Epic Games sued both Apple and Google, although with drastically different results. Apple won its case on all but one—relatively minor—point, while Google lost its case. In the wake of the loss, Judge James Donato laid out the remedial measures Google must take. The measures include prohibiting Google from incentivizing developers to launch their apps on Google Play first, forcing the company to include third-party app stores (think Aurora and F-Droid) in the Google Play store, give third-party apps full access to Google Play’s full catalog of apps, and allow developers to use outside payments systems.

Needless to say, Google has already stated their intention to appeal, and it seems they have a strong case. Lee-Anne Mulholland, VP of Regulatory Affairs, outlined the company’s case.

Today, the court overseeing our ongoing U.S. legal proceedings with Epic Games ordered changes to Android and Google Play, requested by Epic. As we have already stated, these changes would put consumers’ privacy and security at risk, make it harder for developers to promote their apps, and reduce competition on devices. Ultimately, while these changes presumably satisfy Epic, they will cause a range of unintended consequences that will harm American consumers, developers and device makers.

These Epic-requested changes stem from a decision that is completely contrary to another court’s rejection of similar claims Epic made against Apple — even though, unlike iOS, Android is an open platform that has always allowed for choice and flexibility like multiple app stores and sideloading.

Mulholland then goes on to highlight the specific areas Google’s appeal will target.

• Apple and Google compete directly for consumers: The decision rests on a flawed finding that Android is a market in itself. In contrast, the Apple decision, upheld on appeal, rightly found that Android and iOS compete in the same market. This is obvious to anyone who has bought a smartphone. Walk into a store that sells smartphones and you’ll see the options side-by-side — Android phones from companies like Samsung, Motorola and many others competing right next to Apple’s iPhone. People choose between these phones based on price, quality and security.
• Google and Apple compete directly for app developers: The decision ignores what every developer in the world knows — they have to prioritize investing in developing for iPhones and Androids. Developers have finite resources and have to decide how much time and money to devote to building and updating their apps for each platform. Like any business, Google wants developers to offer their best features for Android and to release them on Android first. So we build tools, run training programs and invest in making it as easy as possible to develop for Android. Apple of course does the same — competing to convince developers to prioritize iOS.
• Android is open and Google Play is not the only way to get apps: The decision fails to take into account that Android is an open platform and developers have always had many options in how to distribute their apps. In fact, most Android devices come preloaded with two or more app stores right out of the box. Developers have other options too, such as offering their apps directly to users from their websites. For example, Epic Games has made its popular Fortnite app available to Android users through the Samsung Galaxy Store, sideloading, and the Epic Games Store – all while Fortnite was not distributed through Google Play. These are options that developers have never been able to offer to their American users on iPhones.

The Apple Precedent

Google is not wrong to compare itself favorably to Apple in this context. Apple truly does have a walled garden around its iOS App Store, a walled garden Epic was eager to see blown wide open. In that case, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple’s approach did lead to security and privacy benefits to users—both in the narrow definition Epic was concerned with and the broader definition Apple was working with.

Thus, the Court finds that centralized distribution through the App Store increases security in the “narrow” sense, primarily by thwarting social engineering attacks.

As with objectionable content, Epic Games responds by showing that scams still slip through app review.536 For the same reasons, this anecdotal evidence does not show that scams and other fraud would not be higher without app review. Thus, the Court finds that app distribution restrictions increase security in the “broad” sense by allowing Apple to filter fraud, objectionable content, and piracy during app review while imposing heightened requirements for privacy.

Similarly, Judge Rogers found that Apple’s stewardship of its ecosystem did have at least some benefit to developers.

Third, the evidence on developers is mixed. On the one hand, developers experience delays and mistaken rejections that would not occur with sideloading or distribution through stores without app review. On the other hand, developers benefit from the safe environment created by the App Store. Based on a trusted environment, users download apps freely and without care, which benefits small and new developers whose apps might not be downloaded if users felt concern about safety. This is consistent with the indirect network effects identified by Dr. Schmalensee: the small burden on developers maintains a healthy ecosystem that ultimately benefits both sides. Thus, the evidence shows that developers both benefit and suffer from app distribution restrictions.

Interestingly, security experts agreed with Apple’s insistence, and Judge Rogers, that security is improved by Apple’s stewardship.

“If Epic were to prevail, competition for higher quality device security would be stifled, and courts would be forced into unwanted regulatory postures that would open the door for greater risk of security threats,” wrote a group of former defense, CIA, NSA, and National Security Council officials.

Similarly, Roblox also voiced its support of Apple during its case.

“Apple’s process for review and approval of apps available on the App Store enhances safety and security, and provides those apps greater legitimacy in the eyes of users,” Roblox wrote. “This is an important benefit that all apps, including Roblox’s, enjoy by choosing to be a part of Apple’s ecosystem.”

As Mulholland points out, Google already allows users to sideload apps on Android, including third-party app stores. This writer, for example, already uses F-Droid on a stock Pixel 9 Pro Fold and has installed a number of apps from that source. In contrast, Apple still does not allow sideloading of any kind.

Epic’s Disingenuous Tactics

In a blog post in May 2024, Google minced no words in saying that Epic’s case all about benefiting Epic, not users.

Epic’s proposed remedies were all clearly designed to only benefit itself. They would harm the Android ecosystem, and competition in general, by creating security and privacy risks, depriving developers and OEMs of key business opportunities, and undercutting Google’s ability to support our investments in Android and Google Play.

Epic has a history of disingenuous behavior, in the context of this legal drama. For example, Epic first tried to bypass Apple and Google’s rules on in-app purchases, only suing when both companies banned Fortnite from their app stores. The company even asked for a temporary injunction that would force Apple to reinstate Fortnite to the App Store while the case played out, a request that Judge Rogers denied.

In our coverage of the case at the time, WPN pointed out the problem with Epic’s actions.

It was this action that led many to believe Epic intentionally orchestrated the ban, since the company stood to lose nothing by leaving the status quo intact while pursuing legal action. Had Epic won, any judge would have retroactively awarded damages. Instead of waiting for that, however, Epic chose a course of action it knew would lead to a ban. That action did not seem to sit well with Judge Rogers.

“In my view you cannot have irreparable harm when you create a harm yourself,” she said in response.

Conclusion and Prediction

Given Judge Rogers’ decision, which she reached in late 2021, it is difficult to see how or why Judge Donato reached the conclusion he did.

Not only did Judge Rogers’ decision exist as a precedent, but, as the company points out, Google is already far more open than Apple. After Apple prevailed, despite maintaining far more of a walled garden than Google does, it is almost unfathomable that Google lost as badly as it did, let alone is facing the remedial action it is.

Our bet is that much of Judge Donato’s decision is overturned on appeal. The one part that is likely to stand is the ruling that Google must allow developers to use outside billing options, much like Judge Rogers ruled that Apple must allow developers to point users to outside payment options—in the only point Epic won in its case against Apple.

Thunderbird acquired the K-9 email client roughly two years ago, with the plan to use it as a basis for a dedicated Thunderbird for Android. After two years of work, the public is finally able to try a beta of the new app.

Catch our conversation on Thunderbird for Android finally entering beta!

The Thunderbird team is asking for help from beta testers, identifying specific things that need testing.

Once you’ve downloaded the Thunderbird for Android beta, we’d like you to check that you can do the following:

• Automatic Setup (user only provides email address and maybe password)
• Manual Setup (user provides server settings)
• Read Messages
• Fetch Messages
• Switch accounts
• Move email to folder
• Notify for new message
• Edit drafts
• Write message
• Send message
• Email actions: reply, forward
• Delete email
• NOT experience data loss

The team is also interested in making sure the transfer from K-9 Mail works correctly.

If you’re already using K-9 Mail, you can help test an important feature: transferring your data from K-9 Mail to Thunderbird for Android. To do this, you’ll need to make sure you’ve upgraded to the latest beta version of K-9 Mail.

This transfer process is a key step in making it easier for K-9 Mail users to move over to Thunderbird. Testing this will help ensure a smooth and reliable experience for future users making the switch.

Later builds will additionally include a way to transfer your information from Thunderbird Desktop to Thunderbird for Android.

The team also asks that users not inundate them with bug reports or feature requests outside of the areas they are specifically targeting during the beta.

Having an official Thunderbird client on Android will be a big step forward, adding valuable name recognition to what was already one of the best email apps available on the platform.

Beta testers can provide feedback on the Thunderbird for Android beta mailing list, or chat with other members on the Thunderbird Matrix.

Epic has engaged in a very public legal battle to force mobile operating systems to allow third-party apps, with only limited success. It’s campaign against Google was always an interesting choice, since Google doesn’t block app sideloading, and Epic’s case against Apple was a colossal failure.

Catch our chat on Google denying fault in Epic’s lawsuit against Samsung!

In its latest lawsuit, Epic is once again claiming that it is being unfairly treated, saying Samsung’s Auto Blocker feature is designed to prevent access to its games. There’s just two issues with Epic’s claims: 1) Google says it was not involved in Samsung’s decision to deploy Auto Blocker and, 2) Google says Epic is trying to cloud the issue and gloss over the security implications of sideloading.

David Kleidermacher, of Google’s Security/Privacy Team, broke down the issue in a long X post.

Epic’s latest lawsuit is a meritless and dangerous move. Google did not request that Samsung create their Auto Blocker feature.

David Kleidermacher (@DaveKSecure) | September 30, 2024

To make this about access to a game is deliberately misleading; this is about user safety. And Epic’s lawsuit puts their corporate interests above user protections. (5/5)

— David Kleidermacher (@DaveKSecure) October 1, 2024

Kleidermacher is correct that sideloading apps onto a mobile device represents one of the most significant security threats. While it is possible to do so safely, it requires a user to take additional precautions and be well-informed and tech-savvy enough to make good decisions about what to load and what not to.

The security of an app store ecosystem was one of the things that factored into Apple’s favor in its court victory over Epic. Although Google lost its initial court case against the company, it seems like it may be able to win this latest one—especially if it wasn’t even involved in Samsung’s decision.

Samsung has been fined more than $192 million dollars, with a jury concluding the company infringed on Mojo Mobility’s wireless charging patents.

As reported by Reuters, Mojo says the company’s representatives met with Samsung executives in 2013 to discuss including the company’s wireless charging tech in Samsung’s products. A deal was never reached, but Samsung was accused of using Mojo’s tech anyway, incorporating it in hundreds of products.

While Samsung has denied any wrongdoing a jury found the company guilty of infringing the patents in question. To make matters worse, the jury found the infringement was willful, which opens the door to the judge increasing the fine by as much as three times what the jury awarded.

This isn’t the first time Samsung has been accused of copying other products. Apple famously sued the Korean electronics firm for copying its iPhone designs, ultimately forcing Samsung to settle after it lost its appeal in 2017.

A big question with each generation of iPhone is how much RAM the new models have. In previous generations, there was sometimes a distinction between the base model and the Pro variant.

In the case of the iPhone 16, however, Apple felt the entire would benefit from 8GB of RAM, thanks largely to the inclusion of Apple Intelligence.

In an interview with Geekerwan, via 9to5Mac, Apple’s Johny Srouji outlined the company’s reasoning:

“Our goal is to build the best products, delivering the absolute best user experience. As it relates to Apple Intelligence, DRAM is one aspect. And when we look at what we’re building, whether it’s silicon, hardware, or software, we don’t want to be wasteful in many ways.

We have lots of data that tells us what is going to enable a certain feature, and Apple Intelligence is one of those very, very important features that we want to enable. And we look at different configurations, both for computation and memory bandwidth and memory capacity. And then we make the right trade-off and balance of what actually makes the most sense. So, Apple Intelligence was a major feature that led us to believe that we need to get to 8GB.

But having said that, the 8GB is going to help immensely among other applications, including gaming, high-end gaming, AAA-titled games, and high-end gaming on device. So, I think it’s going to be really, really beneficial.

The other thing to keep in mind, this is one of the benefits of having the software and the silicon and the product fully integrated, is that the software team, our excellent software team, will optimize not only for compute, they’ll also optimize for the memory footprint of each application. So, they don’t end up also wasting memory.

So, we look at all these trade-offs and we end up with, here’s what makes sense, and 8 gigabytes was the most perfect choice for us.”

Interestingly, while 8 GB is an all-time high for the iPhone, it’s still well behind what some flagship Android phones offer. For example, the new Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes with 16GB of RAM.

In an Android Developers Blog post, Google revealed it is testing Desktop windowing on Android tablets, giving users the ability to better run multiple apps simultaneously and resize windows to their preference.

Desktop windowing allows users to run multiple apps simultaneously and resize app windows, offering a more flexible and desktop-like experience. This, along with a refreshed System UI and new APIs, allows users to be even more productive and creates a more seamless, desktop-like experience on tablets.

The blog outlines several characteristics of the new mode.

• Users can run multiple apps side-by-side, simultaneously
• Taskbar is fixed and shows the running apps, users can pin apps for quick access
• New header bar with window controls at the top of each window which apps can customize

Interestingly, the new desktop windowing mode looks very similar to macOS or the Linux GNOME desktop environment.

Google emphasizes the potential productivity benefits that developers can bring to their users, enabling them to tap into the growing demand for tablet-based workflows.

Desktop windowing on Android tablets creates new opportunities for your apps, particularly around productivity and multitasking. The possibility to resize and reposition multiple app windows allows users to easily compare documents, reference information while composing emails, and multitask efficiently.

By optimizing for desktop windowing, you can deliver unique user experiences to match the growing demand for tablet-based productivity. At the same time, you’ll enhance the overall user experience on tablets, making your apps more versatile and adaptable to different scenarios.

The developer preview is available on the Pixel Tablet, with broader release to AOSP coming soon. Developers will need to update their Pixel Tablet to Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 to try out the new feature. Google says embracing the new feature is a great way to future-proof their apps.

By optimizing your apps for desktop windowing on Pixel Tablet, you are not only enhancing the app experience on that specific device but also future-proofing your apps for the broader Android ecosystem where freeform windowing will become prevalent. We’re excited about the windows of opportunities enabled by desktop windowing, and we look forward to seeing how you adapt your apps for an enhanced user experience.

Google introduced the Google Play Security Reward Program in 2017. Two years later, any app with more than 100 million downloads was eligible for coverage by the program. Now the company announced in an email to devs that the program is ending.

Sean Pesce shared the email he received X:

Dear Researchers,

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who have submitted bugs to the Google Play Security Reward Program over the past few years. Your contributions have been invaluable in helping us to improve the security of Android and Google Play.

As a result of the overall increase in the Android OS security posture and feature hardening efforts, we’ve seen fewer actionable vulnerabilities reported by the research community. Due to this decrease in actionable vulnerabilities reported, we are winding down the GPSRP program. The GPSRP program will end on August 31st. Any reports submitted before then will be triaged by September 15th. Final reward decisions will be made before September 30th when the program is officially discontinued. Final payments may take a few weeks to process.

I want to assure you that all of your reports will be reviewed and addressed before the program ends. We greatly value your input and want to make sure that any issues you have identified are resolved.

Thank you again for your support of the GPSRP program. We hope that you will continue working with us, on programs like the Android and Google Devices Security Reward Program.

Best regards,
Tony
On behalf of the Android Security Team”

Google has updated its bug bounty page to reflect the change:

Important note: The Google Play Security Reward Program (GPSRP) will close for submissions of new reports on August 31st 2024. All reports submitted before August 31st will be processed. Final reward decisions will be made before September 30th when the program is officially discontinued. Final payments may take a few weeks to process.

Swift is the standard programming language for macOS and iOS development. Until now, there has been no easy way for iOS devs to release an Android version off of the same code base. Instead, developers have needed to use Kotlin or Java to manually write their Android app, or use frameworks like React, Vue, or similar frameworks that use web technologies. While popular, web-based frameworks often suffer from a lack of performance and interfaces that don’t quite look native.

Skip 1.0 hopes to address those issues with the first tool that makes cross-platform mobile development possible. Abe White, Skip co-founder, announced the news on X.

The company’s website explains how it works.

As you build your Swift and SwiftUI app in Xcode, the Skip Xcode plugin continuously transpiles it into the equivalent Kotlin and Jetpack Compose for Android. Develop dual-platform libraries or entire apps, with native performance and native user interfaces on both platforms.

The website emphasizes that Android apps created using Skip are truly native.

Skip apps don’t just “look native”, they are native: Swift and SwiftUI on iOS, Kotlin and Compose on Android. You know the difference, and so do your users.

Skip is tackling a major need within the mobile development community and will likely become a popular option for individuals and organizations looking to support both iOS and Android.

Unlike iOS, Android gives users the ability to easily load apps from alternate app stores, or to download apps directly from a developer’s site. Google has been planning to give users the option of updating such sideloaded apps via the standard Play Store, and it appears the update is rolling out to users.

Mishaal Rahman announced the news on Mastodon:

The Google Play Store is starting to give users the option of whether they want to update an app installed from another source (ie. apps they sideloaded).

User Ayan on Telegram noticed this new “update from Play” button while they were on a listing for an app they sideloaded outside the Play Store.

“The app installed on your device didn’t come from Google Play. You can update the app from the original source or from Google Play,” the message below reads.

App Stores have become a hot topic among regulators and consumers alike, with people wanting more options to have control over their own devices.

Google is clearly taking a much different approach, making it as easy as possible for people to manage their sideloaded apps.

News broke last week that T-Mobile was recalling all Revvl 7 Pro phones, although the company didn’t provide any details regarding the reason. According to a statement given to Android Authority, the company is recalling the devices because some of them aren’t performing as well as expected.

We paused sales on REVVL 7 Pro 5G devices after a small number of customers shared that the devices weren’t performing up to par. We’re working quickly to make them available for sale again and continue to have many device options for our customers.

The REVVL line is T-Mobile’s own in-house brand of phone. As the company’s statement makes clear, not all devices were performing poorly, but the company decided to recall all of them to ensure customers aren’t further impacted.

T-Mobile is to be commended for taking the initiative and ensuring its customers receive the best possible experience with its phones.

Apple notified Patreon late last year that it would be required to switch to the iOS in-app payment system, beginning in 2024. The deadline is quickly approaching, with Apple saying the company must remove all other billing options from the iOS app by November 2024.

As Patreon points out, this will impact creators and fans in two major ways:

• Apple will be applying their 30% App Store fee to all new memberships purchased in the Patreon iOS app, in addition to anything bought in your Patreon shop.
• Any creator currently on first-of-the-month or per-creation billing plans will have to switch over to subscription billing to continue earning in the iOS app, because that’s the only billing type Apple’s in-app purchase system supports.

Patreon makes clear that this only impacts new memberships:

Before we go any further, we want to be crystal clear about one thing: Apple’s fee will not impact your existing members. It will only affect new memberships purchased in the iOS app from November onward.

Patreon says it has been working with creators to provide options that best address the situation:

Based on creator feedback, we’ve built an optional tool that can automatically increase your prices — only in the iOS app — to offset the cost of Apple’s fee. This way, you’ll continue to earn at least the same amount per membership as you do on all other platforms.

That said, you deserve the chance to decide whether that’s something you want. So, while the automatic price increase is the default option, you also have the choice to keep your prices the same and pay the 30% fee from your earnings. We don’t recommend this, because it means you’d earn less per membership on in-app iOS transactions – but ultimately we believe it’s important to give you agency to make your own decisions.

Obviously, neither of these solutions are ideal. But remember, Apple’s fees are only in the iOS app. Your prices on the web and the Android app will remain completely unaffected. You can always send your fans to this Help Center article which explains the iOS in-app fees relative to other platforms, so they can better understand the implications of where they choose to make their purchases.

Apple’s billing requirement also creates problems for Patreon and its community:

Patreon is home to an incredible range of creators, all with unique circumstances and billing needs. Apple’s in-app purchase system, on the other hand, only supports Patreon’s subscription billing model. Apple has also made clear that if creators on Patreon continue to use unsupported billing models or disable transactions in the iOS app, we will be at risk of having the entire app removed from their App Store.

Apple’s billing mandates mean that if you’re on a first-of-the-month or per-creation billing model, your membership will no longer be available to fans in the iOS app starting this November until you switch over to subscription billing.

As a result of Apple’s mandates and in order to make sure that you can continue getting new members in the iOS app, we’ve started a 16-month-long migration process to bring all creators onto subscription billing by November 2025, supported by a roadmap of new features and tools to make sure the billing model works for you, your community, and your business. To be clear, this means that first-of-the-month and per-creation billing models will be discontinued in November 2025.

Most creators on Patreon use subscription billing. Over the past few years, we’ve slowly rolled it out, tackling each hurdle that has come up to ensure that the migration is not disruptive for creators. That’s the way we like to roll out products. Unfortunately, because of Apple’s timelines and constraints, we can’t continue to do it this way. Instead of helping creators move to subscription billing if and when they feel like it’s right for them, we’re now forced to migrate all creators on Apple’s timeline.

Patreon says it will continue to work with creators to improve the billing process. What’s more, it is tapping into its community of creators who have already made the switch, recruiting them to make how-to videos and instructional articles and FAQs to help others through the transition.

In the broader scope, Patreon’s dilemma illustrates why Apple has increasingly found itself under regulatory scrutiny for its App Store billing practices.

Unlike iOS, Android gives users full access to the file system. This makes it a viable option for transferring files and more. According to Microsoft, accessing those files is getting a lot easier with File Explorer.

Today we are beginning to gradually roll out the ability to see your Android phone in File Explorer to Windows Insiders with Android phones across all Insider Channels.

With this new experience, you will be able to wirelessly browse through all your folders and files, including media that is on your Android phone. You can open them, copy them to your PC, copy PC files to your phone, rename files, move them, and delete them.

Microsoft says the Android phone must be running at least Android 11 or later, and a beta version of the Link to Windows app is necessary. Users will also need to register for the Windows Insider Program while the features is still in testing.

To enable this experience, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile Devices and choose “Manage devices” and allow your PC to access your Android phone. You’ll then be able to see a toggle to show your phone in File Explorer. If you do not see this toggle, that means the experience hasn’t yet rolled out to you yet.

The feature will be a nice addition for Android users, and will help ease cross-platform file sharing and access.

Fortunately, there are some easy strategies that can help you do it.

Common Reasons Phones “Die”

Phones don’t last forever, but if we want to maximize how long they last, we need to first understand why they “die” or become no longer useful.

These are the usual culprits:

·       Physical damage. Most of us have had the experience of dropping a phone, then picking it up and resuming normal use. But unfortunately, all it takes is one bad point of physical damage to completely compromise your phone’s functioning capacity. Dropping your phone into water, causing forceful damage to the phone, and in some cases, even cracking the screen can prevent the phone from being functionally useful. Thankfully, you can protect most phones with the right phone case – more on that later.

·       Battery issues. Some phones die simply because their batteries no longer hold an adequate charge. We rely on our phones for their portability, giving us access to communication and various technological features no matter where we go. Once the battery is no longer able to hold many hours of a charge, the phone no longer works as a mobile device.

·       General slowdown. Sometimes, phones become in need of replacement when they experience a general slowdown. They’re no longer as responsive as they once were, and certain apps no longer work as we’d like. This is often because operating systems and software evolve to keep pace with the latest hardware, so it’s only a matter of time before old hardware can no longer keep up. However, this may also be attributable to hardware mismanagement.

·       Lack of support/compatibility. Phones eventually reach the end of their life permanently when they experience such a lack of support and so many compatibility issues that they’re no longer worth using. For most users, a manufacturer terminating support is the end of the road.

Use the Right Case

One of the best strategies to make your phone last longer is to use the right case. A good case can protect your phone from almost any kind of physical damage, though admittedly, no case is perfect.

·       Fit. Make sure you’re using a phone case that’s approved for your specific phone model. You need a case that fits snugly around your phone, while still providing ample flexibility.

·       Materials. It’s also important to consider the materials used. Soft materials are flexible and capable of absorbing impact, while harder materials provide even more durability. Most people benefit from using a combination of both.

·       Port coverage. Ports gather dust and debris, eventually compromising their effectiveness. Ideally, you’ll have a case that can protect them.

·       Screen protection. You should also have something in place to protect your screen. If your case doesn’t come with one, invest in a separate screen protector.

Handle Your Phone Responsibly

No matter how good your case is, it’s still a good idea to handle your phone responsibly. Driving over your phone with a car, throwing it recklessly, or submerging it into water can cause irreversible damage, even if you have a nice phone case in place.

Upgrade/Replace Your Battery

No matter how well you take care of it, your phone battery is going to start losing capacity within 2 or 3 years. Once you start noticing a discrepancy in your battery life, consider upgrading or replacing the battery. This is usually inexpensive, and it might even be something you can do on your own, but it can add years of life to your existing phone model.

Install Updates Regularly

Turn on automatic updates and make sure your phone and all its apps are updated regularly. Updates are made for several reasons, such as adding new features, improving efficiency, boosting security, and ensuring compatibility. It’s one of the best ways to make sure your phone continues functioning throughout the end of its natural life.

Get Rid of Whatever You Don’t Need

Be sure to regularly offload any apps, photos, and other media you no longer need. Maintaining a leaner phone can help it run faster and more smoothly; plus, the fewer apps and items you have to deal with, the fewer potential issues you’ll face.

Use Low Power Mode

Even if your battery is quite high, consider using low power mode. When in low power mode, your phone uses far fewer resources and operates much more efficiently. It’s not especially detrimental to most tasks, but it can greatly extend your battery life and cause less wear and tear to the phone itself.

Periodically Clean

Cleaning out phone ports is easier than you might think, and it’s something you should do regularly. Taking just a few minutes to clean out your ports can ensure they maintain clean, consistent contacts, ultimately prolonging their lifespan.

As you can see, even a handful of simple strategies are enough to boost the functional, useful life of your phone. As long as you’re willing to make a few investments and maintain your phone as necessary, you can probably get many additional years out of each model you buy.

Apple has long been rumored to be working on a foldable iPhone, with many experts and critics believing the company cannot ignore the form factor forever. In true Apple fashion, however, the company has been in no hurry to release its first foldable, waiting for the technology to mature so it can release a device that meets its exacting standards.

Apple’s summary provides some interesting details:

An electronic device may be provided with a foldable housing. The housing may have first and second portions that are coupled by a hinge for rotation about a bend axis.

A foldable display may be mounted to the foldable housing. The foldable display may have a display cover layer and a flexible display panel. The foldable display may bend around the bend axis. The display panel may have an array of pixels configured to display an image through the display cover Layer.

The display cover may be formed from a layer of glass. A recess may be formed in the layer of glass that extends along the bend axis. The recess may form a flexible locally thinned portion in the layer of glass that allows the glass layer to bend about the bend axis.To ensure that the display cover layer exhibits satisfactory impact resistance during drop events, corner portions and other edge portions of the display cover layer may have increased thickness relative to other portions of the display cover layer outside of the locally thinned portion.

The hinge and/or other structures in the display may be configured to help hold the display flat when unfolded during normal use, while causing the display to slightly fold about the bend axis when the electronic device is jolted during a drop event. This helps prevent the display from impacting a hard surface while fully opened.

Apple’s summary focuses heavily on addressing one of the biggest criticisms of many foldable devices, namely their fragility. Users have complained about screens becoming unusable after small drops, something Apple focuses heavily on in its summary.

Apple has a long history of incorporating fall detection measures. The company incorporated Sudden Motion Sensor technology in its laptops as early as 2005. The feature was designed to detect a fall and instantly park the heads of traditional spinning hard drives to prevent damage from the fall. A decade ago, the company received a patent for technology to help iPhones better survive falls.

In view of that history, it’s not surprising that Apple is focusing so heavily on helping a foldable iPhone survive a drop event intact.

Android 5.0 was first released in 2014, marking a decade of varying levels of support. While Lollipop has not received upgrades or security updates, the decade-old OS could still use Google Play Services.

According to a company support article, Android 6 is now the minimum supported version:

Google Play Services connects apps to other Google services, like Google Sign In and Google Maps. Google Play Services isn’t the same as the Google Play Store app, and is included with Android.

Google Play Services doesn’t make your battery drain faster or use too much of your mobile data plan. You can’t force stop or uninstall Google Play services.

Important: Google Play services are only supported on devices with Android 6.0 (API level 23) or higher.

Fuchsia has been Google’s other OS project since at least 2016 when its existence became known publicly. It has been rumored to be Google’s replacement for Android and Chrome OS, a more modern OS that could unify Google’s OS strategy.

According to Android Authority, it appears Google is finally bringing the new OS to Android devices, but not as a native OS. In one of the outlet’s excellent deep dives, writer Mishaal Rahman uncovers evidence that Google is working on a project called “microfuchsia,” which would allow Fuchsia to run in virtualization.

In many ways, such an approach makes sense and taps into Fuchsia’s core benefits. The OS uses a completely different kernel than Android—the Zircon kernel—which offers some significant security benefits. Because Zircon is a “microkernel-like architecture,” Fuchsia can operate with very few services utilizing trusted code, unlike Android which needs to run trusted code for far more functions.

There’s still no word if Google plans to wide its use of Fuchsia. The company uses the OS to power its Nest Hub devices, but it has yet to make its way onto any Android devices as a primary OS, despite Samsung teasing in 2021 that the S22 could run Fuchsia.

In late 2023, Linux kernel developer Jonathan Corbet announced that support for long-term support (LTS) kernels would drop from six years to just two. LTS kernels form the basis of some of the most popular Linux distros, such as Debian and Ubuntu. LTS kernels have security and bug fixes backported throughout the life of the kernel, allowing distros to provide long-term stability and reliability while still having the latest security and bug fixes.

“There’s really no point to maintaining it for that long because people are not using them,” Corbet said at the time.

“Maintainers are burning out [because] maintainers don’t scale,” added Josef Bacik, kernel file system developer and kernel maintainer.

“This cannot stand,” added Darrick Wong, a senior kernel maintainer. “We need help.”

Google uses LTS Linux kernels as the backbone of Android, benefiting from the security and bug fixes those kernels provide to help protect Android users. The company describes its kernel strategy for Android common kernels (ACKs):

When a new LTS is declared upstream, the corresponding common kernel is branched from android-mainline. This allows partners to begin a project prior to the declaration of the LTS version, by merging from android-mainline. After the new common kernel branch is created, partners can seamlessly change the merge source to the new branch.

Other common kernel branches receive regular merges from their associated LTS kernel. These merges are normally done immediately after the LTS release is posted. For example, when Linux 6.1.75 was posted, it was merged into the 6.1 common kernel (android14-6.1). Partners are strongly encouraged to update their kernels to stay up-to-date with LTS and Android-specific bug fixes.

Needless to say, the changes to the Linux kernel LTS period directly impact Google’s efforts, limiting the viable kernels that can be used for Android:

Before Android 15 (AOSP experimental), any of the three most recent kernels could be used for device launch. Starting with Android 15 (AOSP experimental), the two most recent kernel versions can be used for device launch. The launch kernels for Android 15 (AOSP experimental) are android15-6.6 and android14-6.1.

Because of these changes, Google says it will now provide four years of support for the LTS kernels it uses as the basis of Android, going above and beyond the initial two.

ACKs might be supported for longer than the corresponding upstream stable kernel at kernel.org. In this case, Google provides extended support until the end-of-life (EOL) date shown in this section. When kernels are EOLed, they are no longer supported by Google and devices running them are considered to be vulnerable.

Beginning with kernel 6.6, the support lifetime for the stable kernels is 4 years.

The company provides the following table to show how long each specific kernel will be supported:

Google’s announcement should be welcome news for Android developers and vendors.

Users took to Reddit to post screenshots of their phones receiving the update to the latest version of Android. Interestingly, both users are Cricket Wireless customers.

Although the update is good news for Motorola Razr customers, as many pointed out, it’s hard to excuse Motorola for taking this long to release the update. Users were even less happy that it took this long for an unlocked phone they paid for outright.

“I can’t believe that the factory unlocked Razr is dead last to receive updates,” said user sunjay140.

“Really great that unlocked Razr owners will be the last to receive Android 14,” added ProgressiveSquirrel.

“I’m totally stoked I bought my phone outright and I’m being treated like I’m less of a Razr owner than someone making monthly payments and literally doesn’t own their phone.”

Slow updates have long plagued the Android ecosystem, in comparison to Apple’s iOS, with users very much at the mercy of manufacturers and their timetables. It’s one of the reasons that Samsung, and recently Google, have become so popular. Samsung and Google provide some of the longest support periods for individual phones, and roll out updates responsibly fast.

In the meantime, at least Motorola Razr user are finally getting Android 14. Better late than never…

According to MacRumors, citing Taiwanese outlet CTEE, Apple has reportedly increased its order of TSMC-manufactured chips for the upcoming iPhone 16. The company believes there is significant pent-up demand for the new model, leading to the increase.

The iPhone 16 is expected to use the new A18 chips across the entire lineup. In contrast, the iPhone 15 saw the use of two different chips, the A16 on lower-end models and the 17 on the Pro series.

MacRumors reports that the iPhone 16 is likely to see a RAM upgrade on the standard models from 6GB to 8GB, making 8GB the standard across the lineup. The move is likely a result of Apple’s decision to include on-device AI models, which the company indicated would require at least 8GB.

The new version is expected in September, if Apple holds to its usual release pattern. Given how well its AI announcements at WWDC were received, Apple could very well be looking at an upgrade supercycle.

The Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event is slated for July 10 in Paris, Fance, and will showcase Samsung’s Galaxy AI.

The next frontier of Galaxy AI is coming. Prepare to discover the power of Galaxy AI, now infused into the latest Galaxy Z series and the entire Galaxy ecosystem. Get ready for a world of possibilities as we enter a new phase of mobile AI.

The company says that users who reserve a new Galaxy device anytime between the 25th and July 10 will be eligible to receive the credit.

Starting today [June 25] through July 10, consumers who reserve one of the new Galaxy devices on Samsung.com are eligible to receive $50 instant Samsung Credit and save up to $1,500 when you pre-order a new Galaxy device.1 Those who reserve on Samsung.com are also eligible to enter into a sweepstakes for a chance to win $5,000 in Samsung Credit