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    Android Google Warns Google Drive Users: Use It, Or Lose Your Files - Tech

    November 13, 2020

    Android Google Warns Google Drive Users: Use It, Or Lose Your Files - Tech

    Google Warns Google Drive Users: Use It, Or Lose Your Files - Tech

    Posted: 12 Nov 2020 08:07 PM PST

    Google's future Pixel phones won't offer unlimited Google Photos backups

    Posted: 12 Nov 2020 10:09 AM PST

    Welcome Android Open Source Project (AOSP) to the Bazel ecosystem

    Posted: 13 Nov 2020 02:01 AM PST

    Google Camera 8.1 brings the newer UI and cinematic pan to some older Pixel phones

    Posted: 12 Nov 2020 09:55 PM PST

    Xperia 5 II thoughts from a 10+ years iPhone user

    Posted: 12 Nov 2020 09:47 AM PST

    A little background first. My first smartphone was an iPhone 3G, and I've owned the majority of the iPhones released since then. My main reasons for switching were wanting a fingerprint reader over FaceID, which even before masks I've always hated, and the lack of a headphone jack, which despite me mostly using wireless headphones I've really missed being able to connect to my Hi-Fi and the latency free audio of wired ones.

    I've been using the 5 II for a little over a month now. I actually received it a week before it's official launch day. Since it's what I think most are interested in I'll start with the main negative.

    Camera

    Yes, despite what reviewers say, in real-world usage I've found the camera to be by far the worst part of the phone. My usage mostly encompasses indoor photos of pets, and as you'll see in the example photos it fails at that. The first problem is that autofocus is terrible. Often times I'll have to tap on the subject multiple times to get it to focus, and even then it sometimes still appears fuzzy. Sometimes it will say the object is too close to focus when it isn't, and then a few seconds later forget that was a problem at all. But the worst part is the amount of time it takes to take photos. On my iPhone XS I would always take two in a second in case one was blurry, with this that is impossible. It takes at least two seconds, and sometimes longer between shots when indoors. This means that a lot of my shots I've started moving the phone as I thought it was done already, and then the photo is ruined. Or my dog has completely moved positions, resulting in a blurry mess. This is worst on the tele-photo lens, but true on all of them. I don't feel like reviewers spent enough time using the camera indoors, or in anything but perfect lighting to see how bad it is in this situation.

    I've included some good and some bad photos. Bare in mind that for the good ones I often had to take multiple photos to get it right. My main problem is how inconsistent and slow it is: Album.

    The front camera, as many have noted, is even worse. When a face is in frame the words "Soft snap" appear, and a beautification effect that even when turned off in settings is applied. I've tested this by quickly moving the frame away and back to my face, and for the split-second before it realises it's a face there is much more detail. I hope in a future update this is fixed.

    Aside from that it annoys me that when the battery is low the camera app will not open, simply saying I need to charge. I'd rather at least get the chance to take a photo before it dies. I haven't used it much for video but it seems very good. The stabilisation is fine and focus is actually faster than when using the camera. colours also look great. I do like having the camera button, but the force needed to press it sometimes blurs images.

    Design

    The phone feels solid. Even though it is aluminium (perhaps 7000 series as I think either the 1 or 1 II was quoted as being it) it feels no less strong than my XS' stainless steel. I don't find the glass too slippery, but I think when people say this about new phones they forget just how much more slippy a fresh oleophobic coating is to one that has worn off. I don't feel the need to use a case and with the phone completely bare there aren't any scratches to the frame or either side of glass. When pocketed the height of the phone is annoying when kneeling to put on shoes, but the narrow frame means it isn't as bad as some other large phones.

    Screen

    I appreciate the higher refresh-rate screen, although it doesn't make as much impact as on my iPad Pro. One thing people have complained about is brightness. Unfortunately, the area in Britain I live in has not seen a day of sunshine since I got it, so so far at least I haven't been able to see if it's a problem. One thing that annoys me is that text smoothing seems to be pretty bad. It is a lot easier to see individual pixels in text than on my XS, despite the PPI being almost identical. I enjoy the overall height of the screen, and how narrow it is. I have small hands and could only just reach my thumb to the side of my XS when holding it securely. With this that is easy.

    Everything else

    • Battery life has been great. I get one and a half to two days from it.
    • The front-firing speakers are a revelation. I love how I can hold the phone properly without blocking the bottom one.
    • The notification light is surpassingly useful. I feel like all phones should have one.
    • You don't need to press the fingerprint reader to unlock the screen, meaning sometimes when I pocket it my thumb brushes against and unlocks it. Sometimes it unlocks with a finger I haven't registered, which is… concerning. These are annoying but not dealbreakers for me. Apart from that it's perfect and far better than FaceID.
    • If you live in the UK this thing is extremely cheap on contract. My 24 month plan has 54GB of 5G data per month, and after selling the preorder bonus headphones actually costs the same overall as if I'd bought it outright.
    • Forget it if you want to use the flash as a torch. It's the weakest I've ever had in a phone.

    Conclusion

    Overall I'm not sure if I'd recommend the phone if you intend to take many photos indoors or in imperfect lighting. Outdoors photos are great, but for those situations I have a mirrorless camera. I don't miss iOS too much and I don't regret buying the phone. The ability to have multiple apps open at once and Facebook chat bubbles is amazing. Apple Music also works just as well as on iOS.

    If you have any questions feel free.

    TLDR: Cameras bad. Basically everything else good.

    submitted by /u/PeekyChew
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    Google Photos Just Made the Case for Breaking Up Big Tech

    Posted: 12 Nov 2020 02:57 PM PST

    Why Google making its own Pixel chips could matter for you

    Posted: 13 Nov 2020 01:00 AM PST

    My Pixel 4a review coming from a OP7pro

    Posted: 12 Nov 2020 12:40 PM PST

    TL;DR: won't miss much. Not even 90 Hz, wide angle or tele photo lenses. Great battery, build, screen, haptics, size, camera and speakers.

    So after 1,5 years enjoying a OnePlus 7 Pro, I switched to a Google Pixel 4a primarily because of the smaller size. 1,5 years is the longest I've ever had a phone. Was really enjoying the OnePlus experience.

    Here is my review after a week of usage of the Google Pixel 4a.

    My use case is phone, teams, messenger, sms, camera, YouTube and browsing.

    Size: obviously the difference in size is a primary objective. The 4a for surfing and reading news in one hand usage is a joy. Also the weight of the 4a makes it a fantastic daily tool. It's so comfortable small that a thin cover doesn't ruin the overall size. Also it's not so small that two finger writing is cramped like on my wife's 2020 iPhone SE.

    Build quality: at first glance I was surprised, that it's made of plastic. It's so well made, that it feels like an aluminium phone covered in a soft touch material. It's also sturdy, it seems, now that Sack gave it some love. The in hand feel is what I have been paying Dbrand for, when mounting skins on my multitude of glass sandwich phones in the past like S6, S7 Edge, S8, S9, S10e, OP7pro etc. The power button and volume same is placed exactly where my right thumb easily reaches.

    Screen: a very well made AMOLED supporting HDR. I'm so happy to get a flat screen again, after so many year's of edge type displays.. the punch hole camera cutout is what it is. Fast brightness adaptation for once. Good brightness in sunlight and sufficiently low brightness in darkness. Good support for cheap screen protectors.

    The performance of the screen is so good, that after a few hours of usage, I don't notice the downgrade in refresh rate. I'm serious. When tapping on the screen the feedback does not feel like a hollow phone feeling.

    Haptics: great vibration motor that feels somewhat like a linear actuator, rather than the circular motor it actually is. I don't feel a difference from an iPhone to be honest. But it's so strong that even setting the keyboard vibration in Gboard to 1 ms is too much. Turned it off.

    Speakers: this is one important subject to me. And I'm happy to report that they are great. Greater than on an iPhone SE with better balance and stereo separation, although the 4a amplification could be better. I've modified the max loudness via the Wavelet app, so that the lows and highs and a little boost in the mid ranges easily compensates. Comparing to a iPhone Xr speakers the 4a speakers with my mods, sounds even more bassy and with great highs in direct comparison. It's that good.

    Battery: writing this at 9 PM after unplugging 6.30 AM (16 hours) off charger and 4 hours of screen on time, I have 46% battery left. A true all day phone with lots to spare.

    Performance: this is funny. Until now I didn't think of any difference in daily tasks. Only the Google Camera HDR process takes a few seconds to complete. But only noticeable when takin pictures in sequence going to check the results directly. Again my use case doesn't demand much CPU.

    Fingerprint sensor: really fast, precise and doesn't even need to cover the whole sensor. The tip of a finger is enough to unlock the phone.

    Charging: I think the first charge took 1,5 hours with a USB-PD 18 watt charger. I charge overnight with an old 1 amp charger. I wish it had wireless charging, as my phone holder in our car supports it. Other than that, I don't really miss it, because of the great battery life without the need of topping up when not using the phone.

    Network: good WiFi strength and good LTE signal. I was surprised and happy to see, that my local network TDC in Denmark supports VoLTE and VoWiFi, even without it being officially on their list of phones, as the Pixel is not officially sold in Denmark. Also eSIM works like a charm. Running with my private number as eSIM and company number as traditional SIM. Bluetooth connectivity without issues.

    Camera: it's a Pixel.. As good as Gcam on the OnePlus 7 Pro in comparison.

    Software: it's a Pixel.

    This is my first time writing a review, so feel free to add a comment or question, supporting me in perspectives I might have overlooked in the process.

    Please also accept that English is not my primary language.

    Thanks for reading. And be safe everybody.

    submitted by /u/Duckstardeluxe
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