next or creating a fun environment with interactive quizzes. Of course, the emoji slider sticker will also make its way into Reels, allowing the viewer to rate content using emojis.

Despite TikTok upping the length of its videos to 3 minutes, then to 10 minutes, Instagram is taking a more modest approach, increasing the length of Reels from 60 seconds to 90 seconds. Finally, the most helpful feature of the new update is Templates. This will allow content creators to easily sync clips with music and video. The template will pre-load with placeholders, which the creators can then fill in to create their next masterpiece.

In addition to the Reels update, Instagram has recently ushered in a new era by updating the app with a new typeface and offering support for Amber Alerts.

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Source: Instagram

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