Android

OnePlus 9 series and 8T get their last Android version updates

OnePlus 9 series and 8T get their last Android version updates

What you need to know OnePlus is reportedly rolling out Android 14-based OxygenOS 14 updates to older flagships. The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, alongside the 8T running on T-Mobile, are getting the latest OTA update. It brings Android 14, January 5, 2024 security patch, and general bug fixes. If you are still a OnePlus […]

These are the first things I do with every Chromebook

These are the first things I do with every Chromebook

Beyond the Alphabet (Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central) Beyond the Alphabet is a weekly column that focuses on the tech world both inside and out of the confines of Mountain View. I’ve had my fair share of Chromebooks come across my desk, and Google has done a pretty great job at making my […]

Tile secures $40 million to take on Apple AirTag with new products

Tile secures $40 million to take on Apple AirTag with new products

Tile, the maker of Bluetooth-powered lost item finder beacons and, more recently, a staunch Apple critic, announced today it has raised $40 million in non-dilutive debt financing from Capital IP. The funding will be put toward investment in Tile’s finding technologies, ahead of the company’s plan to unveil a new slate of products and features […]

Google abused dominant position of Android in India, antitrust probe finds

Google abused dominant position of Android in India, antitrust probe finds

Google has abused the dominant position of Android in India to illegally hurt competitors in the world’s second largest internet market, a two-year antitrust probe by the nation’s watchdog has found. The Android-maker reduced device manufacturing firms’ ability and incentive to develop — and sell — devices running alternative versions of Android (more popularly known […]

Google’s R&D division experiments with newsletters powered by Google Drive

Google’s R&D division experiments with newsletters powered by Google Drive

Following entries into the newsletter market from tech companies like Facebook and Twitter, Google is now experimenting with newsletters, too. The company’s internal R&D division, Area 120, has a new project called Museletter, which allows anyone to publish a Google Drive file as a blog or newsletter to their Museletter public profile or to an […]

News aggregator SmartNews raises $230 million, valuing its business at $2 billion

News aggregator SmartNews raises $230 million, valuing its business at $2 billion

SmartNews, a Tokyo-headquartered news aggregation website and app that’s grown in popularity despite hefty competition from built-in aggregators like Apple News, today announced it has closed on $230 million in Series F funding. The round brings SmartNews’ total raise to date to over $400 million and values the business at $2 billion — or as […]

Google and Jio delay their India smartphone launch

Google and Jio delay their India smartphone launch

The JioPhone Next, the much-awaited smartphone designed by Google and India’s Jio Platforms to tap hundreds of millions of users in the world’s second-largest internet market, won’t launch on Friday, the Indian technology giant said Thursday midnight. In a statement issued just now, Jio Platforms said it has been testing the smartphone with a “limited […]

Tape It launches an AI-powered music recording app for iPhone

Tape It launches an AI-powered music recording app for iPhone

Earlier this year, Apple officially discontinued Music Memos, an iPhone app that allowed musicians to quickly record audio and develop new song ideas. Now, a new startup called Tape It is stepping in to fill the void with an app that improves audio recordings by offering a variety of features, including higher-quality sound, automatic instrument […]

Driven by livestreams, consumer spending in social apps to hit $17.2B in 2025

Driven by livestreams, consumer spending in social apps to hit $17.2B in 2025

The livestreaming boom is driving a significant uptick in the creator economy, as a new forecast estimates consumers will spend $6.78 billion in social apps in 2021. That figure will grow to $17.2 billion annually by 2025, according to data from mobile data firm App Annie, which notes the upward trend represents a five-year compound […]