Google is no stranger to having redundant products. The company has had its Assistant Reminders along with its Tasks for the longest time, and they both serve a similar purpose. Well, the company is finally making the transition from Google Reminders to Tasks.
This is something that the tech community has been complaining about for a while. Google Tasks is a useful To-Do app that syncs with the Google Calendar. Google Assistant Reminders also sync with your Calendar, and you can set them by using your voice.
It’s a bit weird and cumbersome having both services, especially if you use both of them. Also, you can’t set Tasks using Google Assistant. So, if you’re an avid Google Tasks user, you can’t simply ask the Assistant to set them for you.
That’s also annoying because Google Tasks has a much better interface for quickly making and managing items. Getting to your Reminders requires you going through the Google App and accessing the main menu.
However, Google did take a step in the right direction. It allows people to import their Reminders as Tasks. This helped a lot of people who didn’t feel like having two collections of items to keep track of.
Google is ditching Reminders for Tasks
Back in September 2022, Google announced that it would consolidate these two services, and it looks like that day is finally coming. The company started the transition from Reminders to Tasks. It’s rolling out now, so there’s a chance that you won’t see the update just yet.
Artem Russakovskii posted a tweet telling us all about this transition. After you get the update, you’ll see a popup telling you that you’ll be able to see your Reminders in Tasks. You’ll then see two buttons. One will show you how Tasks works, in case you haven’t used it before, and the other one will start the move.
This will transfer all of your Reminders over to Tasks. When it makes the transfer, all of your completed Reminders will be completed Tasks.
After the move, the Reminders function will disappear from Google Assistant. From then on, when you want it to remind you about something, it will automatically set a Task.
Samsung has reportedly hired a veteran semiconductor engineer who worked for its foundry arch-rival TSMC for almost two decades. Lin Jun-cheng will serve the Korean firm as the senior vice president of the advanced semiconductor packaging team. He will oversee the development of cutting-edge packaging technology.
According to the Korean media, Lin is an expert in semiconductor packaging. He has an experience of more than 20 years in this field. He worked for TSMC from 1999 to 2017 and is credited to have played a pivotal role in laying the groundwork for 3D packaging technology, something the Taiwanese firm currently excels at. Lin and orchestrated the company’s applications for more than 450 patents in the US.
Before joining TSMC in 1999, Lin worked for Micron Technology, a Utah-based semiconductor firm that specializes in memory chips. And after leaving the Taiwanese company in 2017, he joined Taiwanese semiconductor equipment maker Skytech as the new CEO. He accumulated further experience in the field of packaging equipment there. The veteran engineer is now bringing this treasure of knowledge and experience to Samsung, which has been exploring ways to get its semiconductor business on track lately.
Samsung hires a veteran semiconductor engineer
Samsung’s semiconductor efforts haven’t been bearing the desired fruits lately. Over the past few months, the company has lost several major clients to TSMC in the foundry sector. Qualcomm, Tesla, and many others have switched to the Taiwanese firm for the manufacturing of their future chipsets. Even its mobile division has ditched its flagship Exynos processors in favor of TSMC-made Snapdragon chipsets.
The Korean behemoth is now trying to resurrect its degrading reputation by making strategic investments across the semiconductor business. It has erected a new factory in Texas, US to expand its production capacity. Samsung also switched from the FinFET chip fabrication process to the GAAFET process for its 3nm chips. Packaging technology is critical to the overall performance of semiconductors. The company is giving thoughtful importance to this part of the business as well.
Last year, Samsung formed a new task force for the development of advanced packaging solutions under the watchful eyes of co-CEO Kyung Kye-hyun. Now known as the Advanced Packaging Business Team, this team is currently led by vice president Kang Moon-soo. Lin Jun-cheng has now joined in as another experienced leader. Samsung also recently hired Kim Woo-pyung from Apple to lead its US Packaging Solution Center and a senior developer from AMD to oversee the development of custom CPUs.
A new Pixel 7 camera bug has been discovered, which will make the phone fail to save some of your photos. This goes for both the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, by the way.
The Pixel 7 has problems saving some photos due to a camera bug
Both phones seem to be refusing to save close-up zoom shots, at least for some users. A Reddit user that goes by the name ‘MintySkyhawk’ shared a video showing the issue. He took a photo of the internals of his PC using the 5x periscope lens with the flash turned on. The phone took the picture, but it didn’t save it.
Another Redditor did a similar test. He took a close-up image of his jeans, using 5x zoom and flash, and he got the same results. The phone refused to save the photo. It seems to be a common occurrence.
Android Police says that it seems to be happening on the latest Android 13 QPR2 build, and the Android 14 DP2 build. All phones seem to be running the Google Camera version 8.7.250.494820638.44.
There is a problem with the Google Camera app
Now, it seems to be a Google Camera issue, more than anything else. It also seems to be happening only when you are taking a close-up photo in low light conditions with the zoom level between 2-5x.
Some Redditors decided to dig deeper, and pulled a logcat while using the Google Camera app. As expected, it seems to be a glitch within the app. The problem occurs due to HDR bugging out.
The latest Pixel Feature Drop probably didn’t fix the issue, even though some camera improvements were issued. We’ll have to wait and see. This is a very odd bug, though, and Pixel phones have, unfortunately, became quite familiar with such bugs. A recent bug with YouTube video crashing and rebooting devices was also a head-scratcher.
Over the past few months, rumors of the soon-to-launch Nothing Ear (2) have been making the rounds. Finally, the expected launch of this pair of wireless earbuds has been verified. What seem to be promotional images of this product have finally made their way to the internet.
These images show off the design of this pair of earbuds from the casing to the earbuds themselves. They also show the earbuds and give an idea of how they would fit a user. But there are some factors to take to mind with the rendering design of the coming Nothing Ear (2) earbuds.
Nothing’s product designs are unique and stand out from the crowd. The available renders and promotional images prove true to this fact. Still, there are some traits from the current Ear (1) that the coming earbuds might launch with.
The Nothing Ear (2) borrow a thing or two from the design of their predecessors
The design of the coming Nothing Ear (2) is quite similar to that of their predecessors. There are little changes in terms of how the earbuds look as shown from the available images. Even the design of the earbud’s case is similar to that of the Nothing Ear (1).
Nothing will stick to its see-through design on the Nothing Ear (2) as it does with its products. This will help attract more customers within the tech-savvy community to try out this product. But if there are little or no changes in the earbud’s design, then how does Nothing intend to attract buyers?
Well, they will do this by focusing more on the specifications of this coming product. When it comes to their specifications, there will be some significant improvements in comparison with their predecessors. According to the available information, the coming earbuds from Nothing will be 0.2g lighter than their predecessors.
The Nothing Ear (1) weighed 4.7g, so their successors will weigh 4.5g, making them a bit more comfortable to use. In terms of battery capacity, there is no change in the 6-hour battery life from the Nothing Ear (1).
But, the Nothing Ear (2) case will have a 36-hour battery life on a single charge. This is in comparison with the 34-hour battery life of the existing earbuds from Nothing.
Features like Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) will be available with the Ear (2). There would also be a few other audio enhancement features to help improve the overall user experience. Sources claim that the Nothing Ear (2) will retail at the same price as the current model, being $149.
The battery life of Samsung‘s Galaxy S23 Ultra has been insanely good from day one. During our review of the phone, we could get almost ten hours of screen-on time on a single charge. Over the past one and a half month, it has only got better in battery management. And that has been validated by DXOMARK. The publication recently put the Galaxy S23 Ultra through its rigorous battery test suite and the device came out with flying colors. The new Samsung flagship offered the best battery performance of any premium Android smartphone or iPhone ever.
Galaxy S23 Ultra’s battery performance is undefeated in the premium segment
During their testing, DXOMARK found that the 5,000mAh battery inside the Galaxy S23 Ultra could keep the phone running for up to two days and 19 hours on a single charge on moderate usage. The phone lost less than two percent of battery charger per night on average. It charged from 0 to 100 percent in one hour and 21 minutes (two hours and 18 minutes on wireless charging), while a 0 to 80 percent charge took 37 minutes. Just five minutes of charging was enough to keep the phone on for more than five hours.
The only notable problem that DXOMARK found on the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the battery level collapsing as soon as it reaches five percent. This is something users need to be wary of. The publication also noted that the phone’s battery consumption when using the camera or listening to music is slightly on the higher side than average. High residual consumption of the wireless stand is another con, but that’s nothing major.
Overall, the Galaxy S23 Ultra achieved a score of 142 in DXOMARK’s battery test. It leapfrogged the Asus ROG Phone 6 (140) to sit atop the chart for premium models. The latter is a dedicated gaming smartphone with a massive 6000mAh battery. Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro Max is in the third spot with a score of 136. The 2021 maxed-out iPhone model has a 4352mAh battery. Its successor iPhone 14 Pro Max also packs an identical 4323mAh battery but could only achieve a score of 133 to sit in the fourth spot. The iPhone 14 Plus makes up the top five.
The latest Samsung flagship leaves the 2022 model in the dust
What makes the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s battery life more special is the improvement over its predecessor. DXOMARK placed the Galaxy S22 Ultra in the 17th spot in its chart with a score of just 103. Samsung switching to TSMC-made Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor for the latest flagship made the difference this year. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 powering the 2022 models in the US (used in the DXOMARK test) was manufactured by the Korean brand. Qualcomm switched to TSMC for the new chips because of power-efficiency issues with Samsung’s fabrication process.
In the all-time global list, which also includes budget and mid-range models, the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s score of 142 puts it in the sixth spot. Honor’s Magic 5 Lite 5G tops the chart with a score of 152. You can find DXOMARK’s detailed battery test report for the latest Samsung flagship here.
While Bally Sports’ parent-company, Diamond Sports Group, is expected to file for bankruptcy this week, we’re already learning that they have given up their rights to four teams. Those teams include the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians and San Diego Padres.
The reason why Diamond Sports Group is giving up these contracts for these four teams, is that they would be paying more to the teams then they would make on advertising and cable contracts. Making it not worth it to keep them.
A few weeks ago, it was reported the DSG had already decided not to pay an interest payment of $140 million. Which forced them into the 30-day grace period before they would need to file for bankruptcy. That grace period ends this week, so we should know soon what they plan to do.
Where can I watch these games now?
The MLB has said that it will offer the streams for these games for free on MLB.TV this season. Which makes MLB.TV a bit more interesting now.
Typically, MLB.TV is a streaming service to watch out-of-market games. But since the Diamondbacks, Reds, Guardians and Padres won’t be broadcast in-market, MLB.TV will be the only option and will be broadcasting in market. This is seen as a temporary solution for these teams. As the MLB does need to renegotiate its contracts for in-market games with different providers across the league.
But the good news is, these games will be broadcast for free, within MLB.TV.
For now, Diamond Sports Group and Bally Sports holds the rights to 10 MLB teams, as well as 16 NBA teams and 12 NHL teams. The MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred did say that if DSG missed the rights payment window for even one of their teams, they would terminate all rights contracts. So it’s possible that Bally Sports could lose the remaining 10 MLB teams.
It’s nowhere near the end of the road for DSG either. As they also have carriage contracts expiring with Comcast and DIRECTV this fall. They will likely want to pay DSG less to carry Bally Sports, or even the same amount they are currently paying. Of course, Bally Sports will want more money, as regional sports is quite pricey.
Russia-linked ransomware group ALPHV has leaked the data it stole from Lehigh Valley Health Network, including clinical photos of women undergoing breast cancer treatment.
The Russia-linked ALPHV ransomware group, also known as BlackCat, has posted sensitive clinical photos of breast cancer patients—calling them “nude photos”—to extort money from the Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN).
The leak page for data stolen from the Lehigh Valley Health Network. Apart from the clinical photos, ALPHV also leaked sensitive, personally identifiable information on passports and questionnaires.
“This unconscionable criminal act takes advantage of patients receiving cancer treatment, and LVHN condemns this despicable behavior,” LVHN spokesman Brian Downs said, Lehigh Valley Newsreported.
LVHN had previously said it fell victim to a BlackCat ransomware attack on February 20. The Network initially detected an intrusion within its IT systems on February 6 and said that initial analysis showed the attack was on a network supporting one physician practice located in Lackawanna County.
The ransom amount has never been made public, but we know that the Network decided not to pay ALPHV anyway. Lehigh’s website has remained offline since the attack.
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The cost of smartphones has skyrocketed in recent years. This, coupled with longer post-purchase support from smartphone makers, means people are now holding on to their aging smartphones longer than before. They aren’t upgrading to a new handset as often as they did in the past. This has also given rise to the used smartphone market. You can now easily sell your old smartphones and make some cash to buy a new one. Or if you don’t mind a bit of wear and tear, then you can buy a used smartphone and save some money.
Of course, you need to be very careful when buying a used smartphone. You’d want to check for physical damages, sales history, accessories, and several other things. Also, there are multiple ways of buying or selling a used smartphone. Some platforms let you put up an ad and sell your used phone directly to a buyer. Similarly, you can also buy a phone directly from the owner. There is no intermediary.
If you don’t want to negotiate with the buyer/seller, then some marketplaces buy used phones, refurbish them, and put them up for sale at a fixed price. So if you’re looking to buy/sell a used smartphone, we have compiled a list of the best Android apps to will help you with that. Go through the article below for detailed information on each app. You will find a brief description, Google Play rating and size, cost of in-app purchases, and screenshots or promo videos, as well as a Google Play Store download link for each app below.
Best Android Apps to Buy/Sell Used Smartphones 2023
Below is a quick overview of the best Android apps for buying or selling a used smartphone in 2023, including any download and in-app purchase costs.
Download Cost
In-app cost (per item)
Decluttr
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Swappa
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Craigslist
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Amazon Shopping
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Best Buy
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eBay
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Cashify
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Facebook
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$0.20 – $999.99
EcoATM
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Best Android Apps to Buy/Sell Used Smartphones 2023 Downloads
Below is a little more information on each app, including a direct link for easy downloading.
All download links go to the app’s Google Play Store listing. Users are always recommended to download apps from Google Play or an authorized app store.
Decluttr
Price: Free to download
In-app purchases: No
Size: 14MB
Google Play rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Trusted by millions of people around the globe, Decluttr is one of the most popular apps when it comes to selling your old smartphones. Not just smartphones, you can sell or buy a variety of items on this app. These include CDs, DVDs, books, games and game consoles, legos, and, of course, smartphones.
Selling an item on Decluttr is pretty straightforward. Just provide the details or scan the barcode on an item with your device’s camera and enter a few details to get an instant offer price. Once you submit your order, Decluttr will send you a free shipping label. Stick it to your box and drop your items off at a nearby UPS location. Decluttr will pay you the very next day they receive the items.
The payment is made in cash, either through PayPal or direct bank deposit. That’s another advantage of selling on Decluttr as many platforms pay you in merchandise vouchers for their own site or some third-party retailers.
Swappa’s “No Junk, No Jerks” policy is what makes it a crowd favorite. It is a human-powered marketplace that offers excellent customer support and has clear quality guidelines in place. Whether you want to sell your old smartphone, tablet, laptop, or game console, you can always list your items for free.
Although Swappa does not physically verify the condition of a listed item, it does review the listings. All reviews are made by real persons to ensure that the IMEI of a phone is valid and can be activated, or the listed item has not been reported as stolen.
Listings on Swappa also include good-quality photos that clearly show any damage. Additionally, this app also lists the sale history of phones of the same type so you know what’s a fair price for any given item in the current market.
Swappa charges a convenience fee, which is usually less than $20, from the buyer. This encourages people to list their products on Swappa, thus adding to its inventory. Also, since payment is made via PayPal, buyers always have an easy way to get their money back if they are not satisfied with the condition of an item and should they opt to return it.
Craigslist is a person-to-person selling platform. You list an item, someone interested in the item contacts you and you two mutually agree on a price. That’s about it. Craigslist has been around for almost three decades now and has wide availability all around the world. That makes it one of the most popular platforms to buy or sell used items. You can sell your old smartphone, furniture, car, clothes, and many other items.
Since you’ll be directly dealing with the buyer, you are likely to get the best prices for your items. However, this very thing can sometimes backfire as well. Having to connect with an unknown person in real life can be dangerous at times. Always choose public places and be cautious when meeting strangers. If you’re buying a used smartphone on Craigslist, ensure that its IMEI hasn’t been blocked for theft.
Amazon needs no introduction. This global e-commerce giant is a platform where you can buy pretty much everything from smartphones to clothes, furniture, and more. While people mostly buy brand-new items from Amazon, you can also find used, refurbished smartphones here.
The global availability of Amazon makes it one of the best platforms to buy used smartphones. Additionally, you’d find phones in every price range here. Whether you’re looking to buy an entry-level smartphone or a flagship, Amazon offers them all – both in new and used conditions.
Refurbished phones are the safest bet when buying a used phone. These phones have gone through various functionality checks and cleanups to verify their condition. And there are not many better platforms to buy refurbished smartphones than Best Buy, another e-commerce biggie.
Best Buy’s huge inventory means you would find the exact smartphone you are looking for. Although you would be paying much more than buying directly from the owner through apps like Craiglist, you often get limited warranties and money-back guarantees with refurbished phones.
eBay is also a household name in the e-commerce space. And it is another reliable platform for buying used smartphones at great prices. It offers lots of selections with verifiable sellers and uses PayPal for payments. So you can rest assured that your money is safe. If there happens to be an issue with the device, you can always apply to get your money back. eBay will cancel the PayPal transaction and refund you.
eBay also boasts a robust filtering system. You can filter for price, color, size, and even carrier. Additionally, eBay charges sellers for their listings, so the price you see on the app is the price you pay for it. You may have to pay shipping charges depending on your location, though.
India is the second-largest smartphone market in the world. It is also among the fastest-growing markets. No wonder India has a huge space for used smartphones as well. So if you live in India and are looking to sell your old smartphone at the best price without worrying about safety, Cashify is the app for you.
You have to simply enter your device’s details and confirm its condition. Cashify will run your device through an automatic diagnosis process and instantly make an offer for the phone. If you like the quoted price, you can select a date and time for pickup. The pickup agent will make the payment for your phone at the time of pickup. Payment is made through Internet Banking, Paytm Wallet Transfer, Amazon Voucher, or other modes.
You can also recycle your old, unusable smartphones through this app. Cashify has its services in more than 1,500 Indian cities and also lets you sell other electronic gadgets such as laptops, desktops, tablets, gaming consoles, earbuds, DSLR cameras, and TVs.
Another app in the list that needs no introduction. Facebook is one of the most widely used social networking apps. Among all the things, you can also sell used (or new) items on this app. Facebook calls it Marketplace and it works decently well for selling used smartphones as well.
Simply list your phone on the marketplace and interested people from nearby places will contact you. You can then negotiate the prices and arrange payment and shipping for the device. The Facebook Marketplace is ideal for buying or selling used smartphones or other items locally.
EcoATM offers a convenient way of making some money out of your old smartphone. Simply enter the details of your device to get a price estimate. If you’re okay with it, you can then erase all the personal information from the device and drop it at one of the over 4,500 kiosks nationwide. No need to bother with the shipping process. Someone from EcoATM will then analyze the device before providing you with a final price.
Since EcoATM is all about sustainability and going green, your device may be accepted even if it’s severely damaged or unusable. It will be recycled. So you’re leaving a positive impact on the planet while making some money.
When it comes to software development, GitHub is the main venue for developers and those who want to dig into programming. The platform currently has over 100 million users. And given the importance of existing files and documents, it needs to ensure everything is safe.
The platform has now emailed administrators and developers to notify them that setting up a 2FA will become mandatory soon. The rest of the users are obligated to follow the order by the end of this year.
According to the company’s blog post, GitHub 2FA has started from March 13, and developers are required to enable one form of 2FA for their accounts. The platform further explains its goal is to “minimize unexpected interruptions and productivity loss for users and prevent account lockouts.”
2FA becomes mandatory for GitHub users by the end of 2023
Activating 2FA for GitHub accounts happens over time for different user groups. The platform selects target groups based on their actions and the code they’re currently working on. Each group has a deadline to adhere to the order and receives a notice approximately 45 days before the deadline.
If users miss the deadline, they’re asked to enable 2FA the first time they visit GitHub daily. After a week of neglect, their access to the platform will be cut off until they activate the 2FA for the account. GitHub also asks you to perform a 2FA checkup after 28 days to ensure everything is on the right track.
Additionally, GitHub allows you to choose between SMS, time-based one-time password (TOTP), and security keys as your preferred 2FA method. However, the platform’s recommended methods are security keys and TOTPs. SMS is less safe and no longer recommended under NIST 800-63B.
The leading software development platform has also prepared a guideline on how to configure 2FA or how to recover your account if you ever lost 2FA credentials.
The leak page for data stolen from the Lehigh Valley Health Network. Apart from the clinical photos, ALPHV also leaked sensitive, personally identifiable information on passports and questionnaires.
