October 16, 2018 - Written By Kristijan Lucic In Short: Xiaomi’s POCO Launcher is now out of beta, and it is available via the Google Play Store. Now, it is worth noting that this launcher will not be compatible with your device unless you’re running Xiaomi’s MIUI ROM on it, so basically only Xiaomi’s smartphones are compatible, including the Poco F1 handset, of course. Speaking of which, POCO Launcher actually comes pre-installed on the Poco F1, while Xiaomi’s MIUI is keeping things running in the background, of course. The Poco F1 has been downloaded over 500,000 times from the Play Store thus far, though that number includes pre-installs as well. The size of this launcher is 16MB, and it’s currently in version 2.6.0.6 in case you were wondering. You will need Android 5.0+ in order to install it on your MIUI device.Now, the POCO Launcher is actually quite similar to regular MIUI launcher in many ways, but unlike MIUI, it comes with an app drawer. … [Read more...] about POCO Launcher Is Now Out Of Beta, Stable Version Available
EE Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2018 nominees: Best Laptop
It's that time of year again where the team here at Pocket-lint is gearing up ready for our annual Pocket-lint Gadget Awards, in association with EE. Our awards are now in their 15th year and with them will come 18 categories, each celebrating the amazing devices we have seen appear and reviewed in full over the last 12 months.Every year we post a series of features in the the run up to the awards, each diving a little deeper into the individual categories and the nominees within them. The idea is to give you a run down as to why they have been shortlisted and what we think is great about them.So far, you'll be able to find the breakdown of the best game, best camera, best soundbar, best tablet / 2-in-1, as well as best smartphone and best mid-range smartphone, while here we are looking at the nominees for best laptop of 2018.Apple MacBook ProVote for Apple MacBook Pro | Read the full reviewThe MacBook Pro has so much going for it. With this laptop your … [Read more...] about EE Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2018 nominees: Best Laptop
Scam subscriptions are plaguing the App Store
Subscriptions are big business for app developers, but this has also ushered in a number of supposed bad actors in the App Store. A new article by TechCrunch shines a light on some of these apparent scam tactics, which could potentially cause a headache for Apple. The feature describes tactics like promising “free trials” which convert into paid subscriptions within only a few days, subscription services which are hard to cancel, or apps which offer paid subscriptions despite doing the same as numerous freely available apps. TechCrunch goes on to single out some of the worst offenders, and give an illustration of how much money they are raking in. (We’re not linking to the apps in question as part of this article.) One example given is the Scanner App, which reportedly pulls in $14.3 million a year for its document scanning service. The app offers a free trial, but one that kicks in after just three days — with this information hidden in the fine print. Multiple … [Read more...] about Scam subscriptions are plaguing the App Store
iPhone XS vs. Pixel 3: Which camera is better?
Can Google's single rear camera on the Pixel 3 beat the two on Apple's iPhone XS?As camera quality becomes one of the most important factors in choosing a new phone, it's time to compare the hottest two phones of 2018 so far. Now playing: Watch this: iPhone XS vs. Pixel 3 camera comparison 5:05 Remember the Pixel 3 and 3 XL share the same camera (as do the iPhone XS and XS Max), so results should be the same regardless of which size you choose. And the Pixel 3 has two lenses around the front, while the iPhone has one.I took these flagship phones to the wax works of Madame Tussauds, the spooky San Francisco Dungeon and the Aquarium of the Bay to capture everything from portraits to extreme low-light photos.Read CNET's reviews of the Pixel 3 and iPhone XS here.HDR and general photos on both are fantasticIt's called HDR+ or HDR+ Extended on the Pixel 3, while the iPhone XS has Smart HDR. Both work in similar ways, by combining multiple exposures to boost the dynamic range of … [Read more...] about iPhone XS vs. Pixel 3: Which camera is better?
[Update: Full report now live] DisplayMate says the Pixel 3 XL display gets an ‘A+ Rating’
![[Update: Full report now live] DisplayMate says the Pixel 3 XL display gets an ‘A+ Rating’](https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/fetch/w_340,h_200,c_crop,g_face/https://www.androidpolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Pixel-3-XL-front-and-back-Just-Black-728x513.jpg){kind=tracking}
Update 1: 2018/10/16 3:54am PDT Display Mate's full Pixel 3 XL report is now out Last year, Google caught flack for equipping the Pixel 2 XL with one of LG's new mobile OLED panels. While the display wasn't bad in my estimation, it definitely was not as good as the panels on other phones in the same price range. Even the first-gen Pixels looked better. If you place any faith in DisplayMate, the Pixel 3 XL will be much improved. DisplayMate didn't test the Pixel 2 XL last year, but the issues with the display were well-known. It had blue color casting at off-angles, the colors were a bit off, and the "purple smear" effect was more obvious than other screens. Google seems to have gone out of its way to send DisplayMate an early unit so it could test the display. So, this doesn't tell us much other than DisplayMate likes the display. The iPhone X also won the "DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award." The site regularly gushes about Samsung's OLEDs, but it doesn't test all … [Read more...] about [Update: Full report now live] DisplayMate says the Pixel 3 XL display gets an ‘A+ Rating’