Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) reports a concerning rise in zero-day exploits and increased activity from state-backed hackers. This highlights the growing cybersecurity threats to businesses and individuals.
In an overview of cybersecurity threats, Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) and Google-owned Mandiant disclosed 97 zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in the wild last year. That’s a score well above and significantly more than 50% of the 62 seen the year before but still comes in below the record 106 exploits in 2021.
It also indicated that among the 30 reported critical vulnerabilities, 29 were made by TAG and Mandiant, showing how much of a risk there is from threats that are not yet fixed. As per Google’s blog post, in its report, Google’s TAG researchers divided vulnerabilities into two categories: one targeting end user-based platforms and products, including iOS and Android devices and browsers, while the other targeted those technologies focused on enterprise-level solutions, such as security software.
One of the key trends pointed out in the report is the continued determination of the threat from state-sponsored actors, more so from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). A notable portion of the exploits were attributed to 12 zero-day vulnerabilities linked to the PRC by cyber-espionage groups, compared with seven the previous year.
The report emphasizes the changing tactics by threat actors, with an increase in targeting levels for technologies specific to the enterprise. According to Google, the trend of cyberattacks against corporate infrastructure continues to rise after the company recorded a 64% surge in the exploitation of technologies specific to the enterprise over the past year.
Most interestingly, these results also point to a shift in focus toward the exploitation of vulnerabilities in third-party components or libraries, which enlarge the overall attack surface for threat actors.
Among the positives, the report points out: that there are big investments from major platform vendors like Apple, Google, and Microsoftto make the security apparatus even better. The investment has also paid off, with few vulnerabilities observed in first-party code and mitigations improving against the worst attacks.
Finally, the report provides practical recommendations for how both individuals and businesses can improve their security situation. Other key recommendations brought out in the report are the adoption of transparency with timely disclosure, prioritizing threat mitigation strategies, and the solid building of security foundations.
“Evolving cyber threats will be responded to through enhanced collaboration and vigilance to protect the digital ecosystem. Google works on ongoing research with its expertise in the ever-growing need for collective resilience to threats.”
Google
There’s much more in the report (PDF) the company published earlier today.
Don’t Forget Ethical Hackers
While Google’s TAG report focuses on the efforts of major technology companies in identifying security vulnerabilities, it’s important to acknowledge the vital role played by ethical hackers, also known as white hat hackers. These individuals contribute greatly to the cybersecurity community by legally working with organizations to discover flaws in their systems.
The impact of ethical hackers is further highlighted by a February 2024 Surfshark report analyzing HackerOne bug bounty program data. This report reveals that ethical hackers were able to identify a large number of vulnerabilities (835) across various websites (105). These valuable contributions not only helped to secure these platforms but also generated significant earnings (€417,000) for the hackers through bug bounty programs.
Aligning with the industry trends, Samsung launched the Galaxy S24 series with a focus on AI. The series comes with a suite of AI features that are branded as Galaxy AI. Although the name suggests that the AI features or the LLM behind it are developed by the company itself, this is actually not the case.
Samsung is using Google’s Gemini to power the AI features. And some of the Galaxy AI features, such as Circle to Search aren’t even exclusive to Samsung’s devices. The feature was built by Google and it also became available to the Google Pixel 8 and Google Pixel 7 series at a later date.
Samsung says that Circle to Search is the most famous among all ‘Galaxy AI features
This is the feature on Android that lets you search what you see on screen, without even learning the app. It just requires you to mark the object and AI does the rest. For this seamless operation, users have appreciated this feature more than anything else.
Samsung says, “Circle to Search with Google revolutionized the way users search, helping it become the most widely used AI feature amongst Galaxy S24 users. It allows them to learn more about almost anything on their screens quickly with a simple gesture, without having to switch apps.”
9To5Google speculates a reason behind the success of Circle to Search. Samsung has closely integrated most other features of Galaxy AI with its ecosystem of software products. It essentially requires users to use those apps and services, which according to the publication, “aren’t really for everyone.” Additionally, Google has also contributed to advertising Circle to Search, as it is also using it.
Notably, Google’s Pixel 8 series also has similar implementations to Samsung’s other Galaxy AI features, one of which is “Transcript Assist.” The Pixel recorder in Google Pixel 8 can also generate transcriptions of the recordings and can create summaries for a quick glance.
Galaxy AI is rolling out to 2023 flagships
Other Galaxy AI features include Browsing Assist, Call Assist, Note Assist, Chat Assist, Generative Photo Editing, Photo editing suggestions, etc. We previously reported that Samsung has been working on releasing these features to 2023 flagships, such as the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy S23FE, and finally the Galaxy Tab S9 series. Now it seems that the time has finally come for 2023 Galaxy flagship users to experience the Galaxy AI features.
Samsung has announced that OneUI 6.1 will roll out starting March 28 for the above-mentioned devices. It may take a few days for Samsung to complete the rollout. Nonetheless, Galaxy AI is finally making its way to 2023’s Galaxy flagships.
The upcoming Sony Xperia 1 VI flagship’s alleged dimension details have surfaced online. The leak indicates that the phone will be wider and shorter than its predecessor, the Xperia 1 V. The new leak arrived a few weeks after it was rumored that the Xperia 1 VI would forgo the 4K display.
Sony Xperia 1 VI will be a bit shorter and wider than the Xperia 1V
According to a tipster on Weibo, the Sony Xperia 1 VI will measure 162 x 74.4 x 8.45mm. If it’s true, then the phone will be 3mm shorter and 3mm wider than the Xperia 1 V. The latter measures 165 x 71 x 8.3mm. The 1 VI is expected to offer an aspect ratio of 19.4:9 and a screen measuring 6.49 inches diagonally. The device is said to come with a 2K+ resolution as compared to the 4K screen of previous Xperia flagships.
Sony has long offered an aspect ratio of 21:9 on its high-end flagship phones. The first Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 flagships were the first ones to offer this aspect ratio in 2019. This is all going to change with the Xperia 1 VI, which would now match the likes of the Galaxy S24. This will also be the first time the Xperia 1 lineup won’t offer a 4K screen.
The next Xperia flagship could have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and up to 16GB of RAM
Previous leaks have indicated that the Sony Xperia 1 VI will be carrying the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 under the helm. The handset is expected to come in 12GB and 16GB RAM variants, which will be the first for an Xperia offering. The device could be offered in multiple storage variants with UFS 4.0 flash technology. The phone will boot Android 14 out of the box.
Furthermore, the rumor mill suggests that the Xperia 1 VI will have three 48MP cameras on the back. The main lens will have a two-layer Transistor Pixel technology. The other two cameras will be an ultra-wide angle lens and a telephoto shooter. The selfie camera will be placed inside the upper bezel. As of now, we only have these details regarding the upcoming Sony flagship, so stay tuned for more.
If you rely on your Google Pixel phone to wake you up in the morning, you’ll want to pay attention to this. There’s currently a strange bug within Google Assistant that can unintentionally get you off to a late start.
The bug was initially exposed by Artem Russakovskii, who discovered that a whopping 50+ of his alarms had been wiped clean. Even inactive alarms were unexpectedly deleted. To make matters worse, this happened after a simple attempt to turn off an alarm on a speaker in a different room. Replicating the issue only confirmed this wasn’t an isolated incident, as documented in the below X thread.
Just found that all of my alarms were gone on my Pixel 8 Pro. Has anyone ever had this happen? I have no idea how they disappeared.
Unfortunately, this isn’t some fluke. As reported by Android Authority, it seems telling Google Assistant to “turn off all alarms” results in, well, the deletion of ALL your alarms on Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 devices. Testing by Tom’s Guide on a Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 4a confirmed the bug’s presence there too, and so did my own testing on a Pixel Fold. Furthermore, I have Gemini set as my digital assistant on the Pixel Fold, so this appears to be pretty widespread on Pixels.
The good news is that it seems non-Pixel devices with Google Assistant don’t exhibit this behavior, but the situation is certainly irritating for users who meticulously set and depend on multiple alarms. Likely, this is an easy fix, but its persistence over months suggests Google might be oblivious to the issue. Let’s hope Google gets on this fix quickly to ensure Pixel owners can count on their phones for those essential wake-up calls.
While Samsung is mostly known for making premium and expensive phones, it also has a hand in the mid-range and budget market. The first runner-up after the Galaxy “S” series of phones is the Galaxy “A” series. I was able to test out the Galaxy A53 5G for about three weeks for this review. It’s the middle child of the series, right between the Galaxy A33 and the Galaxy A73. Is this phone a worthy alternative to Samsung’s more expensive phones? Let’s find out.
Design and build quality
Looking at the Galaxy A53 5G, you’d think that the build quality is subpar due to the plastic design. However, once you pick it up, you’ll think again. This is a solidly-built phone, from the frame to the back cover. It’s an unapologetically hefty phone that feels like it can take a tumble or two.
As for the design, it has the design intrinsic to Samsung’s budget phones. While the camera bump melts into the frame with most of the Galaxy S phones, with the Galaxy A53 5G, it melts into the back plastic. The camera island rises from the back in much the same way as a modern Oppo phone’s. It has a nice and elegant look and feel to it. Though it’s half the price of the Galaxy S22, it still has great build quality.
Display
Undoubtedly, one of the best features of the Galaxy A53 5G is the display. You’d think that Samsung put an inferior display in this phone because it’s a mid-ranger, but that’s not the case. It may not be as stellar as the displays on the Galaxy S series, but it’s still a beautiful panel.
This phone has a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400. That makes it a 1080p+ display, and it’s a sight to behold. The colors are punchy, but they don’t go overboard as some other phones do. It gets plenty bright at a maximum of 800 nits. You’re not going to have any trouble seeing this display in the sunlight. To top it all off, it has a smooth 120Hz refresh rate.
Watching movies, playing games, reviewing pictures, and everything else is a treat because of the quality of the display. It’s better than other phones in this price bracket.
Audio
You don’t get a 3.5mm headphone jack with the Galaxy A53 5G, but most people who use Bluetooth won’t really mind. What this phone lacks in that feature it makes up for with great speakers. You have stereo speakers with this phone with one on the bottom and one up top. I compared these speakers to those on the Google Pixel 6 and the Motorola Edge+, and it was able to best them in some categories.
The thing that stuck out to me about these speakers is how full they sounded. Sometimes, speakers tend to prioritize the bass and leave the mids and highs to whither. In the case of the Galaxy A53, there’s some emphasis on the bass, but overall, the speakers create a well-balanced and full sound. It really surrounds the ears in a way that my Pixel 6 couldn’t really do. If you’re wanting to listen to music or watch movies without headphones, you’re going to love using this phone.
Battery and charging
The Galaxy A53 5G comes with a large 5,000mAh battery. This is a pleasant trend in the smartphone industry that we didn’t see too much of before: mid-range phones coming out with batteries as big as or bigger than batteries in most flagships.
Using this phone, I was always able to make it to the end of the day without needing to charge it or pull back my usage. During my review period, I was able to get around 8 hours of battery life from the Galaxy A53 5G. This involved using the phone nonstop with gameplay, video-watching, social media, and other tasks. If you start the day off with a full battery, you won’t need to worry about it dying before you get home.
When it comes to charging, you can charge that 5,000mAh battery in decent time. The Galaxy A53 5G uses 25W of power to charge which is behind most flagships. Charging the phone from 0% to 100% took the phone about 1 hour and 25 minutes. That’s slower compared to the flagship phone nowadays, but for a mid-range phone, it’s not too bad. There is, unfortunately, no charger included in the box.
Camera
The Galaxy A53 5G’s camera is a mixed bag when it comes to the quality. This phone has a 64MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, a 5MP macro camera, and a 5MP depth sensor. Performance with the main camera was surprisingly good.
Performance in good lighting is good for the main camera
You get some nicely detailed images from the main camera. It’s 64MP, but you can expect it to be bin down to a lower resolution. Regardless, the images come out rather crisp with some good room to zoom in. Even cropping in the images 100%, the images remain decently sharp.
Pictures came out with good dynamic range punchy colors. I could tell that Samsung punched up the colors beyond what was in the scene. For example, the picture with the rocks wasn’t quite that colorful; most of the rocks just blended with the dirt. In terms of exposure, the camera was able to keep the highlights down without crushing the shadows. Some of the images did come out with some darker shadows, but you can still see details in the darker areas.
Low light is also pretty good
Using the main camera in low-light situations produced surprisingly good results. Taking the camera indoors and using a scarce bit of sunlight, the Galaxy A53 5G was able to brighten up the image nicely without a lot of noise. Detail takes a hit, but it’s still more than serviceable.
There’s a dedicated night mode that will take a longer exposure. Using that mode, I was able to get some brighter images, and I noticed that they had more color.
What about the other sensors?
Once you switch to the other cameras, you’ll notice the performance takes a dip. Starting off with the ultrawide camera, you’ll see the obvious increase in the field of view. The camera does a good job of reducing the distortion on the edges of the picture. Switching from the main camera to the ultrawide, you’ll see the sharpness, color saturation, and contrast take a nose-dive.
The macro camera, I’d say, is pretty decent. The camera recommends that you hold the phone between 3cm and 5cm away from the subject. Overall, the quality isn’t the best, but it can definitely pull some good details.
Performance
The Galaxy A53 5G uses Samsung’s own Exynos 1280 SoC with the MaliG-68 GPU. The version I reviewed has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. Overall, performance was mediocre to decent. Navigating the interface is okay for the most part. You’re not going to have too much trouble with most mundane tasks like scrolling through social media, checking your emails, and other tasks.
However, when the performance drops, it drops hard. Using the phone for a bit, you’ll start to see lags and stutters in the software everywhere. Everything from summoning the multitasking screen to opening apps becomes a chore. There were times when I’d swipe up to summon the multitasking screen two or three times just to find that it registered the first swipe, but it lagged for a few seconds. I think that the software just isn’t optimized for the chipset, as it’s just not acceptable.
Gaming isn’t too shabby
When it comes to gaming, don’t expect to run Genshin Impact on this phone. However, when it comes to lighter games, this phone is more than powerful enough. Less demanding games like Dragonball Z Dokkan Battle, Dragon Ball Legends, Angry Birds 2, and Crash Bandicoot: Crash On The Run run like a dream. There were some occasional stutters while playing Crash Bandicoot, but they didn’t get in the way of the overall experience.
[Updated March 27th, 2024] Software
Currently, the Galaxy A53 5G uses Samsung’s UI 6.0 running on top of Android 14. This version of Android brings some notable feature improvements over the software that this phone originally shipped with.
Notification shade
For starters, there’s a new layout for the quick panel which increases the size of the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Quick Settings. They sit as large buttons on top of the other Quick Settings making them easier to access, as these are two of the most accessed Quick Settings. Also, the eye comfort shield and dark mode options have their own separate section under the Quick Settings.
The next addition will make accessing you quick settings panel quicker. Currently, you have to swipe down twice to access your full Quick Settings panel. However, you can make it so that you access the full panel with only one swipe.
Rounding out the changes to the Quick Settings panel, the brightness slider is now readily available with a single swipe rather than you having to access the full panel to get to your brightness slider.
Other quick panel changes include a different layout for notifications, more vivid notification icons, and sorting notifications by time.
Lock screen/home screen
The lock screen now allows you to reposition your clock. This gives you more choice over how your lock screen looks.
Apps on the home screen will have a more simplified look. Firstly, the app titles will have only one line of text. Also, Samsung removed the “Samsung” and “Galaxy” text from its first-party apps.
Lastly, you can drag and drop icons using two hands. One hand can hold the app that you want to relocate, and the other hand can swipe between home screen pages.
Camera
The camera saw a significant number of improvements. Use improvements include a simpler design, custom camera widgets, more alignment options for watermarks, improvements to the document scanner, quicker access to resolution settings, a level line to help you better level your pictures, the ability to disable the swipe gesture to switch between cameras, and the ability to apply filters more easily.
Those were the most significant changes. Samsung also brought several smaller changes to the software, and there are a bunch of them. To read the full list of changes, you can go to the official Galaxy A53 5G changelog.
Should you buy the Galaxy A53 5G?
In a lot of ways, the Galaxy A53 5G is the next best thing if you can’t afford a Galaxy S phone. It’s a mid-ranger through and through, but it punches above its weight in some areas. You won’t find many phones with as good of a media consumption experience as this phone’s with its beautiful display and amazing speakers.
The camera isn’t flagship tier, but it gets the job done with good flair. You’ll be able to take some nice pictures that will look good on social media.
The only letdown in my experience has been the performance. This phone is going to lag at points in your usage, and you won’t be able to play the most graphics-intensive games.
At the end of the day, I recommend picking up this phone if you enjoy consuming content and you want the latest and greatest software from Samsung.
Read more about this phone
If you pick up this phone, why not make the theme your own. Also, if you want to take a screenshot of your new theme and share it with others. Also, the battery life is really good, but you can always squeeze a bit more out of it. You can learn how to do these things with our handy how-to guides.
Political posts on social media are almost impossible to avoid nowadays. However, that might change soon with a simple setting in Meta-owned platforms Instagram and Threads. While some at the top of Meta management aren’t in favor, Meta now allows users to limit the visibility of political posts on their Instagram and Threads feeds.
Recently, Meta applied a restriction on Canadian news for all Canadian users due to the Online News Act, also known as Bill C-18. According to reports, users received no notification about this ban, which led to many complaining about censorship.
You can now choose to hide political posts on Instagram and Threads
Meta has introduced a new setting in the Instagram app and simultaneously in the Threads app. Through it, users can limit recommendations of political content. According to Meta, this new feature isn’t for restricting political content. On the contrary, the feature aims to give users the choice to hide political content if they want. This change comes during a year when the US, Canada, and other countries are going through elections.
Users can head to Content Preferences in Account Settings to find this option on Instagram. Interestingly, Instagram has the option enabled by default, even for those who are unaware of it. This decision by Meta means even if you wish to see political content, this setting limits those posts by default. To show the posts, head to the settings and disable the same option.
While Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed to The Verge that Meta started rolling the feature out a week ago, users weren’t alerted that the setting is set to on by default. The setting set to limit by default has caused much uproar and fueled the “Meta censorship” gossip.
Will this setting cause more harm than good?
In the age of social media, most people get all their news from such apps. Meta apps are one of the most popular and used apps on the planet, and while many use them for entertainment, these apps are also a medium for news. Since Facebook News is shutting down in the US and Australia after its closure in Europe, many users primarily use Instagram and Threads for their news fix.
Limiting political posts can be harmful, especially for those who only receive news from creators and profiles they follow on Instagram and Threads. Fortunately, giving users the choice to limit these posts is not an issue. If someone does not want to see political posts, then it is their right to be able to restrict them. However, turning the setting on by default and not alerting users caused unnecessary confusion.
This feature has its fair share of other problems. It seems like Instagram and Threads are accidentally censoring some posts that aren’t news-related but got caught in the crossfire. If users don’t see the content they like because they’ve enabled the political post-restricting setting, they’ll likely switch it off.
A few weeks back, Google released the Gemini app for Android phones. This not only brought Gemini’s AI capabilities to the small screens, but it also set the transition from Google Assistant to Gemini into motion. However, many users were disappointed because the Gemini app was not compatible with Android tablets. This is about to change, as a new report points to the Gemini app coming to tablets at some point.
So far, we believe that Google is planning on replacing the Google Assistant with Gemini. When it launched, the app didn’t do too much. However, we’ve seen the Gemini could perform a few limited voice assistant functions. Also, you can summon Gemini on any screen on your device by using the hot word.
This would be all fine and dandy if the company actually properly implemented Gemini into the software before launching it as an assistant. There are still several features that Gemini cannot do, and this makes it a very half-baked assistant compared to Google Assistant. At this point, we don’t know when Google plans on officially putting Google Assistant to rest.
The Gemini app is coming to tablets soon
No one had any doubts about Google eventually bringing the Gemini app to tablets. Be that as it may, we are still technically dealing with leaked information, and you should take it cautiously. 9To5Google did an APK breakdown of the Google app version 15.12 and found some code hinting at it eventually being distributed to tablets. This may also be present in the Gemini app version 1.0.618909562. Specifically, the deep dive found that it is soon going to make its way to the Pixel Tablet (Review).
The fact that it will hit the pixel tablet first comes as no surprise, as this is Google’s first-party tablet. Interestingly, it appears that both Gemini and the Google Assistant will run simultaneously on tablets. Right now, Gemini is still not a proper Google Assistant replacement, so many people using the Gemini app will still default to the assistant.
For some reason, Gemini says that it will take precedence over Google Assistant when the hot word is said. However, according to the report, it appears that it’s not the case. The Google Assistant will pop up rather than Gemini.
In any case, it is still nice to see that Google Gemini is going to make its way to Android tablets. This will only make it much more accessible.
Let’s face it – planning a vacation can be a real challenge. Where do you even start? What should you see? Where are the best places to grab a bite? It’s enough to make you want to stay home. Well, Google Maps just stepped in with a big helping hand, and their recent updates should come in really handy next time you want to plan to travel. Let me break it down for you.
It’s all about the lists and recommendations
You know that feeling when you’re staring at a map, totally overwhelmed because you don’t know exactly what to search for? Google Maps is now tackling that same issue. Now, when you search for a city, Maps will come back with several curated lists full of recommendations from locals and big-name travel sites like Lonely Planet and The Infatuation. Google Maps is even going a step further by showing you lists that you didn’t even know you needed. These are based on ratings and recommendations from other Maps users and will be available across more than 40 cities in the U.S. and Canada this week. The lists are as follows:
The Trending List: The places everyone’s buzzing about, updated weekly. Perfect for catching the wave of what’s hot.
The Top List: Tried and true favorites that always hit the spot.
The Gems List: Local secrets and hidden treasures begging to be discovered. Think cozy cafés or under-the-radar eats.
However, if you are more of the do-it-yourself type, you will also be able to create your own customized list and share it with those traveling with you. Tap on “New List” and proceed to add all the spots you want as you look through the map. You’ll be able to add your personalized notes, re-arrange the list to your linking, and even link to content from your social media accounts. These updates to customized lists will begin to roll out everywhere on Android and iOS later this month.
AI to the rescue: Understanding a place at a glance
And because no update is complete without some AI improvements, Google Maps is now using AI to pull through the key things you need to know about a place you plan to visit. Photos, reviews, the general vibe – it’ll highlight what makes a restaurant, park, or bar worth checking out. As a bonus, it even picks out dish names from the place’s posted food photos and tells you if they’re popular with the crowd.
Sometime this summer, Maps will start to get some new design tweaks to give the app a new look. According to Google, the new design will include a cleaner home screen, fewer tabs, and new pin colors to easily identify places you’ve pinned in the past. Google Maps isn’t just about directions anymore, as it has slowly evolved into an essential travel and planning tool.
[Update: This phone has since been updated to Android 13. Software section]
It’s understandable: you’re looking for a new phone, and you’re on the fence about which one you should get. You heard about the Motorola Edge+ 2022, and you have some questions regarding this phone. Well, you’ve come to the right place. We have a full review of the device highlighting its key aspects, pros, and cons.
However, if you have a bunch of questions about this phone, this article will attempt to answer as many of them as possible. Whether you want to know about the camera specs or how big of a battery comes in the phone, it will be explained.
What are the display specs?
One of the signature features of this phone would have to be the display. The Motorola Edge+ 2022 has a 6.7-inch POLED display. It has a resolution of 2400 x 1080, which makes it a Full HD+ display.
It runs at 144Hz, which is 16.6% faster than 120Hz displays. This means that you won’t be able to see much of a difference between the two refresh rates. However, a 144Hz display is 2.4 times faster than a 60Hz display. When it comes to brightness, the display can get up to 600 nits of brightness. That’s good enough to see the screen while under direct sunlight.
What processor does this phone use?
The Motorola Edge+ was one of the first phones to launch with Qualcomm’s 2022 flagship SoC. This is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. This chip uses one Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3GHz, three Cortex-A710 cores clocked at 2.5GHz, and four Cortex-A510 cores clocked at 1.8GHz. These CPUs are accompanied by the Adreno 730 GPU.
When it comes to storage, there are three options. The base configuration is 128GB, the middle is 256GB, and the phone caps out at 512GB. As for RAM, there are options between 8GB and 12GB of RAM.
[updated March 2024] What software does it use?
At the time of writing this article, the Moto Edge+ 2022 is running Android 13. The phone is currently awaiting Android 14, so this article will be updated accordingly. With the update to Android 13, the software saw some notable improvements. For starters, there is a slew of typical software and stability improvements.
As for new content, the move to Android 13 allows Motorola to use themed app icons. This will make all the app icons match the color scheme selected for the software. Next, the Moto widget has gotten a notable upgrade. This is Motorola’s At a Glance widget equivalent, and after the update, it’s more intuitive and shows you more information. For starters, it can be expanded to show you information like the weather, time, and your health information.
With Android 13, you’re able to set the language in apps to different languages other than your default language. This means that, even if your phone is set to English, you can have LinkedIn set to Spanish. This gives you much more control over the languages that your apps use.
Next, you now have the ability to block apps from sending notifications. Last, but not least, Android 13 gives you the ability to give apps access to your media on a per-photo/video basis. So, you won’t have to give apps full access to your media if you only want to share one photo.
What are the camera specs?
The Motorola Edge+ has a triple-camera setup. The main camera is a 50MP shooter that bins down to about 12.5MP. It has an aperture of f/1.8 with a sensor size of 1/1.5 inches. This camera produces pictures with a pixel size of 1 micron.
The main camera is accompanied by two additional cameras. One is a combination ultrawide/macro camera. This one also has a resolution of 50MP, and it bins down to about 12.5MP as well. This camera has a wider aperture of f/2.2, and it produces images with .64 micron pixels.
The last rear camera is the depth sensor. This one has a resolution of 2MP and an aperture of f/2.4. Upfront, we have an interesting story; the selfie camera has a higher resolution than the main camera. This is a 60MP camera that bins down to 15MP.
On the video side, this phone can capture 1080p video at up to 60fps (when using super slo-mo, it can go as high as 960fps). Also, the camera can capture 4K video and 8K video at 30fps.
How is the camera’s performance?
Not great, unfortunately. The pictures wind up with blurry details and really oversaturated colors. The camera has a hard time finding the focus. The user would zoom into a photo only to find that the camera focused on the wrong subject in the picture. The night mode is decent, but it’s much easier to get blurry photos than with something like a Pixel.
How’s the audio experience?
The audio experience is pretty good. You’ll find that the dual speakers on this phone are more than good enough for most situations. If you’re listening to music with a lot of bass, then these speakers will shine. Music like pop, rock, hip-hop, and other modern genres should be good (I personally like their performance with 80s pop).
When it comes to vocals and orchestral music, it’s a different story. The emphasis on the bass causes the higher frequencies to take a back seat. Listening to classical music or certain film scores won’t be as immersive.
How are the battery and charging?
The Motorola Edge+ comes with a 4,800mAh battery. It can last you a day and a half with moderate to light usage. The battery can be charged via wired and wireless means. You have 30W wired charging which can charge it from 0%-100% in just over an hour. The 15W charger can charge the phone in about 4 1/2 hours. Also, The Motorola Edge+ can use reverse charging to help out other devices.
The battery can last you a good amount of time, but what if you want it to last a bit longer. Well, there’s the How-To guide to squeeze just a bit more juice out of your Motorola Edge+. It covers tips from setting your screen brightness to getting rid of background processes.
What features does the phone have? Which ones are missing?
Though this might not be considered a feature, the Motorola Edge+ 2022 comes with a charger in the box. You’ll get the 30W wired charging brick included.
As for missing features, there is a handful. You’re not getting a 3.5mm headphone jack with this phone, unfortunately. If you want to listen to content, you’ll need to use Bluetooth devices or get a dongle.
While the three storage options should be enough for most people, some will be disappointed to know that there’s no expandable storage. You’ll need to be happy with the storage on the device.
Even though having some sort of zoom camera is pretty much standard, this phone doesn’t. So, if you want to zoom further into your subject, you’ll have to do it digitally.
How much does this phone cost?
If you’re in the market for the Motorola Edge+, then you’ll need to get ready to pay some major bucks. The 512GB variant of this phone is $999. That puts it in direct competition with the Galaxy S22+, and it’s $100 more than the Pixel 6 Pro.
Who is this phone for?
The Motorola Edge+ is for dedicated Motorola fans who want the unique set of Moto features wrapped in a premium package. You’re not getting the best display or camera, but its performance and gaming capabilities carry the show. Motorola’s way of handling theme customization and the gestures will make any Motorola fan feel at home.
This expansion of the feature to the Pixel 7 series was a sore subject among owners of the more expensive and almost equally spec’d Pixel Fold. At an MSRP of $1800 upon launch, there was no conceivable reason why Google’s top of the line foldable would be left out. Yours truly was among one of the Pixel Fold owners who were beside themselves when I saw my much newer device getting passed over for a much older generation Pixel.
Thankfully, these concerns are now being addressed. In a blog post today, Google ever so casually dropped the news that starting this week “Circle to Search” will be rolling out to more Android phones, including Google’s own Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet which will be getting the feature “soon.” Below are the Google Pixel models on the list for the update:
Phones (this week):
Larger screen devices (soon):
Same Circle to Search, but improved
Aside from the good news about Circle to Search reaching more devices soon, Google also announced that the feature will also be getting an improvement. Not only will it help you identify objects on the screen simply by circling or squiggling around it, but now it can also help you instantly translate. To enable this, Google is adding a “translate” icon beside the search bar that appears when long pressing the home button or navigation bar. The translation icon within Circle to Search will start rolling out in the next few weeks.
