Pocket Reviews and Tips™

The LG G8 ThinQ has powerful specs and a beautiful design, but so do many other smartphones. Some argue the phone doesn’t do much to stand out, something we agreed with in our LG G8 ThinQ full review . That’s not the full story though, the phone does have a handful of cool features that often get overlooked. Two of the most interesting features are Hand ID and Air Motion, which allow you to unlock and control your smartphone without touching it. Interested? Stick around and find out what makes these the coolest innovations coming from the LG G8 ThinQ. They will prove to be helpful when your hands are dirty or you find yourself multi-tasking. Related Articles LG G8 ThinQ camera review: average all around LG G8 ThinQ review: LG chooses to blend in rather than stand out What makes Hand ID and Air Motion work? Both features are powered by the ToF (time-of-flight) camera and the infrared sensor located in the front of the device. In unison these sensors have the ability to ...

Nearly 50 apps from Chinese Android developer DO Global have disappeared from the Google Play store after a Buzzfeed News investigation found evidence of ad fraud and store policy violation. While Google hasn't commented publically yet, a source told Buzzfeed News that the company is working on banning DO Global as a whole while also removing more apps. These regulatory measures represent one of the largest bans Google has ever undertaken against a developer. Before 46 apps were removed, DO Global boasted around 600 million installs for its roughly 100 apps in the Play store. It remained a subsidiary of internet giant Baidu until last year, and the company retains partial ownership. Buzzfeed News published a report last week that found at least six DO Global apps contained code to increase ad clicks regardless of whether or not someone was using the app. Several others with bland names like "Pic Tools Group" and "Photo Artist Studio" failed to disclose t...

Burger King will soon make the plant-based Impossible Whopper a part of its menu nationwide. The fast food giant's trial run of the alternative meat burger in St. Louis earlier this month turned out to be a resounding success. José Cil, CEO of Burger King parent company RBI, said on an earnings call on Monday that the Impossible Burger would be sold in a few select cities this summer, and if guest reaction stays strong, expand in a nationwide launch later this year. The union of one of America's oldest fast food chains and the relatively new fake meat startup Impossible Foods is an unlikely one, but is an indication that the American public is open to new meat alternatives. Cil said that he's tried the Impossible Burger several times, and isn't able to tell the difference. Crucially, the Impossible Burger seems to be attracting new customers to Burger King who normally wouldn't eat there in the first place; rather than giving usual patrons an alternative ...

XDA-Developers We already know that the Motorola RAZR foldable phone is in the works, but it now looks like renders may have surfaced online. There are a few potential reasons to be skeptical about these images though. The renders, posted by Weibo user @JJUT_ (and spotted by SlashLeaks ), show a foldable Motorola phone that looks extremely similar to a foldable phone patent filed by the company a few months back. That means a very prominent chin (very Desperate Dan ), a distinctive hinge with what appears to be buttons, and a substantial notch at the top. These images also show what appears to be the phone’s monolithic packaging, making for a rather unique presentation. Open the box and you’ll apparently get a headphone dongle (implying that the Motorola RAZR has no 3.5mm input), as well as the other expected accessories. One of the biggest reasons to be skeptical is the Weibo user itself. We haven’t come across this leaker before, and with less than 1,3...

Intel's decision to bail on 5G modems may have gone hand-in-hand with Apple's truce with Qualcomm , but it's now clear there were hints of a shift weeks earlier. The Telegraph has learned that Apple poached Intel's 5G phone modem leader, Umashankar Thyagarajan, in February. While the departure itself wasn't a complete secret (Thyagarajan's LinkedIn profile confirms the switch), the news outlet claims to have email showing that the ex-director was the project engineer for the XMM 8160 chip at the heart of Intel's plans. He also "played a key role" creating the Intel modems used in the iPhone XS and XR . Neither Apple nor Intel has commented on the report. It's also not clear exactly what Thyagarajan is doing in his new role (he describes it solely as "Architecture" in his LinkedIn bio), although wireless chipset design is the most likely explanation given his background. Apple hasn't been shy about its intention...

The P30 Pro has rightfully received glowing praise for its amazing camera performance, in particular the ingenious periscope telephoto lens that lets you optically zoom in 5X and with software assistance get up to 10X. But to get the most out of all the cool photography features, you're probably going to want some extra gear to keep your phone nice and steady. Mount your phone anywhere Moman Phone Clamp Stand with Universal Bottle Cap Adapter This clamp just fits the P30 Pro so you really won't have to worry about it slipping out, and it features the standard threading to screw into any standard tripod. If you don't have a tripod, this clamp comes with a bottle cap adapter that lets you make a DIY stand with any standard soda bottle. $9 at Amazon Find the best angles EVO Gimbals Flexible Tripod This flexible tripod is a perfect pairing with the Moman Phone Clamp, as you're able to bend each arm to stabilize and set up shots and angles you could only...

This week saw the Galaxy Fold pushed release pushed back , which came as little surprise after the serious issues encountered by reviewers. The phone repair website iFixit published ideas about what was behind the issues , but was eventually pressured by Samsung to take down the article . Huawei was once again mired in controversy over the P30 Pro’s ‘Moon Mode’ , which appears to add details not present in pictures taken by the phone. Our reviewers were very busy this week, pushing out reviews of the Huawei P30 , the Xiaomi Black Shark 2 and Redmi 7 , the Realmi 3 Pro , and a hands-on with the Meizu 16s . For those of you who love to snap pictures, we continued our camera review series with the LG G8 ThinQ and Nokia 9 PureView camera reviews. Neither managed to impress, which is surprising given the Nokia 9’s highly marketed  five-camera setup . In non-smartphone news, we reviewed the new 2019 Amazon Kindle , which appears to be the cream of the ...

Most phones these days are capable of taking beautiful photos, and some even feature multiple lenses that let you change the perspective of your shots on the fly. But for those that don't, artificially distorting your photos in post to add a fisheye, wide-angle, or macro look can affect the quality and feel of the image. Luckily, external, universal lenses allow you to achieve these unique perspectives naturally, even if your phone only has one lens. Best overall Moment Lenses Staff pick While not entirely universal, Moment's high-end lenses can be used with any phone the company makes an accompanying case for, including popular Galaxy and Pixel devices. You can pick up a wide-angle, super fisheye, or telephoto lens for your phone, then simply attach the lens to the case's screw mount and start shooting! $120 at Amazon Clip-on lenses Xenvo Pro Lens Kit Xenvo takes a simpler approach than Moment, with a clip-on mechanism rather than requiring a specifi...

The introduction of Screen Time in iOS 12 was ostensibly a boon for parents and anyone else wanting to keep a lid on device use, but there are concerns that it's cracking down on apps that compete with that feature. The New York Times and Sensor Tower have learned that Apple has either pulled or requested feature limitations for "at least" 11 of the 17 most popular parental control and screen time apps, and leaders at those developers claim it's trying to discourage apps that rival Screen Time's functionality. The creators of two apps, Kidslox and Qustodio, filed an EU competition complaint on April 25th. Some of those apps had more advanced features, such as support for managing Android devices and blocking websites in browsers besides Safari. The Times also understood that developers received only brief notes demanding changes, with no reasoning or detail to help them modify their apps or explain why their apps were at risk of disappearing. Effe...

If you’re in the market for an LG G8 ThinQ and also in the market for a free $200 — have we got the deal for you! Right now, from AT&T, you can get an LG G8 ThinQ for no money down (for qualified buyers) and then nothing afterward. In addition, if you buy online, you’ll also get a $200 Visa gift card. It’s like AT&T is going to pay  you to buy the LG G8 ThinQ! Of course, there is a caveat to the deal: you must sign up for a brand new postpaid line with AT&T that costs at least $50 per month. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work for upgrades: you must sign a contract for a totally new line to get the deal. Here’s how it works: Visit ATT.com and navigate to the LG G8 ThinQ page. Pick your color and then hit Continue. Choose or decline a coverage plan and then hit Continue. Select the monthly service plan you would like (the cheapest is $50, the most expensive is $80). You’ll get to a summary page. Click the “+...

Best answer: Most Chromebooks on the market today have 4GB of RAM and that is indeed enough to get by. If a model you're considering has options for 8GB of RAM, more is better, but 4GB is more than workable. 4GB is enough: Lenovo Chromebook C330 ($250 at Amazon) 8GB is better: HP Chromebook x360 14 ($549 at Amazon) What is RAM? RAM stands for Random Access Memory. Think of it as a container where the things you're doing on your Chromebook — both what you can see and what's happening behind the scenes — can store and retrieve data randomly. That means it can access any byte of that data without affecting the preceding or trailing bytes. That makes it fast, because the location of the data you need has no effect on the time it takes to read, write or overwrite it. With no moving parts, there are no mechanical limitations on access times. RAM is also volatile — once the integrated circuits lose their power, the data disappears. That means it's different from ...