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5 votes
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Why don't more screens come with anti-reflective coating?
I hate watching reflections on my screens. My old laptop had a super reflective screen. So does my tablet and smartphone, but I was successful in applying anti-glare on them. Reflective screens...
I hate watching reflections on my screens. My old laptop had a super reflective screen. So does my tablet and smartphone, but I was successful in applying anti-glare on them. Reflective screens are annoying in any condition besides total darkness. Anti-glare is such an improvement! Yes, I lose a small amount of brightness, but I need a lot less brightness when my screen is not a freaking mirror!
Hence the question, "Why don't more screens come with anti-reflective coating?"
4 votes -
Pinephone ends its Community Edition model
17 votes -
Pine64 December update: The longest one yet
4 votes -
What do I need to know about switching from Android to iOS for my phone?
I've been all in on Android for quite a while, but I'll be making the jump to an iPhone with the next phone I get, which will end up being soon, as my current one is having some hardware issues....
I've been all in on Android for quite a while, but I'll be making the jump to an iPhone with the next phone I get, which will end up being soon, as my current one is having some hardware issues.
What do I need to know about crossing over?
In particular, I would like to leave my Google account behind and NOT have it logged into my new phone. I use Fastmail for my email and contacts -- will I be able to sync my contacts easily to an iOS device from it, or will I have to import them into iCloud?
I'm also open to app recommendations for basic stuff -- preferably ones that are open-source and privacy-friendly. On Android I run a lot of stuff out of F-Droid, but I know iOS is a lot more locked down, so I'm interested to know what the best options are in their store (I have no interest in jailbreaking mg device).
Also, are there any huge disadvantages I should be aware of regarding older models? The new line just came out, which means the older ones are cheaper, and I'm a casual enough phone user that I should be fine with older hardware, but I want to know if there are any big tradeoffs.
Finally, if there are any cool iOS tips or tricks I should know about, let me know!
16 votes -
Google announces Pixel 5 and Pixel 4A 5G phones, new Chromecast, and Nest Audio smart speaker
13 votes -
The iPhone 12 Pro Max: Real pro photography
13 votes -
Librem 5 mass production phone has begun shipping
Announcement Details on the phone itself (Both are the same, the USA refers to supply chain): Libram 5 - $799 Libram 5 USA - $1999 I think it's quite a tell about how much our electronics are...
Details on the phone itself (Both are the same, the USA refers to supply chain):
Libram 5 - $799
Libram 5 USA - $1999I think it's quite a tell about how much our electronics are subsidized by sourcing from inordinately cheap labor compared to the (mostly) German/USA labor for the USA phone.
PureOS itself looks like it could be a decent entrant to breaking the mobile duopoly. The only sticking point for me would be various applications that don't offer browser options (read: 2 factor authentication apps).
12 votes -
Librem 5 mass production phone has begun shipping
9 votes -
How the US military buys location data from ordinary smartphone apps, including a Muslim prayer app with over ninety-eight million downloads
13 votes -
Introducing the Pinephone KDE edition
16 votes -
Daring Fireball review: The iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max
10 votes -
Netflix prepares to add an audio-only mode for background listening
13 votes -
XDA Pro1-X phone announced with physical keyboard, available with Lineage and Ubuntu
12 votes -
Apple introduces iPhone 12 in smaller size and 5G, and iPhone 12 Pro & Pro Max with LiDAR, larger screens, and more capable cameras
30 votes -
Thoughts and observations on Apple’s ‘Hi, Speed’ iPhone 12 event
7 votes -
Everything you need to know about Android’s Project Mainline
9 votes -
The FBI team sent to ‘exploit’ protesters’ phones in Portland
22 votes -
At this point, 5G is a bad joke
16 votes -
LG Wing hands on
4 votes -
Amazon drivers are hanging smartphones in trees to get more work
6 votes -
Geofence warrants - Smartphone location data is giving US law enforcement new surveillance tools
6 votes -
The Nokia 3310 is twenty years old today
9 votes -
Fairphone users can buy and replace just the camera
14 votes -
One year later, has the Huawei ban been effective?
5 votes -
Android 11 takes away camera picker, forces use of default camera app
29 votes -
Android is now the world’s largest earthquake detection network
7 votes -
Google announces Pixel 5, Pixel 4A 5G and Pixel 4A all at once
16 votes -
Data isn't just being collected from your phone. It's being used to score you
22 votes -
I need a new phone. Can anyone recommend me a replacement?
I've had a Nexus 6P for the past 3 years. It's been a good run, and I've swapped the battery out once before (1 year ago) but it's time for a replacement. At this point, it's not charging...
I've had a Nexus 6P for the past 3 years. It's been a good run, and I've swapped the battery out once before (1 year ago) but it's time for a replacement. At this point, it's not charging properly, and turning off randomly.
What phones are you all using? Any you'd feel good about recommending? I'd be interested to hear thoughts on current smartphones, as it's not something I've looked into for a while.
Some things I liked about the Nexus 6P:
- Camera (12.3MP) was really good back when I first got it and still holds up (just shuts down when I take photos now)
- Larger form factor (not a dealbreaker though)
- Android
- Convenience of having photos uploaded to Google Photos automatically
- Battery life (in its prime) was actually decent
I'm in EU, and ideally I don't really want to spend more than 300 euros.
Thanks all, keen to hear people's thoughts...Appreciate any kind of response/advice.
21 votes -
An analysis of over 15,000 popular Google searches found that the first organic result is now usually almost halfway down the page, and requires scrolling multiple screen-lengths on mobile to reach
21 votes -
My 2017 iPhone X died: I got a 2016 iPhone SE for $70, upgraded the battery and added wireless charging — it's great
23 votes -
The phone bill security hole in HIPAA
5 votes -
Hundreds arrested after European law enforcement agencies monitored over 100 million encrypted messages sent through Encrochat, a network used by criminals
20 votes -
Moroccan journalist targeted with network injection attacks using NSO Group’s tools
2 votes -
Phone automation - Share your workflows!
I recently switched operating systems on my phone and lost some of the automated workflows I had during the transition. While I've rebuilt some of it, but it sometimes feels like I'm missing...
I recently switched operating systems on my phone and lost some of the automated workflows I had during the transition. While I've rebuilt some of it, but it sometimes feels like I'm missing something or that I could do more, I just don't know what exactly. I'd like to hear from others here and see if they can inspire me to implement what works for them. I'm using an android phone with automate and here's the workflows that I got:
- When plugging in the phone, set it to do not disturb and enable Bluetooth. This is for when I go to sleep so that I don't get woken up by notifications and I can listen to podcasts on my headband.
- If at work (Based on cell towers, not GPS) set phone to vibrate, when leaving it set it to ring. I actually lost this one but haven't rebuilt it since I've not been to the office in a while.
- Learn location. For a set time, grabs the cell towers around and stores them in a JSON file.
What kind of automation have you implemented on your phone?
18 votes -
When phones were fun: Samsung's "Matrix Phone" (2003)
8 votes -
Black Lives Matter protesters aren’t being tracked with Covid-19 surveillance tech. Not yet
6 votes -
Galaxy Z Flip comes with an unexpectedly low-tech vibe
6 votes -
Apple reportedly weighing shifting some production from China to India
3 votes -
Ameelio, a startup backed by the Mozilla's 'Fix the Internet', aims to provide free video calls and messaging to prisoners in the US where video calls can cost as much as $25 for 15min
11 votes -
Apple COVID-19 mobility trends reports
6 votes -
iPhone SE (2020) review
22 votes -
Recommend me a new phone
Hi all -- I have had a Moto G5+ for the last two years, and have been largely happy with it. However, it's recently developed some serious issues w/ charging -- it tends to not ever get past ~45%,...
Hi all -- I have had a Moto G5+ for the last two years, and have been largely happy with it. However, it's recently developed some serious issues w/ charging -- it tends to not ever get past ~45%, and the battery indicator seems to be ... disconnected from how long the phone actually lasts. I have attempted cleaning out the charging port (there was a lot of caked-in dust), changing the charging cable and port, to no avail. It works ok-ish for the moment, but I have largely been limiting it to emergency usage and I suspect it's on it's way out.
So, I find myself in the market for a new phone. In the past I have typically gone with whatever the cheapest reasonable Android phone has been (hence, the G5+ which I really do like quite a bit besides the poor camera). I am not a heavy phone user, and I really don't care about having the latest and greatest, my priorities are:
- long battery life (my Moto G5 lasts two days fully charged)
- cheap (say 200-300$, the SE on this thread is probably the upper bound of what I'd want to spend)
- reasonably performant
- preferably reasonable privacy protections (probably a pipe-dream)
The Moto G series have checked all boxes (apart from privacy) in the past, but I am considering whether I can take this opportunity to rid myself of another Google device in my life. I was thinking potentially going for a refurbished iPhone, but I really have no idea what to be looking for there. I haven't used an Apple device since my iPod (iTunes on Windows PTSD is real, and I don't even want to think about Linux support), and I am more than a bit hesitant to tie myself into their ecosystem, but it's hard to deny their superiority from a privacy standpoint.
I had also considered a Librem 5 at one point, and would be willing to spend a bit more for something so privacy oriented. But the 6-month order window, and other things I read about Purisms' roll-out have left me a bit wary there.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
12 votes -
iPhone SE: A powerful new smartphone in a popular design
26 votes -
Google has made significant progress toward developing its own processor to power future versions of its Pixel phones and Chromebooks
11 votes -
Halide 1.16: Better RAW, three ways
3 votes -
Phone recommendations: Pixel 2? 3a? Something else?
My OG Pixel died last night and while I'm waiting for tech support to get back with me on how I can still use MFA to do my job, I figured I would ask you all how I should proceed with getting a...
My OG Pixel died last night and while I'm waiting for tech support to get back with me on how I can still use MFA to do my job, I figured I would ask you all how I should proceed with getting a new device. My first impulse is to get a Referb Pixel 2 on Amazon for $99, as I liked my original Pixel, I like having the latest Android version and I like only paying $99 for an older flagship phone. Additionally, I was considering a Pixel 3a as it would presumably last a bit longer and has had good reviews but is three times as much and hasn't devalued nearly as much when used, which is good and bad.
I'm open to anything that's relatively stock Android and still updated, and am curious about iOS, Kaios or other options. Landlines are a hard pass.
13 votes -
Envelope - Transform your phone into a simpler, calmer device
8 votes -
Cellphone review: Umidigi F2
I was recently in the market for a cheap used phone. I was looking for an Android device, preferably less than 3 years old, preferably with an unlockable bootloader and rootable, for $200 or less....
I was recently in the market for a cheap used phone. I was looking for an Android device, preferably less than 3 years old, preferably with an unlockable bootloader and rootable, for $200 or less. I was looking at used Pixel 2's when I came across this weird Chinese manufacturer I'd never heard of.
The Umidigi F2 is a bizarre device. I was blown away by the specs, and the seller was only asking $200CAD for it, so I took a chance. I've got to say, so far I'm pretty impressed.
Quick Specs:
- 6.5" IPS LCD, 2340x1080px, bezelless, w/ hole-punch camera, no notch
- 6GB Dual-channel LPDDR4 RAM, 128GB Storage
- Mediatek P70 - ARM Cortex A73/A53 Octo-core 2.0/2.1GHz CPU
- 5 cameras, 32MP front-facing, 48MP rear, 13MP wide-angle, 5MP depth, 5MP macro
- Dual SIM, MicroSD
- 5150mAh battery
- ~40 frequency bands
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Stock Android 10
At this price I was initially skeptical. There must be something wrong with it, some glaring flaw I wasn't seeing, and/or those specs must be fake. I'm happy to say though, they're real, and the device seems much more solid than I expected.
I've had the thing a little over a week so far, and have only charged it once. On the first charge it lasted 4 days before I charged it, and still had 30% battery remaining after I'd spent a couple hours surfing the web and two hours watching youtube (total screen-on time was ~4.5hrs). After charging it I haven't been using it as much, but it's currently been running 3 days and it has 70% battery remaining. I've used it to listen to the radio for 3 hours this morning. Oh yeah, did I mention? Bizarrely, it has a FM radio tuner for some reason.
So far everything has been smooth, the device performs really well, which is not something I expected from a Mediatek CPU. Rooting it went smoothly, and I've been able to tweak a bunch of settings via the EdXposed framework, as much as you can in Android 10 anyway. I did remove some background bloat, but otherwise the default ROM is very close to vanilla AOSP.
The build quality of the thing is honestly not bad. I've used mid-range Samsung devices that have felt cheaper and more plastic-y than this. I have read some reports of bad touchscreens, but so far I haven't had any problems. There's also a DIY solution to solve that. Unfortunately, if it dies, this is pretty much my only option, since the warranty and support is pretty much nonexistent. At a quarter the price of a brand-name phone with similar specs though, I'm willing to roll those dice.
So, other than warranty, what are the downsides? Well, so far the biggest gripe I have is there is no notification LED on it. So if I go to the washroom and come back I can't just tell at a glance if I've missed a call or text, I actually need to unlock it. Luckily the fingerprint reader and face unlock are both pretty reliable. There is no wireless charging, which I'm more or less okay with. The main reason I'd want that is if the USB port died, but again, this is the sort of phone that if anything is wrong with it you're pretty much meant to throw it out. The speaker is a bit tinny, and unfortunately it's mono. The cameras are bad. The 48MP camera does take 8000x6000 pictures, but they're grainy to the point where even if you resize them down they still look worse than something taken with a good 6MP camera. This seems to be a software problem though. The camera module is apparently made by Samsung, and people have said it's gotten better with every OTA update. As for that, there's been an update this month, but a lot of people are expecting it might be the last update they put out. Umidigi apparently has a bad track record of only providing updates for a few months.
In conclusion, this is objectively a decent phone, and for it's price, it's exceptional. You sacrifice warranty, updates, any kind of support really, but you get some very decent hardware for $200.
Official site: https://www.umidigi.com/page-umidigi_f2_specification.html
Purchasable on amazon for fast shipping, purchase on aliexpress to save $50.9 votes