Google has come a long way in making tab groups on the mobile version of Chrome not so annoying. When this feature first came out, it was met with a very lukewarm response. However, according to a new report, Chrome for Android will let you customize your tab groups.
Google introduced tab groups to Chrome quite some time ago. They allow you to join tabs together in neat groups so that they don’t take up so much space. Using the mobile version of Chrome, you will see your tabs grouped into grid-style folders. However, there was no real way to customize the tab groups.
Google Chrome for Android will allow you to customize your tab groups
Right now, this feature is still in testing. So, you are going to have to wait for it to reach your phone if you are not a beta tester. As spotted by @Leopeva64 on X, Chrome for Android will show a new dialog box when you create a new tab. When you see the new dialog, you will have some customization options to edit the tab group. These options allow you to rename it and choose a color. One of the main benefits of tab groups on Chrome for desktop is the ability to change the color of the tab. That allows you to better differentiate between groups rather than having to give it a name. This saves space; instead of having a name spelled out, you will have a colored dot.
Google has added a new dialog that appears when creating a tab group in Chrome for Android (Canary), in this dialog you can change the name and color of the group:https://t.co/sPt4vW4PDjpic.twitter.com/sMQKuwcGUd
In the dialog, you will see a text field to enter a name. Also, you will have the option to choose between one of Google’s several pastel colors. When you choose a color, you will see a little colored dot at the top left-hand corner of the tab group. You will then see the name of the group right next to the dot.
This will better allow you to customize groups on Android. It might actually convince more people to use them. Being able to change up your tab groups makes the feature much more convenient to use. One issue that many users had was not being able to tell which groups were which.
Once a company is big and has a strong foothold in a market, you can bet that regulators are going to be peeking in. A while back, Microsoft was compelled to spin off Teams from Office 365 into its own service in the EU. This was partially due to a complaint from Slack that bundling Teams into such a widely used application platform constitutes anti-competitive practices. Well, Microsoft is spinning off Teams from Office 365 globally.
Microsoft Office 365 is the company’s equivalent to Google Workspace. It is a suite of applications and services that companies and users can use for business. Office 365 includes services such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Outlook, Etc. Rather than paying a lump sum for the service like in the old days, Microsoft 365 costs a monthly fee.
Teams is the company’s primary communications platform. It’s the equivalent of Slack in that you’re able to communicate and collaborate with your colleagues.
Microsoft is spinning off Teams from Office 365
Microsoft Office is and has been an industry standard for businesses around the world. This means that Office 365 is used by a metric ton of people. However, Slack did not take too kindly to this. Since Office is so ubiquitous, it felt that users are basically forced into using the Office communications platform. This, ostensibly, means that it’s much harder for other communication platforms to make it to other users. That is Slack’s complaint.
Right now, since Microsoft is in the midst of an ongoing anti-competition lawsuit in the EU, it seems necessary that the company should spin off Teams into its own service. This seems to be a move to take some of the heat off of the company while the EU is digging into it.
So, people signing up for a new Office 365 plan will not have access to Teams. Rather, they will have to buy a separate subscription service for it. Buying a separate plan for Teams will cost the user $5.25/month. With the diminished selection of services, Office 365 will then cost $7.75/month.
However, if you already have a Microsoft 365 plan, and you’ve been using Teams, you can still access it using your account. This new plan only applies to new signups. However, at this point, we don’t know how long Microsoft will provide Teams for existing customers.
Samsung‘s Galaxy S20 series may not get feature updates anymore but the devices are still picking up security patches regularly. The entire lineup, including the Galaxy S20 FE, received the March 2024 security update last month. Following an international rollout, the update is available widely in the US. The Galaxy Tab Active 3 is also getting the March SMR (Security Maintenance Release) stateside.
The Galaxy S20 series gets Samsung’s March 2024 update in the US
The March 2024 update is available widely for carrier-locked and unlocked variants of the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra in the US. The new firmware build numbers for the phones are G98*USQS8HXC1 (locked) and G98*U1UES8HXC1 (unlocked). The update for the FE model is also rolling out widely. The device is getting the build numbers G781USQSEHXC1 and G781U1UESEGXC1, respectively.
The latest updates for these phones don’t bring anything more than last month’s security fixes from Google and Samsung. The former patched more than 30 vulnerabilities across various Android components, including two critical vulnerabilities. The Korean firm, on the other hand, patched nine security issues exclusive to the Galaxy family. These issues don’t exist on other Android devices.
The March SMR is also available for the Galaxy Tab Active 3 in the US. The rugged mid-range Android tablet from 2020 is picking up the update with the build number T577UUES8EXC1. It is a similar changelog for the device. Samsung is pushing nothing more than the 40-odd vulnerability patches discussed above. This isn’t surprising as the Galaxy Tab Active 3 is also done getting feature updates from Samsung.
Like the Galaxy S20 lineup, it debuted with Android 10. While the 2020 flagship smartphones, including the FE model, received three major Android OS updates (Android 11, Android 12, and Android 13), the rugged tablet only picked up two of those. Samsung promises four major updates for most Galaxy devices launched since 2021. Some newer models get security updates for as many as eight years.
The April update is on the way for eligible Galaxy devices
We may have just stepped into April but Samsung has already started pushing the April update to eligible Galaxy devices. The Galaxy S24 series picked it up last week. The company will soon roll out the latest security patch to other models, including the Galaxy S23 and recent foldables. The Korean firm has yet to detail the content of the patch, though. Like before, the April SMR should fix several dozen vulnerabilities across the Galaxy family.
We all know the feeling – group chats can get crazy. That constant stream of messages can be distracting, especially when you’re juggling multiple projects. Well, it looks like Google Chat is taking on the chaos with a rumored new feature called “Announcements”.
This sounds a lot like what we’ve seen on WhatsApp Channels and those X/Twitter Spaces. If you haven’t tried them, these features let a select few send messages to a big audience, kind of like a one-way megaphone.
What are Google Chat “Announcements”?
Thanks to the efforts of Android code expert @AssembleDebug (via Android Central), we have our first peek at how “Announcements” might work in Google Chat. Sure, we’re still missing some details, but the idea is clear. Looks like Google Chat spaces may soon have two flavors: the classic collaborative kind, and the new broadcast-focused “Announcements” style.
It looks like it will work this way: regular spaces are for brainstorming and teamwork, whereas the “Announcements” option is all about delivering updates without getting lost in a storm of replies.The big question now is who gets to hold that ‘megaphone’ in an Announcement space? Will it be just the creator of the space, or maybe a few designated announcers? To really compete with all the broadcast messaging tools out there, Google Chat will probably need to offer some flexibility on this.
When it comes to this feature, Google’s got some serious contenders to think about. WhatsApp, Discord, Telegram – they’ve all got this broadcast thing down. Then there’s the workplace side: heavyweights like Slack and Microsoft Teams could be in Google’s crosshairs. However, it does make sense for Google to implement this into Google Chat as it would have everything under one roof, especially with their business-focused Workspace tools.
It sounds promising, but we’ll have to wait for the official launch to see if this “Announcements” idea really takes off. Will it be the tool that adds a bit of order to Google Chat messaging? And will it be enough to sway users to use Chat instead of other solutions already available? Only time will tell.
The Google Messages app is Google’s texting application, in its essence. In the past, it was mainly an app to send out SMS and MMS messages, but things have changed a lot over the years. It now serves as a full-fledged instant messaging application, more on that soon. This application/service also had different names in the past, which we’ll talk about in this article as well. You’ll find a bunch of information below, so read on if you’d like to know more about Google’s messaging app.
What are Google Messages?
Google Messages is known both as an app and a service provided by the Mountain View giant. It kicked off as a regular SMS/MMS app, but these days it utilizes the power of RCS in order to be a full-fledged instant messaging app. Using this app, you can not only send SMS/MMS messages but also instant messages via the Internet thanks to RCS. That means you can also send out images, videos, and GIFs to other contacts that are using RCS. They do not necessarily need to use Google Messages, but they need to have access to RCS. Samsung’s default SMS app allows for RCS, use, for example.
This is not the original name Google used
Google initially went with a different name for Google Messages. This app/service launched back in 2014, so basically 10 years ago. It had three different names in the past, Messenger, Android Messages, and Messages by Google. Google decided to ditch the last name in December 2023 and went with a simpler name, Google Messages. Some of you are probably wondering why didn’t we mention ‘Hangouts’. Well, this is not the same service. Hangouts were active before Google Messages and were basically replaced by this app/service, directly.
What platforms are Google Messages available on?
You can use Google Messages on several platforms. The vast majority of people use the app for Android, as it comes pre-installed on a ton of Android smartphones as the default SMS application. Those who do not have it pre-installed can easily download it from the Google Play Store, and you can then set it as your default SMS app. That way you can have both your SMS messages and instant messages (via RCS) in one place. Do note that your phone does need to support Google Services in order to install and use this application. In other words, those of you who are using Huawei smartphones, for example, won’t be able to use it.
In addition to an app available for Android, there’s also support for Wear OS, and you can access your messages via the web too. All you need to do is navigate to messages.google.com/web, and follow the instructions so that you can start using the app. That way you can access your messages via your desktop PC, regardless of what device you’re using.
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What are Google Messages’ competitors/alternatives?
If you’re looking at Google Messages as a whole, there are really no direct alternatives to it. If you’re looking at it as an SMS app only, there are plenty of third-party SMS apps. We have to look at both its SMS/MMS and RCS features as a whole, though, and there’s no replacement for it as of now, basically. As I mentioned earlier, Samsung Messages do support RCS, but they only have basic support for RCS. You can still communicate with users who use Google Messages, but you won’t have many of the features that Google is offering via Google Messages.
Can I use Google Messages to chat with iOS users?
The answer to this question is both yes and no. Yes, it can be both at the same time. On one hand, you can message iOS users in the SMS format. For that, you don’t have to be online. If you’d like to chat via the Internet, send images, videos, and so on, well, then you can’t… not yet. Apple will bring RCS support to iOS later this year. The EU kind of forced Apple’s hand, though it remains to be seen what will the implementation look like exactly. These are good news, though, as it will push RCS forward, and kind of bring a universal way of communication between platforms. RCS will be supported by iMessage, Apple’s default texting app on iOS.
Can I use Google Messages if I’m not connected to the Internet?
Yes, but only partially. If you’re offline, you’ll only be able to use the app’s SMS/MMS functionality. If you’re connected to the Internet, RCS becomes fair game. In other words, if you’re online, you’ll be able to use Google Messages as a proper instant messaging app, with contacts that use an app that supports RCS as well. Think of it as a replacement for WhatsApp, Viber, and so on, in a way. An app that keeps both your SMS/MMS and instant messages in the same list. I repeat, though, if the other side doesn’t use a device/app that supports RCS, you’ll still be sending regular texts only. You need to pay attention to that in the conversation itself, as it’ll tell you if you’re sending an RCS message or a regular message.
What are the first things you should do in Google Messages before you start using it?
The very first thing you should do after you install Google Messages is set it as your default SMS app. This is a step you can ignore if the app already comes pre-installed on your device. If that’s the case, it’s already set as the default SMS app.
The second thing we always do is check whether RCS messaging is activated. Google Messages do come with RCS activated out of the box, now. That was not the case before. Do note that if you disabled RCS in a previous installation, the app will remember that, so you need to check, just in case. Simply tap your profile icon in the top-right corner, go to Messages settings, and then navigate to RCS chats. Once you’re there, the first option will tell you whether RCS is activated or not.
Once you’ve done that, there’s really nothing else you should be doing. There are no extra settings you need to think about or anything of the sort. You can start using the app and messaging your contacts.
Is the Google Messages app free to use?
The Google Messages app/service is free to use, yes. You also won’t find any ads inside the app or anything of the sort. Google also intends to keep it that way, we doubt that will change moving forward, though you never know. You can grab the app for free from the Google Play Store in case it doesn’t come pre-installed on your device. Simply install it, and you’re good to go.
What are the best features of Google Messages?
The Google Messages app is filled with interesting features at this point. Google has been adding new ones since launch, basically, and it’s now a very compelling messaging app. Below, we’ll highlight some of the best features of Google Messages. Generally some of the most popular ones, and some that are our favorites. A mix of the two, if you will.
RCS chats
The first feature that comes to mind is RCS chats. Google has been pushing RCS strongly, trying to create SMS 2.0, basically. That dream has never been closer as Apple aims to provide RCS support in iMessage. You can easily use Google Messages as a general instant messaging app. You can send out images or videos, send out voice messages, or chat with your friends via a video call. All the features that you’re used to and love in other instant messaging apps are now here… well, most of them.
Scheduling messages
Scheduling messages is one feature that iOS users are still crying out for, at least they were at the time of writing this article. It’s a rather important feature for some, and it’s available in Google Messages. Regardless of whether you’d like to schedule an SMS message to go out or an RCS instant message, the Google Messages app has your back. How can you do it? It’s simple, once you write your message, press and hold on the send icon, and you’ll get the ‘Schedule send’ menu. From there you’ll either be able to use one of the predetermined times or schedule your own.
Voice message transcriptions
Voice Message Transcriptions are one of those outstanding features that you don’t think of first when it comes to instant messaging. However, it can come in really handy. Many people out there prefer to send out audio messages, as they’re either too lazy to type, or it’s more convenient to them because of their job, or whatever else. The problem with audio messages is that you’re not always in a position to listen to them. Well, thanks to the Voice Message Transcription feature, Google Messages can transcribe such messages to you… in plain text. That way you can know what they’re about without actually needing the audio side of things.
Reminders
I never thought I’d need reminders inside an instant messaging app, but I stand corrected. I got used to using reminders from Google Messages, even though it’s not exactly a feature you’d think of when it comes to messaging. You can easily remind yourself to do basically anything from the Google Messages app. This is a feature you may start using if you’re using Google Messages a lot. Be warned, though, once you start, it’s really hard to stop.
Video calling
If text and audio messages don’t do the trick, there’s always video calling. Google has one of the best video chat services out there, Google Meet. Well, it decided to integrate everything nicely and offer Google Messages users to video-chat with their loved ones. You can easily open up a contact you’d like to video chat with and tap the video icon at the top. Right next to it there’s also the audio call icon, if that’s what you prefer. The point is, you have plenty of options here.
Chat bubble customizations
If you don’t like the default Google Messages setup, in terms of design, you can change that a bit. Google is offering you a chance to customize each of your conversations. You can change up the background of your conversations, and the same goes for chat bubbles themselves. You can make each of the conversations completely unique so that you know exactly who you’re talking to just by the design. At the time of writing this article, however, this feature was available for select users only, it’s still rolling out.
If you have been looking for a new TV or a soundbar, you may have come across the term “Dolby Atmos”. But what does Dolby Atmos mean and is it necessary for your new TV or soundbar, or even your next smartphone? In this guide, we will explain everything you need to know about Dolby Atmos and how it can enhance your entertainment experience.
What is Dolby Atmos?
Let’s start by defining Dolby Atmos. What is it? According to Dolby, it is “the most significant development in cinema audio since surround sound.”
At the core, Atmos is a surround-sound technology that was initially developer in 2012. It expanded on the pre-existing 5.1 and 7.1 surround-sound set-ups that many already had. This was done be adding a channel come from overhead, enveloping the audience in a dome of sound.
Traditional channel based systems will send audio at discrete levels to each speaker. That’s not how Atmos works, though. It can also produce up to 118 simultaneous sound objects, allowing the sound designed to place each sound and voice to exact points within the soundfield rather than simply assign them to specific channels. Those objects can also be manipulated and moved around within the space creating a convincing 3D soundstage.
At the best Dolby Cinemas, you’ll find up to 400 speakers being used. Of course, at home, you won’t have the room for that many speakers. So instead you can use alternatives like using two or four ceiling speakers in your system. Or you can just buy a purpose-built system. Which is what most people are going to do.
Dolby Cinemas
Dolby does have some cinemas with local partners that use Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. Giving you a premium visual and audio experience. Once you experience a Dolby Cinema, you won’t want to go back to a regular cinema. Trust us.
You can find a theater near you that has a Dolby Cinema by clicking here. You can also see what movies are available in Dolby Cinema.
The only bad thing with a Dolby Cinema is that most theaters have just one theater that is a Dolby Cinema. Meaning that one movie at a time is a Dolby Cinema. However, those cinemas are usually much larger, to fit more people into each showing.
Dolby Atmos at Home
There are a few ways that you can get Dolby Atmos in your home. You could get a surround-sound soundbar and system or you could get a single soundbar that will support Dolby Atmos. You’ll get a much better experience with a multi-speaker setup. As you’re able to put them all around the room.
The best speaker package is the Elac Debut 2.0 5.1 Home Theater system. It’s pretty pricey and can still take up a lot of space in your living room or a man cave. This is a wired Atmos system, so it’ll take some time to get it setup. There’s also the Sony HT-A9 soundbar, which is about the same price but a whole lot easier to set up – it’s a wireless system, too. And, of course, the Sonos Arc and Beam Gen 2 are even cheaper and easier to set up – it’s a single soundbar.
Dolby Atmos Soundbars
Sony HT-A7000
The Sony HT-A7000 is a 7.1.2-channel soundbar. It’s just a soundbar, which makes it super simple to setup in your home. Just plug it into your TV and you’re good to go. It also has Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant included, for some really great smart home features.
Dolby Atmos doesn’t have to be expensive either, as the Signa S4 is showing us here. For under $400, you can get an ultra-slim sound bar with Dolby Atmos included. Now, it doesn’t have as much power as the Sony one above, so it won’t get as loud, but for $400, you really can’t complain here.
The Sony HT-A5000 is a slightly less powerful version of the HT-A7000 that is also listed here. It still has Dolby Atmos, and is a single soundbar, so it’s still easy to set up. It’s a 5.1.2 channel soundbar this time around. You can bundle it with rear speakers and a wireless subwoofer too.
The Sonos Arc is another easy to set up Dolby Atmos soundbar, and it comes in at $900. It’s been a hard one to buy since it was released in 2020. As it’s been hard to find it in stock, really anywhere. But it is a really great and powerful soundbar to buy for your home with Dolby Atmos. And of course, it works with the other Sonos speakers in its multi-room audio system.
The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is another one that has been very hard to get your hands on, since it’s been out of stock for quite some time. But for under $500, you can get a smaller soundbar that also has Dolby Atmos support. Like with the Arc, it can also work with the other multi-room speakers in Sonos’ lineup.
There aren’t a lot of Dolby Atmos-enabled TVs, and that’s because TV makers don’t prioritize sound. Normally, that’s an after thought, which is why Soundbars have become so popular in recent years. But here are a few that have Dolby Atmos built-in (as well as Dolby Vision).
Hisense 75U6H
The Hisense U6H comes in 55, 65 and 75-inch models, and includes Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and is powered by Google TV. So you’re going to get thousands of apps built into your TV for streaming.
This is the 2022 model from LG, and it has just about everything you could want. That includes Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision IQ and even Amazon Alexa. This is an OLED TV, so you’re going to get a pretty incredible picture from this one here.
The Hisense U8G is probably the most affordable TV with Dolby Atmos built-in. It’s giving you Atmos, along with Dolby Vision, and it also has Android TV built-in. Not to mention, it is great for gaming, as it does have HDMI 2.1 for 120fps at 4K.
Since Dolby Atmos’ inception in 2012, there have been loads of content produced in Dolby Atmos. Many have made their way to 4K Blu-ray, while others are available on streaming services. Movies like Dune, Blade Runner 2049, Roma, Mad Max Fury Road, and Avengers: Endgame, are among a few.
Netflix does offer Dolby Atmos and Vision to its top-tier subscribers – on the Premium plan with 4K. A lot of their originals are available in either Atmos or Vision or both. And they likely have the largest library of Dolby Atmos films available.
Disney Plus also has quite a few titles that have Dolby Atmos support. Including all of the Star Wars feature films. Amazon Prime Video has a small handful of titles available. Finally, Apple TV has a ton of them available on TV+ (its streaming service that is just $5 per month) as well as available to rent.
A lot of the newer titles are being filmed with Dolby Atmos (and Vision), but older titles are getting remastered to work with Atmos and Vision. That’s the case for Disney, as it remastered a lot of its films for 4K (which included Atmos and Vision) when it launched Disney Plus back in 2020. So that is likely going to continue for the foreseeable future.
Even if you are watching a film or TV show that is not produced in Atmos, you’ll still notice a difference. It might not be as noticeable as when you’re watching an Atmos title, but there is still a difference.
Can I experience Atmos on my smartphone or tablet?
Yes you sure can. A lot of modern smartphones – mostly flagship models – have support for Dolby Atmos. So you can experience this sound upgrade while you’re on the go. A handful of tablets have it too, like Samsung and Amazon’s latest tablets. Here’s the list of smartphones that currently have Atmos support.
Apple iPhone 11
Apple iPhone 11 Pro
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 12
Apple iPhone 12 Mini
Apple iPhone 12 Pro
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 13
Apple iPhone 13 Mini
Apple iPhone 13 Pro
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Huawei P20
Huawei P20 Pro
Huawei P30
OnePlus 7 Pro
OnePlus 8
OnePlus 8 Pro
OnePlus 8T
OnePlus 9
OnePlus 9 Pro
OnePlus 10 Pro
OnePlus 11
OnePlus 12
OnePlus 12R
Poco X6 Pro
realme Narzo 70 Pro
realme 12 Pro
Samsung Galaxy A35
Samsung Galaxy A55
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S21
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S22
Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S23
Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S24
Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Sony Xperia 5 II
Tecno Pova 6 Pro
Xiaomi 14
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro
This is an incomplete list, but you get the gist, basically any smartphone from Samsung, OnePlus or Apple released in 2018 or later will have support for Dolby Atmos.
What music streaming services has Atmos?
Dolby Atmos isn’t just limited to movies and TV shows. It’s also available for music. Currently, Tidal, Amazon Music and Apple Music all have Atmos support, but again, it’s not for every single song in their library. Amazon Music has a separate tier for Dolby Atmos, which is Amazon Music HD. However, that was recently merged into the regular Amazon Music service, so you’re paying the same price for Dolby Atmos music and music without it.
Apple Music actually uses the term “spatial audio” for its Dolby Atmos tracks. And there are also many playlists that use only spatial audio tracks. So you can listen to the best sounding tracks only, and not worry about having to hear some that are not using Dolby Atmos.
Is Dolby Atmos worth buying and using?
It definitely is. And these days, Dolby Atmos products have become a whole lot cheaper. In previous years, it was hard to get a Dolby Atmos soundbar without paying well over $1,000 for one. But as we showed earlier in this article, you can get one for under $500. Which is about what you’d pay for a good soundbar without Atmos.
Not to mention the fact that most smartphones do have Atmos included now. So you can really use it pretty much anywhere. It’s one of those things that once you experience it, you won’t want to go back to not having it. I have this feeling when I use a Galaxy smartphone and then go back to the Pixel – since it doesn’t have Atmos, unfortunately.
Our smartphones are great! They’re powerful and pretty, but without the proper software, all that power means nothing. Today, we’re going to present to you our weekly curated pick of iOS and Android apps that caught our attention.
We’re going to do this on a weekly basis, so expect more cool app picks heading your way. “Best” is always subjective, but we’ll try to find interesting apps that really add value and can help you with your work, hobbies, and day-to-day life. We won’t forget entertainment, of course, so it will be a mix of everything.
This week’s focus is visual creativity! We present you with a couple of really cool and powerful apps that can elevate your game and help you express your inner artist. And there’s one really cool app as a bonus (we’ve promised entertainment, after all). Here we go!
Some of you might already be familiar with the iPad version of this powerful app. Procreate Pocket is the iPhone version of the critically acclaimed Procreate app, and it brings the magic to your phone. You can unleash your imagination and create stunning visuals thanks to a comprehensive set of tools, including handmade brushes, layers and masks, color palettes, 250 levels of undo/redo, and much more.
If you’re feeling intimidated by the sheer volume of features, don’t fret; Procreate Pocket comes with user-friendly guides to help you unlock your potential. There’s also real-time drawing assist, to help you perfect your strokes. Along with sketches, drawings, and storyboards, you can also create animations, use vector formats, import and export as Adobe PSD files, and all this on your phone. The list of features is too long to include here, and it more than justifies the asking price.
Adobe Express: Graphic Design
Platform: iOS, Android
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Speaking of Adobe and design, we just can’t omit the Adobe Express app. It’s available both for iPhone and Android devices, and unlike Procreate Pocket, it has a free version. Adobe Express utilizes the power of AI, because we’re in the era of AI, of course. All jokes aside, you get a ton of free stuff to play around with, even outside of the Premium membership.
You can access thousands of royalty-free fonts and images, create and convert images, and use effects and overlays. It’s very powerful software on your phone. Furthermore, you can quickly export and share your newly created visual on all the popular social media sites and apps with just a tap on the screen.
If you opt for a premium membership, you also get access to Adobe Photoshop Express for mobile and Adobe Express for web and mobile, along with the aforementioned images and fonts.
FaceApp: Perfect Face Editor
Platform: iOS, Android
Price: Free with in-app purchases
We all like to take selfies! After all, that’s the reason the front-facing camera was invented in the first place. But no matter how good the camera on your phone actually is, creating a good portrait can sometimes require extra help. Enter FaceApp!This cute software is capable of transforming your average selfie into a professional looking portrait. There are no complicated layers or Photoshop-level editing involved; you have over 60 realistic presets to choose from, and you can control various parameters to get to that perfect picture.
There are also fun tools to add that mustache you can’t normally grow, make you older or younger, add makeup, and many more.
Infinite Painter
Platform: iOS, Android Price: Free with in-app purchases
Infinite Painter is a no-frills, easy-to-use, and powerful creative tool that can breathe life into your inner visual dreams. This app is available both on iOS and Android and features great virtual pencils, along with hundreds of brushes.
Infinite Painter may look minimalistic, but there’s a powerful engine behind it. This app will let you use your stylus with full pressure and tilt support to give you a realistic feel and brush-to-canvas interaction.
The free version will get you three layers at the device resolution, Solid Fill, Lasso selection, Basic Transform and Symmetry tools, Seamless Pattern projects, all the built-in brushes and brush editing, and the Smart shape detection feature. Which is a great starting point.
CapCut – Video Editor
Short video formats are all the rage nowadays, with TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and many more occupying people’s phones. If you want to stop consuming and start making these tiny video snippets, there’s no better tool than CapCut.
From AI-generated effects through filters, captions, and stickers to professional transitions and in-and-out animations, this app has it all. It’s also one of the preferred choices of many pro and semi-pro creators out there, so it has to be good, right?
Some call it the best video editor on mobile. We won’t go that far, but it’s sure one of the most popular ones, and you should definitely check it out.
Bonus: Universe Splitter
Platform: iOS
Price: $1.99
Universe Splitter is one of the coolest and most unique apps I’ve ever stumbled upon. It’s a quantum coin to help you choose from two different options, but the way it works is unique! The physics nerds will love this; check it out!
In quantum physics, at a certain level, there’s something called the Haisenberg uncertainty principle. Basically, it limits our understanding of particle properties at a very fundamental level. Universe Splitter uses this principle to help you choose between two options. Say you want to go out tonight, but you also wonder if it’s better to stay at home chilling and watching Netflix.
You punch those two options into the app’s interface and push a button. What happens next is amazing. The app sends a signal through the internet to a lab in Switzerland, where a device fires a photon toward a semi-transparent mirror. Whether or not the photon will get reflected or pass through the mirror depends on the Haisenberg principle; it’s a truly random outcome that no one can predict.
There are two detectors to get the photon and give you back the path it has taken; those are your A and B choices you initially punched into the app. So there you have it: a perfect random coin toss using the most fundamental quantum principles! Why Universe Splitter? Some physicists believe that every such quantum choice splits the Universe into two versions that contain both outcomes. Isn’t that super cool?
That’s all for this week, folks! Share your thoughts on our selection in the comment section below, and stay tuned for more next week!
Let me start this review out by saying, I don’t normally review HONOR smartphones. I normally only review flagship phones that are available in the US – and obviously, HONOR phones aren’t really available here. But after seeing the Magic V2 RSR and getting some hands-on time with it at MWC in Barcelona last month, I had to get one in my hands to review.
Throughout this review, I’ll be making a lot of comparisons to the OnePlus Open/OPPO Find N3, Pixel Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 5, since those are the most recent foldables I’ve used. But spoiler alert: none of them can hold a candle to the Magic V2 RSR. HONOR has somehow managed to make the Magic V2 RSR one of the thinnest foldables on the market, with the largest battery on the market. That’s not easy to do, and it’s usually mutually exclusive. But how does the rest of the phone stack up? Keep in mind that this phone is €2,699, which comes out to around $2,917 USD, making it the most expensive phone I have ever reviewed. And I’ll be reviewing it with that price in mind.
HONOR Magic V2 RSR Review: Hardware and Design
Like the regular Magic V2, the Magic V2 RSR is made of glass and metal. Unfortunately, there’s no vegan leather version for this model. But that’s perfectly fine because HONOR also included the best foldable case I have seen. Typically, the cases that are included or sold separately for foldables will suck. They use adhesive to stay on; the front portion definitely tends to move around a lot and it just looks cheap. What HONOR did here was basically give you a case for the back and the hinge. It has a nice texture that makes it easy to hold onto, and it still looks like a Porsche Design phone. Honestly, I’ve rarely used this phone without the case. Far different from the other foldables I’ve reviewed.
There is a frosted glass back for the Magic V2 RSR, and this includes the Porsche-inspired flying on the back and a custom camera bump. The front does have the more durable HONOR NanoCrystal Shield, which makes it more drop-resistant and scratch-resistant. Otherwise, the hardware is identical to the regular Magic V2.
The Magic V2 is super thin. We’re looking at just 10.1mm when it’s closed or 4.8mm when it’s opened. By comparison, the Pixel Fold is 12.1mm when closed and 5.8mm when opened. And the Galaxy S24 Ultra is 8.6mm thin. So that is a crazy thin phone from HONOR, and honestly, I keep forgetting it’s foldable. I’ve been using the main display much more than the internal display. But it is nice to be able to open up the phone and have two apps running side-by-side when I need to.
Another touch that HONOR added to the Magic V2 series is the fact that the volume rocker is on the left side when opened, and the power button is on the right side when opened. This means when closed, they aren’t crammed into the same side of the phone. It’s a small thing, but it does make a huge difference for me.
Honestly, this hardware is incredible. My only real complaint is that it’s not sold in the US. Samsung, Google and OnePlus could really use this competition in the US. I am able to use it here in the US on Google Fi, but so far, no 5G support on T-Mobile’s network.
HONOR Magic V2 RSR Review: Display
Both of the displays on the HONOR Magic V2 RSR are LTPO OLED displays, so they are able to automatically change the refresh rate from 1Hz up to 120Hz. They are stunning and bright too. That’s particularly important on a foldable display, since they are typically made of plastic, and thus are more reflective in direct sunlight. Unfortunately, here in Michigan, it’s spring, so it’s been overcast the entire time I’ve had the Magic V2 RSR, but I can say the brightness is exactly what I expected.
HONOR says that the main display can get up to 1600 nits of peak brightness, while the cover display can get up to 2,500 nits. In my testing with a lux meter, I did get somewhat close to those numbers. About 1436 nits on the main display and 2033 nits on the cover display. Keep in mind that you’ll never get the full brightness unless you’re in the most perfect condition.
There’s a pretty small bezel around the cover display, and it’s slightly curved, which helps to make the display melt into the bezel, and it looks amazing. It is a slightly taller display. Coming in at about 20:9, that’s just a tad taller than some other phones, so you feel right at home using the main display, I sure did. For the most part, my day consisted of using that cover display and really only opening the phone when I needed to use multiple apps or browse Twitter while watching some March Madness on YouTube TV.
The main display still hasn’t fixed one of my biggest complaints with foldables, but it makes it work. And that’s the aspect ratio. I really don’t like these square displays for the main display. But where each side is basically a 20:9 display, it makes it great for having two apps side-by-side. They aren’t crammed and are basically how they’d look on any other phone. There is a slightly larger bezel around the main display with a pretty small lip. Similar to the Pixel Fold.
My main takeaway with these displays is that they are likely the best displays on a foldable so far. The OnePlus Open really only exceeds it in peak brightness. Other than that, I’d take these displays over the OnePlus Open.
HONOR Magic V2 RSR Review: Performance
The HONOR Magic V2 RSR is very identical to the regular Magic V2, which is why it still sports the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. It’s a year old at this point, but let me tell you, it’s anything but old and slow. This is still a very speedy processor, and while using the Magic V2 RSR with its 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, I never even thought about this being an older chipset. In fact, I forgot it was an older chipset. I kept thinking it was the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
In day-to-day performance, it lives up to the hype. I’ve yet to have a slowdown. Not even while playing Warzone Mobile or Genshin Impact, two pretty big and graphic-intensive games. I must say, both of those look incredible on this phone too. Jumping into multi-window or switching between apps quickly is as easy as can be. The Magic V2 RSR also doesn’t really get hot, even in our thermal tests, it faired much better than some other phones. Of course, a big reason for that could be the size of the phone, giving the heat more space to spread out and dissipate. But let’s talk benchmarks and thermal testing.
Benchmarks
As you may know by now, we run a handful of benchmark tests on every phone that we review. First up is Geekbench 6. This benchmark tests the raw performance of the CPU in both single and multi-core as well as the GPU. In the chart below, we are comparing this to the HONOR Magic V2 – which, spoiler alert, was very similar in scores – as well as the Honor Magic 6 Pro (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3), and the Google Pixel Fold (Tensor G2).
HONOR Magic V2 RSR scored a 1996 in the single-core, and a 5,395 in the multi-core. Those numbers are very similar to the Magic 6 Pro which actually has the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor inside. But in the GPU test, the Magic 6 Pro does blow it away. The Magic V2 RSR scored 8,644 in the GPU test, whereas the Magic 6 Pro scored 13,923. And let’s not mention the Pixel Fold scores, those are horrendous.
Next up is 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test. This is a pretty extreme benchmark that runs a loop of a benchmark 20 times, about a minute long each time. Each loop gets a score, so at the end of the test you get a Best Loop Score, a Lowest Loop Score, and a stability score which comes from the loop scores. Typically, you either get pretty high scores, or a pretty high stability score. That all depends on how the phone is able to dissipate heat. The HONOR Magic V2 RSR was able to get a best loop score of 3,688, and a lowest loop score of 1,846, that gave it a stability score of 50.3%. Just a tad better than the Magic V2. But you can really see a big difference with the Magic 6 Pro.
Finally, the last benchmark we run is one that we designed here at AndroidHeadlines. Essentially, what we are doing is importing a 60-second long video into Capcut, and then exporting it in 1080p at 30fps. We’ve done this same test among many different phones so far, and the differences are pretty incredible. So the Magic V2 RSR scored 12.87 seconds, which was actually about four seconds faster than the Magic V2. I believe this is because HONOR has been able to tweak the software a bit more since we reviewed the Magic V2 back in January.
The Magic 6 Pro obviously won this round as it should. But the Magic V2 RSR was no slouch as you can see.
Thermals
Now it’s time to talk thermals. This is also a pretty important aspect for any phone, and it’s a newer set of testing for us here at Android Headlines, so we don’t have as much data as we’d like.
For thermal testing, we run essentially three different tests. The first is actually the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test. After that benchmark is completed, we measure the temperature at the center of the screen. For the Magic V2 RSR it was actually only 98.9. That is rather incredible, as almost every other phone we have tested has been over 100 degrees, closer to 120 degrees. But keep in mind that the Magic V2 RSR is a larger device, so it’s able to dissipate heat a bit faster.
The next test is playing Genshin Impact on max graphics settings and at full brightness for an hour. Surprisingly, the Magic V2 RSR clocked in at just 98.2 degrees. That’s also pretty low compared to the other phones we’ve tested. But not as big of a gap as with the first test. Finally, we recorded a 4K60 video and checked the temperatures at 5 minutes and again at 10 minutes because 4K60 can really take a toll with heat. At five minutes, the Magic V2 RSR was 94.5 degrees, and at 10 minutes it was at 97.2 degrees.
Overall, the thermals on the Magic V2 RSR are quite good. Some of the best I’ve seen, the only one that was really better was teh OnePlus 12. Which isn’t even foldable.
HONOR Magic V2 RSR Review: Battery Life and Charging
Don’t ask me how, but HONOR was able to fit a 5,000mAh capacity battery into the Magic V2 RSR. Which still kind of blows my mind. But with that large battery comes a large battery life. During my time with the Magic V2 RSR, I’d take it off the charger in the morning around 7 AM, and by the time I go to bed around 11 PM, it’s still normally around 40%. And that’s with six hours of screen time. That’s pretty impressive and puts it in line with some non-folding phones. Just a tad better than the OnePlus Open as well.
In our battery life test, which we conduct on every phone, we found that the Magic V2 RSR would last just under 15 hours. In this test, we play a YouTube Video that’s about 24 hours long and set the phone to max brightness to see how long it’ll last. As far as foldables go, it’s right in the middle, just a tad lower than the OnePlus 12, but still below some regular smartphones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and OPPO Find X7 Ultra.
In the box, HONOR ships not one charger but two chargers. Meanwhile many other smartphone makers can’t even be bothered to give you one charger. HONOR provides a UK and an EU charger in the box. Given the fact that this phone is being sold in Europe now, this makes a load of sense. The HONOR Magic V2 RSR does charge at 66W. It’s not the fastest charging we’ve seen on the phone, but hey, it’s more than fast enough. In our testing, we found it took just under an hour to fully recharge.
Both battery life and charging are quite good on this phone, and at nearly $3,000 USD, it better be.
HONOR Magic V2 RSR Review: Software
The HONOR Magic V2 RSR runs Magic OS 7.2, which is based on Android 13. Yes, I know exactly what you’re thinking, that’s pretty out of date already. Since Android 14 launched last fall. Don’t forget that this software is basically the same as what’s on the regular Magic V2. However, we do know that Android 14 is slated to roll out around July of 2024.
But for now, we’re stuck with Magic OS 7.2, which to be honest, is not that bad. I’m not a huge fan of a lot of the UI’s that come out of Asia, though OnePlus’ Oxygen Color OS is probably my favorite in that category, Magic OS is not bad either. It does tend to bring in a whole lot of aspects from various other Android UIs that are out there, like Samsung’s One UI. But, as you might have guessed, there are also some weird nuances with this software.
Sometimes there’s not enough padding in notifications, or text runs onto a second line when it probably shouldn’t. For instance, in Quick Settings, the Screenshot quick setting runs onto two lines, so it looks like “Screens hot” instead. A funny thing to see, but we all know what it’s supposed to do. Other notifications from, say, Telegram or WhatsApp sometimes have the text running into the icons in the notifications. And so on. These are things I used to see quite a bit from HONOR and Huawei when they were one company. But HONOR is no longer owned by Huawei, so it’s a little odd that these smaller things haven’t been fixed or taken into account yet.
There are also some useful notifications that do end up being annoying. For some apps that you open on the cover display and then open the phone, you’ll get a notification that says it may not display properly, and you will want to close it and re-open it. That’s fine to see on the first time you do this for apps like Threads, Instagram, Twitter, etc. But after the second or third time, it starts to get annoying. And unfortunately, there’s no way to stop this from happening every single time.
Of course, we can’t forget about the HONOR Magic Pen. This is HONOR’s own stylus that is included in the box and even has its own carrying case. This is because the phone has nowhere to hold the pen, so there you go. The case is slightly magnetic, so it attaches to the hinge of the phone, but it’s not strong enough to stay there. The Magic Pen is good, feels like an actual pen, but I can say that I’d likely never use it. For those who like to take notes, do some drawing, and such, it’s a good accessory to have. But for the way I use phones, it’s not really for me.
Where this is a Porsche Design phone, there are some Porsche-designed elements included in the software, like custom icons for a lot of the HONOR apps, as well as some Porsche Design wallpapers. They look cool, but it wouldn’t make this a make-or-break purchase for me. They didn’t quite go as hard as OnePlus did with its Genshin Impact phone recently.
The bottom line here is that the software is good, but it isn’t without its faults, and it could definitely be better.
HONOR Magic V2 RSR Review: Camera
The camera is an area on foldables that companies either go overboard with, providing you the very best cameras available at the time, while another aspect of the phone suffers. Or, companies will offer older camera sensors to provide a larger battery, or better displays, or something else. But with HONOR, I feel they came to a happy medium with offering the best hardware they can, in such a thin form factor, with pretty good cameras.
This won’t hold a camera to the HONOR Magic 6 Pro or the new Magic 6 RSR that is launching soon, but for such a small camera bump, these cameras are pretty good. HONOR has included a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 20-megapixel telephoto that can do 2.5x optical zoom, and a 50-megapixel ultrawide. Pretty decent cameras, and they do provide some pretty good results.
My apologies for the lack of really great looking pictures in this review, as it’s been pretty overcast and/or raining basically the entire time I’ve had the phone.
Let’s start with one of my favorite modes, which is the Macro mode. Macro shots came out looking really good. Now this is because HONOR is also using the telephoto for macro, similar to Xiaomi’s 14 Ultra. This allows you to get closer, without blocking the light. Here’s a few macro shots below.
The main sensor does tend to do a pretty good job with taking photos. One subject that I typically use to test out every phone’s cameras is my dog. She’s an American Staffordshire Terrier mix, so she’s a pretty dark dog. And I’ve found in the many phones I’ve reviewed that, a lot of them can’t stick the focus. With her fur being darker, and her being a dog that doesn’t stay still for long, a lot of the time her face looks smooth. That is the case here, but really only on at 10x, which is digital zoom. You can see it being smooth a little bit at 2.5x but on the main sensor, it does a great job capturing here. So basically, it’s good, but not perfect.
The natural bokeh effect that you can get from the primary camera is also really lovely. It’s not as creamy as something like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra or my 30mm f/1.4 lens on my Sony camera, but for a phone, it’s pretty good.
Honestly, I really like this camera. It’s a good trade-off on performance and the size of the camera bump. With the included case on, the camera bump is almost flat, which is really impressive. If you want the very best camera on the phone, this isn’t for you. But if you want a folding phone that can basically check every box, while also still having a very capable camera, then this is a good option.
Before I wrap up this camera section, there is one more thing I want to mention here. And that is the camera software. There’s definitely a lot of improvement that HONOR can make here. A lot of settings that you might want to change often are unfortunately located in the settings. For instance, turning on the timer takes a few extra taps to get to, compared to many other phones. Then the Macro option is its own mode under “More”. Making it even tougher to switch to macro and back to a non-macro shot simply. On Xiaomi’s 14 Ultra, you can tap on the top of the screen for some quick settings and quickly toggle Super Macro on, and boom. That is not the case with HONOR here. Even the aspect ratio setting is in the settings instead of located at the top of the phone. While we’re talking about the aspect ratio, why isn’t there a 16:9 option? We’re stuck with 4:3, 1:1, or full screen, which is going to change depending on the screen you’re using.
The software is workable, but HONOR really could make a lot of changes here to make the camera app way more user-friendly. Especially for settings and features we are going to use quite often.
Should you buy the HONOR Magic V2 RSR?
I absolutely love this phone. Is it perfect? Of course not. However, a lot of my complaints in this review of the Magic V2 RSR, I think I can overlook and use this as one of my daily drivers. I really like foldables, but some are just so far behind what HONOR and some of the other Far East companies have been able to do in such a short time. I mean, the Magic V2 RSR is just 2 grams heavier than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is incredible. On top of that, HONOR has included 1TB of storage here, making it a monster for taking photos and creating content.
The only thing that’s going to be hard to look past is carrier compatibility here in the US. I’ve been using it on Google Fi for the past week or so, and so far, there have been no real issues with T-Mobile. But, if I go somewhere that doesn’t have the same LTE bands, this phone is going to basically become a paperweight. So, unfortunately, I can’t recommend it to Americans. But for those in Europe, it’s a really good option, especially if you’re a Porsche fan.
You should buy the HONOR Magic V2 RSR if:
You want a speedy phone.
You want a folding phone that is as thick and weighs as much as a regular phone
You want a phone with plenty of storage and memory.
You want good battery life on a foldable.
You should not buy the HONOR Magic V2 RSR if:
You want wireless charging
You want an IP rating for water and dust resistance
You want the very best camera available on any phone today.
Active since 2023, the Mysterious Werewolf cluster has shifted targets to the military-industrial complex (MIC) by using phishing emails with a weaponized archive.
The archive contains a seemingly legitimate PDF document along with a malicious CMD file, and when the victim opens the archive and double-clicks the PDF, the CMD file executes, deploying the RingSpy backdoor onto the compromised system.
Malware replaces the Athena agent of the Mythic framework, a strategy that Mysterious Werewolf previously employed in earlier campaigns.
An attacker known as Mysterious Werewolf is employing phishing emails laced with malicious archives that exploit the CVE-2023-38831 vulnerability in WinRAR to execute code.
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Tactics have shifted, with the Athena agent being swapped for the RingSpy backdoor written in Python, where the group utilizes legitimate services to maintain control of compromised systems, using a Telegram bot as a command and control server.
A malicious archive exploited a vulnerability in WinRAR (CVE-2023-38831) to launch a VBScript, downloading a malicious batch file (.vbs and 1.bat) by retrieving a download link from Yandex.
Downloading the file using the received link
Disk resource using a cURL command with OAuth credentials and then downloaded another batch file (i.bat) using the retrieved link, and after downloading the script, deleted the link file and executed the downloaded batch file through another VBScript call.
Both the initial script (1.bat) and the downloaded script (i.bat) self-deleted after execution. The script first checks for an existing file to prevent re-installation and then retrieves a download link, downloads a decoy PDF, opens it, and deletes the link.
Distracting document
Next, it downloads the Python installer from the official website based on a predefined version, extracts it to a hidden local folder, and sets a configuration file to specify search paths for Python modules.
Then it downloads the pip installer within the Python folder, uses pip to install additional libraries (requests and schedules), and cleans up by deleting the temporary installer script.
Downloading the Python interpreter
An attacker is deploying a RingSpy backdoor using the Yandex Cloud API and a Python script, which is downloaded and executed through a VBScript file (.vbs) placed in the startup folder and the localAppData folder.
The backdoor allows remote command execution, downloads files, and sends results to a Telegram bot through a control server. The script can also be scheduled to run every minute using PowerShell.
The downloaded files are saved in a specific folder, and network requests are made to the Telegram bot’s API to send data.
Obtaining and running the pip installer
According to Bi.zone, the attacker likely gained initial access by sending a spearphishing email with an attachment. Once in, they used PowerShell, command prompts, VBScript, and Python to execute malicious code.
They potentially exploited a WinRAR vulnerability (CVE-2023-38831) for further execution. To maintain persistence, they used scheduled tasks and startup folders.
The attacker also attempted to evade defenses by deleting files and used techniques like file transfer and a Telegram bot for command and control.
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Instagram is testing a new feature called Blend. It’s designed to improve the discovery of Reels. The prototype in development would allow users to create a private feed with a friend.
According to reports from TechCrunch, Instagram has been developing an internal prototype of the Blend feature. When users invite their friends to “blend,” Instagram’s algorithm analyzes the rolls they share with each other.
It seems similar to Spotify’s shared playlist feature, aptly named Blend. On Spotify, up to 10 people can blend their musical tastes into a constantly updating playlist personalized for the group. Instagram’s version focuses on two users, and recommendations would be based on the roles they’ve interacted with and their general interests.
Instagram lets you create a shared Reels feed with Blend
According to a screenshot by Alessandro Paluzzi, the Blend feed would display algorithmic suggestions in a dedicated section of direct messages (DMs) between the paired accounts. It remains unknown how often the feed would be updated with new selections from Instagram.
#Instagram is working on Blend: #Reels recommendations based on reels you’ve shared each other and your reels interests 👀
On the other hand, Instagram confirmed that Blend is currently an internal prototype and not publicly available. If launched, Blend could help reinvigorate discovery on the Reels platform. It seems that the goal is to bring compelling new Reels content to the surface the old-fashioned way – through personal recommendations from others.
If launched, Blend could offer a unique twist on Instagram’s social video format, as opposed to competitors like TikTok that lack similar collaborative discovery tools. While TikTok continues to dominate the short-form video market, the addition of Blend could give Instagram a fresh way to go.
In addition to the Blend feature, Instagram recently introduced a playful twist to its Direct Messaging (DM). Users can now play a hidden game of Pong with their friends by sending and interacting with emoji in their DM conversations. The mini-game is available now, so get ready to play. The mini-game is available for iOS and Android phones.
