OSOM OV1 is a throwback to the Essential PH-1 OSOM’s first product is a throwback to the Essential PH-1 and hence the name OSOM OV1 (vault 1). Though not a sequel, the new device is designed to “evoke a feeling of continuity,” Keats has revealed. But the similarities may not end with the name. The OSOM OV1’s design efforts are being looked after by the same person who led the design team at Essential....

Material You is the name for the design language Google has used on the latest iteration of its Android OS. According to a 9to5Google report, Chrome for Android now features slightly larger tab switcher cards with rounded corners. But more importantly, they support dynamic coloring. On devices running Android 11 or older, Chrome for Android highlights the most recent tab on the tab switcher menu with a blue accent all around....

Here’s why this update to the Chrome Incognito Mode landing page really matters Prior to this change, Google Chrome was much less clear. Summarily, it contained a brief explanation of what Incognito Mode is and it split more specific notes into two categories. But those were much less clearly labeled. Now, the new tab page and landing page for the mode tells users exactly what is cleared after all Incognito Mode tabs are closed....

Battery life is a trade-off for performance with the upcoming chips In terms of speculated impacts on the upcoming chips’ battery life, whether Snapdragon or otherwise, this isn’t a new trend. ARM Cortex-X1 performed better than Cortex-X2 on that front. And that was offset, in part, by improvements to performance. That will reportedly hold true for the ARM Cortex-X3 found in the above-mentioned chips too. With battery performance drops of up to 10-percent when cores, in the Snapdragon 8 or otherwise, are clocked at 3....

dynamicSpot is an Android app which fixes one of Dynamic Island’s biggest annoyances This app actually fixes one of Dynamic Island’s biggest annoyances. As some of you already know, on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, you have to long press the Dynamic Island notification in order to access its widget form, and if you tap it an app will open. Many people think it should be the other way around, me included....

Puck says it isn’t sure which companies wanted a merger with EA and which were interested in a buyout. A merger though would have come with some guidelines. EA reportedly wants a merger only if its current CEO, Andrew Wilson, stays Chief Executive of the company afterwards. Comcast approached EA about a merger Puck says EA isn’t giving up on its efforts though. Noting that it continues to seek a partner or an owner....

Starting off these new features is cross-platform messaging is group chatting Facebook announced this feature a while back, and we’re now finally getting it. With it, users can start a group chat on either platform and add contacts from both Facebook and Instagram. Users can all chat as though it was on the same app, and they can also start polls in the group. Additionally, there are also typing indicators so that you know if someone is actively replying....

Messenger has offered optional E2EE for some time now. It initially only covered one-to-one conversations but expanded the features to group chats earlier this year. However, the company has taken quite a long to make encryption a default behavior. In April last year, Facebook said it plans to make E2EE default in 2022. But it delayed the plans to 2023 in November, shortly after renaming the company to Meta. Most of the popular messaging apps offer E2EE by default, including Meta’s WhatsApp....

Facebook said that the moderation teams only receive messages which the users mark as inappropriate. ProPublica claimed that more than 1,000 contract workers from Austin, Texas; Dublin, Ireland; and Singapore go through “millions of pieces of users’ content.” The report adds that the workers access Facebook software to scour through all content. This includes photos, videos, and messages that are deemed inappropriate by a user. This is when Facebook’s artificial intelligence systems screen the messages in question....

Facebook, known as Meta now, previously stated that advertisers couldn’t target people under 18 based on their activities or interests. The changes came after the company criticized by child rights groups for using children and teenagers as ads targets. But now Meta is on fire again for ‘misleading public’ about its advertising restrictions. As per the CNET report, 46 advocacy groups, including Reset Australia, Amnesty International USA, and FairPlay, sent a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg to express their concern....

This effectively means that the Feb 2022 SMR will reach all compatible Pixel devices on the same day. Pixel 6 owners would be aware that Google has been late with the release of the December 2021 and January 2022 security updates for the Pixel 6. That could finally change with next month’s SMR as per Fido (via 9to5Google). Google usually rolls out the monthly security updates on the first Monday of every month....

The CNIL alleges that Google and Facebook restricted users in France from rejecting cookie tracking technology. Allowing users to opt-out of cookie tracking is written into EU’s privacy rules, so this is a pretty steep violation. “In addition to the fines, the restricted committee ordered the companies to provide Internet users located in France with a means of refusing cookies as simple as the existing means of accepting them, in order to guarantee their freedom of consent, within three months,” the CNIL said in a release (via Engadget)....

However, taking a brief look at their portfolio, you would understand that the company develops and produces a wide variety of consumer and industry electronics. Samsung introduced the Galaxy Home Mini smart speaker, but it never left its home country of South Korea. There is no chance that it will ever debut in other regions. In line with this, according to the latest report by SamMobile, sources reveal that Samsung is working on the second generation of Galaxy Home Mini smart speaker, named Galaxy Home Mini 2....

The latest update for the carrier-locked Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10, and Galaxy S10+ in the US come with firmware version G97USQU7IVH3. That, for the carrier-locked Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, is N98USQU3FVI5. Neither series is getting anything apart from last month’s vulnerability fixes. Well, Samsung’s changelog mentions system stability improvements. However, that will not substantially change anything as far as your user experience is concerned. As for the security fixes, the September SMP contains more than 50 of them....

The stable One UI 4.0 update for the Galaxy S10 trio comes with the firmware version G97xFXXUEGULB. The build number may vary by region but you can look forward to something similar. The new update also brings the December 2021 Android security patch. This month’s SMR (security maintenance release) introduces fixes for dozens of vulnerabilities found on Android OS as well as Samsung’s One UI. In terms of new features, there are tons of them too....

Samsung began the Android 13 rollout for the Exynos 990-powered Galaxy S20 FE LTE in Europe a couple of weeks ago. The company has released the update for the device pretty much everywhere since then. The Snapdragon version of the LTE model is now making the jump as well. The update is also live for the Galaxy S20 FE 5G. The new firmware versions for these two models are G780GXXU3DVK5 and G781BXXU4GVK6, respectively....

The Android 13-based One UI 5.0 update for the carrier-locked Galaxy S20 FE 5G in the US comes with firmware version G781USQU9GVK8. As of this writing, units on US Cellular networks are only picking up the new release (via). But it should just be a matter of time before Samsung expands the rollout to the remaining wireless carriers and also covers the unlocked models. This update brings a host of new features, changes, and improvements to the Galaxy S20 FE 5G....

A moderator on Samsung’s official community forums in South Korea has revealed that the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy Note 20, and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra will receive the One UI 4.1 update in February 2022. That’s when we are expecting the Galaxy S22 series to break cover. So by the looks of it, the company will release the new One UI version to its older flagships soon after their launch, at least in South Korea....

The Galaxy S21 FE launch date has seemingly been revealed The tipster says this information comes from a rather reliable source. Its source acquired the information from a Samsung representative, allegedly. He did note he’s not the first to share that date, but he can back that information up now, as his source is rather reliable. Samsung was planning to announce this smartphone during its recent Unpacked event. It was supposed to launch alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Z Flip 3, Watch 4 series, and Buds 2....

There’s plenty to look forward to in the latest software package for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra. Firstly, Samsung is letting you capture hyperlapse videos using your phone’s 3X telephoto zoom camera. This feature was debuted with One UI 5.0 beta and is already available on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. If you frequently use your phone’s built-in QR code scanner, you’ll find it easier to use following this update....