Mobile Phone

  Netflix today is launching a new feature on iOS devices that will help make it easier to watch its shows when you’re offline. The “smart downloads” feature, as it’s called, will automatically delete a downloaded episode after you’ve finished watching, then download the next one — but only when …

  According to the World Health Organization, over 400 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss. Many of the rest of us have at least limited hearing impairment. So it makes sense that with phones being at the center of our electronic life, phone makers would innovate in providing solutions …

  Apple is sending out a message to app developers: stop tricking users into subscriptions. The company updated its guidelines for mobile developers to more clearly spell out what is and what is not allowed, according to 9to5Mac, which spotted the recent changes. The improved documentation comes at a time when …

  The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Meizu has announced an unusual device — a smartphone with absolutely no ports at all. The new device, dubbed ‘Zero’, doesn’t just eliminate a headphone jack — it has no SIM card slot, no speaker grill, no charging port, or physical buttons of any sort. …

  Pour one out for Microsoft’s smartphone platform. After years of half-measures aimed at competing with Android and iOS, Microsoft is calling it quits on Windows 10 Mobile. The December 2019 patches for Windows 10 Mobile will be the last. The company is urging any Windows Mobile holdouts to make …

  Google’s struggling Wear OS platform could be headed for some big changes with the news that the company has acquired wearable technology and employees from Fossil. The firms didn’t specify what exactly Google it getting from Fossil, but it did cost the Android maker a cool $40 million. Could …

  Samsung will launch its new lower-priced Galaxy M series in India before the smartphones roll out globally. Asim Warsi, senior vice president of Samsung India’s smartphone business, told Reuters that three devices will be available through its website and Amazon India at the end of January and are intended …

  YouTube is updating its mobile app to make it easier to navigate through videos. The company announced it will this week roll out a new horizontal swiping gesture that lets you move forward and backward through the videos you’re watching. Swiping forward takes you to the next recommended video, …

  Pandora today announced the launch of its own, in-app voice assistant that you can call up at any time by saying “Hey Pandora,” followed by a request to play the music or podcasts you want to hear. The feature will allow you to not only control music playback with …

  Every smartphone of note these days has some sort of biometric unlock option, be that fingerprint, iris scanning, or face unlock. US courts have held that your right against self-incrimination does not extend to these biometric features, making them less secure than a password. However, a federal judge just …