Weekly poll: Are the new Pixel 3a and 3a XL any good?

People have been getting increasingly tired by the rising prices of flagships and the new Pixel 3a phones may be just what the doctor ordered. Despite a similar price point, these are not a continuation of the Nexus line in one very important way. What Nexus phone was known for having a good camera? They may have had the premium chipsets, but the imaging department was never flagship level (to be fair, prices weren't on that level either). The Pixel 3a has the same sensor and camera software as the acclaimed Pixel 3 phones. They lack the Pixel Visual Core, so that software has to run on...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/weekly_poll_are_the_new_pixel_3a_and_3a_xl_any_good-news-36954.php

Weekly poll results: Dark themes really are all the rage

Dark themes are awesome, last week's poll has concluded. Some like them for their power efficiency, some for the aesthetics, there's a lot of overlap between these two camps too. There's a growing number of OLED-based phones, especially at the higher end of the market. Android Q is set to add native support for OS-wide dark theme - which was the default back in the Holo days. That is a welcome change from the bright white backgrounds of Material design. iOS 13 is rumored to add dark theme support too. On phones with LCD screens you lose the perk of saving power, but there are still...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/weekly_poll_results_dark_themes_really_are_all_the_rage-news-36985.php

Counterclockwise: weird phone accessories

The Ericsson T68 is famous for having a camera add-on - one of the earliest examples of a mobile phone that can shoot photos. But modern smartphones have so many features that there are no gaps in their capabilities. Still, add-on companies have to sell something and the results are... well, we'll let you be the judge. Do you yearn for the ergonomics of old-school handsets? Just plug in one of these and you'll be transported to the good old days of using payphones or waiting until you got back home to make a call. There are Bluetooth versions too, for those of you who want to look retro...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/counterclockwise_weird_phone_accessories-news-36991.php

Netflix is experimenting with top 10 most-viewed lists in the UK

Netflix has never really been big on sharing viewership data of any kind with its users. In fact, even creators contributing to the platform have been known to complain on the matter. Worse still, even the five star rating system of old, with its limited grading potential hasn't been around since roughly the premier of a certain Netflix comedy special. But, we won't get into any of that. The important new development is that Netflix might actually be taking steps towards exposing statistics back to the user space. Namely, experimental top 10 most viewed lists, currently running in sort of...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/netflix_is_experimenting_with_top_10_mostviewed_lists_in_the_uk-news-37006.php

Google finally talks about Fuchsia OS - not as ambitious as we though

Remember Fuchsia OS? Granted, there's not really that much to remember, since Google has mostly been keeping the project under wraps. Well, senior vice president of Android and Chrome Hiroshi Lockheimer finally broke the silence at the last Google I/O. We're looking at what a new take on an operating system could be like. And so I know out there people are getting pretty excited saying, ‘Oh this is the new Android,' or, ‘This is the new Chrome OS . Fuchsia is really not about that. Fuchsia is about just pushing the state of the art in terms of operating systems and things that we learn...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/google_finally_talks_about_fuchsia_os__not_as_ambitious_as_we_though-news-37005.php

Xiaomi Redmi Snapdragon 855 flagship will launch with Android Q beta support

As expected, Google made quite an extensive showcase for Android 10 Q at its last I/O developer conference. Naturally, topping it all off with announcements for beta availability to get the OS into developer and enthusiast hands as fast as possible. As many instantly noticed, the beta roll-out in question covered a whopping 21 devices from 13 different brands - a far cry from the old days on Pixel and Nexus multiple month-long exclusivity period. Both the Xiaomi Mi 9 and Mi Mix 3 5G are in this first wave of Q Beta eligible devices. And, if Redmi GM Lu Weibing is to be believed (he...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_snapdragon_855_flagship_will_launch_with_android_q_beta_support-news-37004.php