Smartphones

LA’s New Streetlamps Will Keep Cell Service Running After an Earthquake

Cities beefing up their smart infrastructure have tapped the ubiquitous streetlamp to track traffic data and measure pollution. Now, in Los Angeles, some streetlights will help keep the communications network intact after an emergency. LA is the first city in the world to install Philips-branded SmartPoles, which are outfitted with 4G LTE wireless technology by…

BlackBerry Priv Review: Nope, Not For Me—Not Even For My Worst Enemy

I really wanted to like the BlackBerry Priv. C’mon! Android on a Blackberry phone! Sadly, the company’s latest, and possibly last, shot at appealing to users who’ve long since moved on falls incredibly short. What Is It? A $700(!) Blackberry smartphone, and the first to run Android. It has a 5.4-inch display plus a slide…

LG V10 Review: Big, Weird, and Not Worth It

I’m a huge fan of weird phones that try to reimagine the average pocket computer as something different than just a slab of metal and glass. That’s why I’ve come to respect LG’s creative risks, even if they don’t always stick. But with the LG V10, they may have gone a step too far. What…

We Dropped the Droid Turbo 2 Over and Over Again to Test Its Shatterproof Screen

We are in the midst of reviewing the recently announced Motorola Droid Turbo 2, and one of the most interesting features of the phone is its supposedly shatterproof display. Any phone can survive one or two errant drops. But what about seventy? As you can see in our video above, the Droid Turbo 2 does…

Android 6 Vs. iOS 9: The Showdown

It wasn’t too long ago that we put the major mobile operating systems head to head, but with big updates from both Google and Apple in the meantime, we think it’s worth another look at where they both stand. Is there a clear winner? Or are they barely distinguishable any more? Visual Design and Interface…

OnePlus X Is a $250 Phone That’s Shockingly Good-Looking

I’m a big fan of cheap phones, an obsession that’s been well documented. I’ve tried the Moto G, Nexus 5, and OnePlus One, and have loved them all. I’m completely convinced that a great smartphone and an expensive smartphone are not mutually exclusive. The new $250 OnePlus X is proof. Yes. That phone pictured above…

If you ordered a Nexus 6P, and it hasn’t shown up, good news: per Phandroid, Google knows some shipments are delayed, and it’s giving $25 refunds to dry your gadget tears. [Phandroid]

HTC One A9 Review: An iPhone Only In Looks

Let me be blunt. If I lost my iPhone a week ago and needed a new one, I would’ve bought the HTC One A9. It looks great, and upon first glance, works pretty great, too. But I didn’t lose my iPhone, and the A9 is now more expensive than I thought it was. The newest…

The Droid Turbo 2 Is a Verizon Superphone That Can Handle Some Punishment

Creating the Verizon Droid is a simple formula at this point: Take Motorola’s latest and greatest, in this case the new Moto X Pure Edition, and supercharge the specs in every direction. Bigger battery. Bigger processor. So on and so on. But for the Turbo 2, Verizon has a whole new trick—the display is shatterproof.…

HTC’s One A9 Will Only Cost $400 Until November 7th—Then It’ll Jump to $500

When HTC unveiled its iPhone-like One A9 last week, one of its most attractive features was its cost. But while the $400 price tag may seem tempting, in reality that deal is only available until November 7th—after that date, the price will jump up by $100. HTC had seemed to suggest that the sleek phone…

Speed Up Smartphone Typing with Keyboard Shortcuts on Android and iOS

If there are words and phrases you type out over and over again on your phone—from your email address to “I’ll be five minutes late”—then both Android and iOS include built-in tools to help you communicate faster. Here’s how to get the shortcuts set up and burn through emails and texts messages on your smartphone.…

Thanks to Wi-Fi Assist, Apple’s In a $5 Million Lawsuit

The Wi-Fi Assist feature in iOS 9 was meant to save consumers from shitty Wi-Fi by switching to cell data. Instead, it’s eating through data caps, and now apparently causing lawsuits. https://gizmodo.com/ios-9s-wi-fi-assist-is-eating-my-cell-data-1733513159 A California couple is suing Apple for $5 million in damages relating to Wi-Fi Assist. The suit alleges that after upgrading to iOS…

BlackBerry’s $700 Android Frankenphone Goes Up For Preorder

You can now preorder The Priv, one of BlackBerry’s strangest creations (and it’s made some weird stuff), for $700 in United States currency. $700! That puts BlackBerry’s latest in direct competition with some of the best smartphones you can buy. That’s not to say you’re not getting some great stuff for the money. The Priv…

Nexus 5X Review: An Old Favorite With Some New Tricks

I have a confession to make. I love the Nexus 5. Despite its obvious flaws compared to newer and shiner phones (all of which I’ve tried and tested), the Nexus 5 has some intangible quality for me that no other phone has replicated before or since. But now, there’s the Nexus 5X. The Nexus 5X…

HTC One A9 Is Like an Android-Powered iPhone, At Almost Half the Price

You’ve already heard the jokes about HTC shamelessly ripping off Apple with the design of its newest phone. The truth is, it’s even funnier to hold the new HTC One A9 in one hand and an iPhone 6 in the other. They’re hilariously similar—and that’s not a bad thing at all. There’s more to HTC’s…

14 Things You Can Do in Android Marshmallow That You Couldn’t Do in Lollipop

Whether you’ve put in an order for a Nexus 6P or you’re patiently waiting for Android version 6.0 to reach your Galaxy S6, you’ll want to know what Marshmallow can do for you. It’s not a dramatic leap forward for Google’s mobile OS, but there are still a number of useful new features you’re going…

Let’s Have More Smartphones With Clear Backs Please

This modded Samsung Galaxy Note 5 isn’t a thing you can actually buy, sadly. But with a razor blade, a heat gun and a little perseverance, it’s a thing you can and absolutely should make. The modded version was posted to Reddit by an intrepid DIYer. The process doesn’t sound too bad: use a heat…

The LG G4 Will Be the First Non-Nexus Phone to Get Android Marshmallow

The newest version of Android, 6.0 Marshmallow, rolled out to Google’s own-brand Nexus devices last week. Other manufacturers traditionally take a little longer to follow suit, but it looks like LG is winning this particular round. According to the company, owners of the flagship G4 in Poland will be the first to get Marshmallow, with…

The Asus Zenfone 2 is a cheap-and-cheerful Android powerhouse, which makes it a prime candidate for people wanting to tinker. Asus just made that job a whole lot easier, offering up a tool to unlock the bootloader (and flash custom ROMs) with minimal effort. [Asus via Android Central]

The GranitePhone Thinks Your Privacy Is Worth $850

How much do you value your darkest secrets? Enough to pay $850 for a $300 Android phone? Archos and Sikur, makers of a super-secure mid-range handset think so. On the surface, the GranitePhone looks more or less like a run-of-the-mill Android device: a 5-inch 1080p screen, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, Snapdragon 615…