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Chrome OS is the OS of choice on Chromebooks, and it works wonderfully for users who operate solely from a web browser. Google is rolling out an update to Chromebooks, Chrome OS 124, which brings a few notable changes.

Chrome OS 124 comes with a faster split-screen setup, allowing you to snap windows in place more quickly. Once you snap a window in place on one side of your screen, you can choose an already-open window from the Overview to snap into the other side. You can also select something from the shelf to place on the other end.

Despite the fact that the Pixel 7 Pro now has a successor and another Google handset is imminent, this 50% price drop on the excellent Android phone is still an insanely good deal. The 256GB model of the Pixel 7 Pro is down to just $502 on Amazon, representing an almost $500 discount and a record-low price.

Google Pixel 7 Pro (256GB) for $502.16 ($597 off)

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The Galaxy S22 series was launched in 2022, and the phones have aged quite gracefully thanks to the flagship headroom that they launched with. Samsung has newer flagships in the form of the Galaxy S24 series, but the company is bringing over its highlight Galaxy AI software features to the older Galaxy S22 series. The One UI 6.1 update with these features had just begun rolling out to the Galaxy S22 series, but it seems that rollout has been temporarily halted.

X user Tarun Vats noticed that the One UI 6.1 build for the Galaxy S22 series has been reverted from Samsung’s FOTA server. We spotted user reports on Samsung Community forums indicating that the Galaxy S22 series update was halted due to bugs. It appears that after updating, in some cases, the lock screen stops working, followed by the touch screen, prompting the need for a factory reset.

Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has recently unveiled Llama 3, the latest iteration of its large language model. This advanced model is available in two versions: an eight billion (8B) parameter version and a 70 billion (70B) parameter version. In this article, we will explore how to run the 8B parameter version of Llama 3 locally, a more feasible option for standard desktops or laptops that may struggle to run the larger 70B version.

Llama 3’s performance overview

Llama 3 is an impressive large language model. The 8B parameter version, trained using 1.3 million hours of GPU time, outperforms its predecessor, Llama 2, in several ways. For instance, it is 34% better than the 7 billion parameter version of Llama 2 and 14% better than the 13 billion parameter version. Remarkably, the 8B parameter version of Llama 3 even surpasses the performance of the 13 billion parameter version of Llama 2. It only falls short by 8% when compared to the 70B parameter version of Llama 2, making it an impressive model for its size.

The first real-life images of the Pixel 9 Pro gave us a good look at the upcoming flagship, but many of us were also sticker-shocked by the paltry 128GB storage on offer. The mention of 16GB RAM added insult to injury, making it an even more confusing combination as Google seemingly decided to upgrade the RAM capacity without upgrading the internal storage.

With Android flagships becoming more powerful and feature-packed than ever, 128GB of internal storage feels stifling, even for the base variant. While it technically lowers the phone’s price and makes it accessible for more people, storage upgrades are cheaper than what the OEM usually charges the customer.

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Sony has long offered the Xperia 10 series, generally offering solid if unspectacular mid-range phones. We’re expecting the Xperia 10 VI to launch at some point, and it looks like a trusted leaker has posted a ton of renders.

Evan Blass posted a smorgasbord of official-looking marketing images on X, giving us a good look at the Xperia 10 VI’s design and color options (Black, White, and Lavender). You can view the images below.

It’s easy to delete all of your emails in Gmail, but it’s more likely that you just want to clear out the older ones that are no longer relevant. we’ll guide you through how to delete old emails in Gmail and keep your inbox streamlined. You can even make it automatic.

QUICK ANSWER

Credit: Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority

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A few days ago, the EU designated iPadOS as a gatekeeper platform, giving Apple six months to comply with the Digital Markets Act. To avoid getting fined or leaving the EU market, the Cupertino firm will comply this fall by allowing third-party app stores on the iPad — likely via the iPadOS 18 update.

Through a post on its developer website, Apple announced that it would bring the EU-exclusive iOS features to iPadOS this fall. These features include support for third-party app stores, app distribution through the web, third-party, non-WebKit browser engines, a default web browser prompt, third-party contactless payments, and more.

Update: May 3, 2024 (4:05 AM ET): We’ve updated our Xperia 1 VI hub with a load of apparently leaked specs, ranging from horsepower and battery capacity to cameras and more.

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Security updates are critical for modern operating systems, fixing vulnerabilities that can be exploited by bad actors. But it turns out that a recent security update for Windows broke key functionality.

Microsoft has confirmed (h/t: Bleeping Computer) that the April security update for Windows broke VPN functionality. This issue affects Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2008 and newer.

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With the AI war between Google Gemini and Microsoft’s ChatGPT escalating, rumors pointing to a May 9 unveiling of a new ChatGPT-powered web search offering have surfaced, setting the stage for a direct challenge to Google’s search dominance.

A Reddit user spotted the creation of SSL certificates for the domain search.chatgpt.com. We also found a tweet by an AI podcast host reading, “Search (dot) ChatGPT (dot) com May 9th,” hinting at a potential release date. The subdomain mentioned currently displays a cryptic “Not found” message instead of throwing a 404 or domain error, further adding to the speculation.

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Sony has managed to do a decent job of keeping information about the upcoming Xperia 1 VI from leaking. Until now, we have mostly only heard a handful of details, like the potential dimensions and the camera setup. However, a new report appears to give us a more complete picture of what to expect.

The folks over at MSPoweruser appear to have gotten their hands on new information regarding the Sony Xperia 1 VI. Although no source was given, this leak may reveal details about the camera, audio, design, display, performance, battery life, gaming features, and perks for owners.

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Over the last few years, Google has been hard at work improving the experience of using Android on large-screen devices. It released its first tablet-oriented OS update in years, Android 12L, in early 2022, and every new OS update since has included incremental improvements to the large-screen experience. Last year’s Android 14 release was no different, adding features like an improved taskbar and the ability to force apps to adopt a specific aspect ratio. Although these two changes were added in quarterly feature updates to Android 14, there was one change introduced in Android 14’s initial release that slipped under the radar until now: a revamped Alt+Tab experience.

In Android 13 and earlier, pressing Alt+Tab on a Bluetooth or USB keyboard connected to an Android tablet or other large-screen device would simply bring up Android’s recents screen. While you could cycle through apps by pressing the Tab key while continuing to hold down Alt, there wasn’t a visual cue that showed you which app you selected. Furthermore, quickly pressing Alt+Tab wouldn’t switch to the most recently used app; instead, it would briefly flash the recents screen and then return to the current app. Compared to desktop operating systems, the way Android handled Alt+Tab presses made for a clunky multitasking experience.

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MediaTek is one of the biggest smartphone chip makers, powering an array of mid-range and even some flagship phones internationally. The company recently announced its flagship Dimensity 9300 chipset, which is a worthy rival to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Gen 3 chipset.

However, the company’s flagship offerings have been largely absent from the US market. This may be about to change, with MediaTek hinting at a “premium segment” Android smartphone launch in the US later this year, equipped with a MediaTek chipset. (h/T: 9to5Google)

If you’re a long-time Android user like me, chances are that you haven’t considered an Apple Music subscription. For over a decade, Spotify and YouTube Music (formerly Google Play Music) have reigned supreme as the de facto music streaming apps.

Spotify, in particular, has amassed a loyal following even though its Premium tier is a standalone subscription service. On the other hand, the Apple One subscription bundles 50GB of iCloud storage with the company’s music and TV streaming services — all of which can be useful even if you’re an Android user. This makes it an excellent deal compared to Spotify’s Individual Premium plan, which costs 60% as much for music alone.

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Knowing whether an app is legit or not can sometimes be a little tricky. To make it easier to tell, at least for apps made by state and federal governments, the Google Play Store is rolling out a new badge.

Starting today, apps made by state and federal governments are getting a new government badge to help users better identify official apps. The company states that at launch, users will be able to see the badge on over 3,000 government apps from 12 different countries. These countries include:

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Circle to Search is one of the best features that Google has released in years. The company knows it, too, which is why it’s been advertising the feature everywhere. Circle to Search allows you to quickly highlight some text or images on your screen, and it will then search for that info on Google. The company has been slowly rolling out the feature to more and more devices since the original announcement, and now it’s making its way to the company’s Pixel Tablet.

After debuting on the Samsung Galaxy S24 series in mid-January, Circle to Search quickly made its way over to the Google Pixel 8 series via a surprise Pixel Feature Drop that very same month. The feature remained exclusive to Google’s and Samsung’s latest flagship phones until late March, which is when Google rolled it out to its own Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, and Pixel 7a. Meanwhile, Samsung rolled out its big Galaxy AI feature update to the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Galaxy Tab S9 series.

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Keeping your Android apps up to date is important. Not only do updates bring new features, but they also sometimes incorporate new security protocols to keep you and your device safe. However, it looks like Google is now going to take updates very seriously — so seriously that it might just be a huge annoyance.

Let’s take Google Messages updates, for example. For a long time now, if there’s been an update for Messages, you would get a notification about it when you open the app. The notification would take up about half the screen and could be easily closed. Once you close it, that’s it — you wouldn’t get notified about it again until there’s another update.

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Update: May 2, 2024 (12:45 PM ET): As of now, the Galaxy S21 series and Galaxy Z Flip 3 are getting a limited taste of Galaxy AI features. The changelog for these phones mentions only the Circle to Search feature as part of the One UI 6.1 update. The Z Fold 3  seems to be getting many more AI features, including AI-generated wallpapers and Generative AI image editing.

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Original article: May 2, 2024 (10:09 AM ET): Galaxy AI features are the hottest new set of features in One UI 6.1, and they played a big part in the Galaxy S24 experience. Samsung has been rolling out One UI 6.1 with Android 14 and Galaxy AI to the Galaxy S23 series, and the update recently reached the Galaxy S22 series. But the company is not done here, as the update has been spotted rolling out to the Galaxy S21 series and several of the company’s previous generation foldables, namely the Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and Galaxy Z Flip 3.

Android 14 was publicly launched with the Pixel 8 series back in October 2023. We’re a few months into the new year, and Google has begun testing the next version of Android, now up to the Android 15 Beta 1.2. This is still only intended for early adopters, but things are coming along.

In this article, we’re going to tell you everything we know (and think we know) about Android 15 so far!

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The first wave of AI devices is here for better or worse depending on your viewpoint of the technology. Regardless of where you stand, the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin do introduce us to a new category of device for the first time in a long time. So you may be wondering just what’s under the hood of this hardware. A new video gives us exactly that answer.

The YouTube channel for iFixit recently released a teardown video of the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin. Just as a bit of background, both devices rely on large language models (LLMs) that run on the cloud for their heavy AI processing. As such, don’t expect to see much inside of these devices outside of what’s needed to make them run.

There is a lot to watch on the various streaming services available in 2024 — sometimes, it almost feels like too much. To simplify things for you, we’ve compiled some of the best new streaming movies to watch that are new this week.

Check out our top picks from major streamers like Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and will sometimes even bring you an exciting new VOD movie or two. In addition to the latest movies from this week, we also give you other recommendations for shows that have arrived on a new streaming platform in the last 30 days. 

There aren’t many better Bluetooth speaker options to soundtrack your summer gatherings than the JBL Xtreme 3, and it has never been anywhere near as cheap as it is right now. A massive Amazon price drop has reduced the device to just $179.99, saving you $200.

JBL Xtreme 3 for $179.99 ($200 off)

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Late last year, a young company called Helium Mobile stepped out of early access and into nationwide coverage. The company is a decentralized mobile network, meaning it is designed to work on individually owned and operated nodes rather than traditional cell towers. As a fallback solution, users connect with T-Mobile towers when Wi-Fi and the decentralized network aren’t available.

Helium’s entry to the scene was exciting, but it lacked a core tenet of mobile service: group plans. Today, the company is rectifying that by rolling out group plan support for up to eight lines.

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WhatsApp just got a new update that introduces two new features the company says are meant to bring communities closer together. One of those features is event planning, and the other is replies in Announcement Groups.

In a blog post, the WhatsApp team announced it is rolling out new features for WhatsApp Communities. The first new feature will allow users to plan events directly on the app. This can include occasions like birthdays, dinner parties, or virtual meet-ups. As the firm explains, anybody in the group can set up an event and others can RSVP to make it easier to know who is attending.

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Spotify has been staring at an upgrade to lossless music for what feels like ages, but the update has still not arrived. Announced back in September 2021, Spotify HiFi was going to be a new lossless streaming tier launching by the end of 2021. We’re in May 2024, and HiFi is clearly not here. Rumors pointed to a rebrand of HiFi to a $20-a-month “Supremium” plan that would be an upgrade over Spotify Premium, but we’re not there either. If you are still hopefully holding onto the dream of lossless audio from Spotify, Spotify HiFi continues to be spotted in UI leaks, indicating that it’s still alive.

Redditor OhItsTom has shared screenshots that show a few dialog prompts and system settings related to Spotify HiFi. The HiFi feature is not available yet, but some of the UI elements could be forcefully surfaced.

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We’ve seen a ton of streaming services institute price increases in the past few years, with the likes of Disney Plus, Netflix, and Hulu all hiking subscription fees. The anime-focused Crunchyroll has resisted this urge since 2019, but all good things must come to an end.

Crunchyroll has announced a price increase on its website this week (h/t: The Verge), affecting its middle and top tiers in “Argentina, Colombia, France, Portugal, the United States and select additional countries.”

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For a long time, Apple has required users to turn off Find My before sending in their iPhones for repairs. That’s to ensure that the device isn’t stolen and that the customer is its legitimate owner. However, that practice poses a serious risk, as sometimes these iPhones get stolen in transit. To address users’ concerns, Apple is developing a new Repair State feature for the latest iPhone.

As per a 9to5Mac report, iOS 17.5 beta 4 includes a new Repair State feature in the iPhone’s Find My app. This addition is currently exclusive to iOS, so those on the latest iPadOS and macOS betas won’t be able to utilize it. Through Repair State, a user can verify that they’re the owner of the iPhone without disabling Find My. In essence, you’re just proving that the iPhone is yours without disabling Find My tracking features and the Activation Lock, so you can continue monitoring your iPhone’s location during the repair.

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The Galaxy S24 series launched with a variety of Galaxy AI features. We’ve already seen most of these features come to the Galaxy S23 series and several other flagship phones as part of the One UI 6.1 update, but it looks like the Galaxy S22 series is next in line.

Galaxy S22 owners in Korea have confirmed that Samsung has pushed the One UI 6.1 update to their phones (h/t: Tarun Vats), weighing in at 3.1GB. Check out the machine-translated screenshots below.

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Even though passkeys are the future of passwords, you likely still use a good old password on hundreds of logins that haven’t yet begun supporting passkeys. You likely still have hundreds of passwords for websites that you’ve signed in to over the years, and apps like Bitwarden are our top Android app choice for the simple reason that they help you manage all of your passwords and do it while being free and open-source. Bitwarden is back with another free and open-source app, this time to serve your 2FA needs.

Bitwarden Authenticator has just been launched by Bitwarden Inc. (h/t Artem Russakovskii). As the name suggests, it is an authenticator app for generating Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) authentication codes for two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication is advised for all important accounts, even if you use a passkey or a complex password, as it adds an extra layer of security.

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Last September, Spotify restricted some free users from accessing its lyrics feature as part of an A/B experiment. After months of testing, it now appears that the company is rolling out this new restriction widely. Those wanting to view song lyrics while listening must now pay for Spotify Premium.

In the past few days, multiple Redditors (1, 2, 3, 4) have voiced their frustration regarding Spotify’s latest limitation. What was a free feature for years now requires users to pay a monthly fee.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is one of the best Android foldables around, with impressive improvements from its predecessor, including a redesigned hinge and a more durable build. However, like any phone, the latest Samsung foldable suffers from its fair share of bugs and glitches. We look at some common Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 problems and how to fix them.

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Problem #1: Delayed notifications

Update: May 2, 2024 (04:50 AM ET): We’ve updated our Google Pixel 8a hub with the latest leaks, including leaked screenshots confirming specs, a super-long update policy, and more.

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Google launched its first A-series phone in 2019 with the Pixel 3a and 3a XL. At the time, those were some of the best Android phones you could get for the price. Since then, Google has released a new A-series Pixel every year. We are now only a few days away from the expected announcement of the Pixel 8a.

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Samsung’s Good Lock suite of modules is one of the best reasons to buy Galaxy phones, allowing you to deeply customize your device. Unfortunately, the apps are only available via the Galaxy Store, but that’s changing today.

X user Litto Biju Pappachan (h/t: Tarun Vats) spotted Good Lock on the Google Play Store. We can confirm seeing this listing, but we’re unable to download it just yet. That suggests the suite isn’t widely available just yet, although the X user also posted a screenshot suggesting that it’s available as a preview to some.

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The Google Pixel 8a is expected to launch this month, but we’ve already seen a ton of leaks so far. However, a long-time leaker has just dropped perhaps the biggest info dump yet.

Evan Blass posted a ton of screenshots from an apparent Pixel 8a product page. The images include machine-translated text overlaid on them, giving us a good (but not perfect) idea of what to expect. Check them out below.

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HUAWEI launched the Pura 70 series in China a few weeks ago, but it turns out we didn’t have to wait too long to get these camera phones in global markets.

The manufacturer has launched three out of the four Pura 70 series phones outside China, with the Pura 70 Pro Plus being the sole China-only phone. Otherwise, global users can choose between the Pura 70, Pura 70 Pro, and Pura 70 Ultra.

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Google’s I/O conference might bring a new Chromecast with Google TV, but Walmart could steal the spotlight this year with a surprise contender, the Onn 4K Pro Google TV box.

YouTuber SuperDell-TV got his hands on Walmart’s upcoming streaming device, and the sneak peek reveals a fresh design, better specs, and a competitive price that could give Google a run for its money. (h/t: Android Police)

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AT&T has announced a new service called AT&T Turbo, allowing customers to pay for prioritized data on their wireless connections. Launching on May 2, the feature is designed to enhance the experience of real-time activities such as gaming, live video streaming, and video calls, especially in congested network situations.

By subscribing to Turbo, AT&T customers gain network priority when network traffic is high. This could translate to significant benefits in crowded areas like sporting events, where many people vying for bandwidth can lead to slower speeds. Turbo users would theoretically experience less lag, buffering, and faster connectivity compared to standard AT&T customers.

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On April 26, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved T-Mobile’s acquisition of Ka’ena Corporation, the parent company of Mint Mobile. The carrier has now completed the deal and it will bring a couple of new benefits to Mint Mobile customers.

Today, T-Mobile published a press release announcing that Ka’ena Corporation is now officially part of its business. Along with the acquisition, the Un-carrier brings Mint Mobile, Ultra Mobile, and Plum under its wing.

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Fossil’s smartwatch era is officially extinct. After announcing its departure from the smartwatch scene earlier this year, the company is now practically offering its remaining Wear OS watches at prices that would make even a T-Rex wince. The sale, first spotted by Droid-Life, is currently live on Fossil’s website and includes multiple variants of the Fossil Gen 6, Gen 6 Wellness Edition, Gen 6 Wellness Edition Hybrid, Gen 6 Hybrid, and Gen 5E smartwatches.

Fossil’s smartwatch journey started with hybrid models, but it eventually transitioned to full-fledged Wear OS devices. All of Fossil’s Gen 6 Wear OS models currently on sale were originally priced around $300. While Fossil managed to carve out a niche for itself, its smartwatches often fell short of competitors in terms of features, fitness tracking, and overall value. However, at this firesale price, we have to admit that these watches have become a much more tempting proposition.

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When it comes to updates, Nothing has been on the ball with the Phone 2a. In fact, the handset received three updates just one month in April. Now the Nothing Phone 2a is getting another one, with the key highlight being ChatGPT integration.

Nothing announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Nothing OS 2.5.5 has rolled out to the Phone 2a. With that update, owners will get a handful of new ChatGPT features including:

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Yesterday, we broke the news that the software that allows you to control the AI-first Rabbit R1 device is actually just an Android APK — essentially a proprietary launcher. We even showed you the app running on a Pixel with minimal hacking necessary to get it on there. This heavily suggested that the Rabbit R1 is just an Android device running some form of AOSP, but we couldn’t fully prove it at the time.

Today, though, we can confirm that the R1 is specifically running Android 13, the 2022 version of the operating system. We obtained this from Mishaal Rahman, a frequent contributor to Android Authority. Rahman posted the confirmation on his various social channels:

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When using the Google Photos app, you can choose whether you want to back up a folder or not. The problem is, however, this has to be done manually for each folder you want to be saved in the cloud. But if you wish this could be done automatically, you may soon get your wish.

Android Authority discovered that the latest version of the Google Photos app (v6.81.0.628906483) appears to introduce a new “Back up new folders” feature. The feature appears as an on/off toggle and is accompanied by a description that reads “Automatically turn on backup when a new folder is added.”

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When the Apple Watch Ultra 2 launched last year, it was more of an evolution than a revolution with a few hardware improvements here and there. And it sounds as if the next iteration of Apple’s Ultra smartwatch could be even less of an advancement.

There were suspicions that Apple would forego releasing a new Apple Watch Ultra in 2024. However, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has told MacRumors that the tech giant does plan to update the series this year. But if you were hoping for big improvements, you’re probably going to be let down. Kuo adds that the new smartwatch will have “almost no” hardware upgrades compared to the previous generation.

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If you’ve actively used Apple’s productivity suite on an iPhone, then you’re probably familiar with how disconnected the Calendar and Reminders apps are. The two applications pretty much don’t communicate at all, making it tough for users to view their full day-to-day plans without opting for third-party solutions. Fortunately, that could all change with iOS 18, as the update will reportedly integrate Reminders into Calendar.

According to information obtained by AppleInsider, iOS 18 may allow users to create and view reminders using the Apple Calendar app. This would enable users to browse a more comprehensive hub that bundles Calendar events and Reminders tasks in a single spot.

The Razer Edge is pretty unique in the handheld market, more akin to an Android tablet with a Kishi controller than a console. If you’ve got a commute to fill or a gamer gift to get, you won’t want to miss this Amazon deal on the device, which drops the price to just $249.99 for the first time ever.

Razer Edge for $249.99 ($150 off)

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.

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Wallpaper Wednesday: May 1, 2024

Another week, another set of awesome Android wallpapers for you to share! Remember that we are always looking for submissions from our readers. Head to the bottom of this article to find out how you could have one of your images featured in an upcoming Wallpaper Wednesday!

Whether the upcoming summer is going to be more about the fitness journey or the social scene for you, the Fitbit Sense 2 would make a fine wrist adornment. Its $300 retail price puts it beyond a lot of people’s smartwatch budget, but it’s a different prospect today. A $100 price drop on Amazon has taken the wearable back to its all-time low price for the first time in months.

Fitbit Sense 2 for $199.95 ($100 off)

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Different smartphones take different approaches to photography, but Android’s Ultra flagships usually try to pack in every possible upgrade to try and become the best camera flagship. With primary camera upgrades plateauing after a point, we’re seeing more and more companies focus on telephoto cameras as the next big upgrade. Samsung opts to include two telephoto cameras on its Galaxy S24 Ultra flagship for two different optical zoom setups, while other companies are using periscope zoom on a higher megapixel sensor, opting for hybrid zoom instead of just optical or digital. This upcoming Ultra flagship on the block could take it to the next level, pairing a 200MP sensor with a periscope zoom lens for the best telephoto zoom experience.

The vivo X100 Ultra flagship is slated for its home market this May, and renders of the device have just emerged on Weibo.