15 best Chromecast apps for Android

The Chromecast is probably the most popular video streaming device of all time. Even though it’s a small piece of hardware, it allows you to connect your TV to practically anything else in the house with a processor in it and that includes your Android phone. In most cases, it’s easier to use a Chromecast than it is finding a way to hook your devices up to your TV individually and its cheap price point makes it almost universally accessible. If you have a Chromecast, you’ll want to check out the best Chromecast apps for Android. You should already have the Google Home app installed as it acts like a control center and content discovery platform for your Chromecast.
Looking for some other info? We got lots of info about the Chromecast. 10 best TV apps and Live TV apps for Android
The way we watch TV is evolving. TV subscriptions are no longer entirely necessary. There are now a variety of ways to watch TV right on your mobile devices. That includes a new wave of …Chromecast 2015 and Chromecast Audio ReviewAlong with the new flagship Nexus smartphones, the Nexus 6P and the Nexus 5X, Google also unveiled an updated version of the Chromecast HDMI dongle, boasting a new look, multiple color options, and of course, …

BubbleUPnPPrice: Free / $4.69DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYBubbleUPnP is an application that allows you to float your media literally all over your house. It’s compatible with most current game systems, Roku, Chromecast, mobile devices, tablets, and more. That means you’ll be able to cast your photos, TV shows, movies, and music to virtually any WiFi connected device in your home. It also comes with cloud support. That means you can cast things from your Google Drive, etc to your Chromecast. It’s one of the must-have Chromecast apps. You can download it for free to check it out before forking out $4.69 for the pro version.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Google Play MusicPrice: Free / $9.99 per month / $14.99 per monthDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYGoogle Play Music is another Google app that works very well with the Chromecast. This one allows you to upload up to 50,000 songs to their servers that you can stream to your Chromecast (and other places). You can also purchase their $9.99/month subscription and that gives you access to Google Play Music radio stations and all the songs on the service along with YouTube Red. The $14.99 plan is a family plan that can include up to six people. Finally, the app can also access and cast your locally streamed music to your Chromecast. This is a one-stop shop for music, even if the app still needs some work.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

HuluPrice: Free / $7.99-$11.99 per month / $39.99 per monthDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYHulu is one of the most popular Chromecast apps. It features current and modern TV shows along with a few movies. It’s also a good spot for anime fans. You can put shows on a watchlist and stream it to your TV via Chromecast. They also recently launched a TV service for $39.99 per month. It includes over 50 channels. Hulu has a small but growing selection of original content. You could definitely do worse. The Chromecast support is excellent as well.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

iHeartRadioPrice: FreeDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYiHeartRadio is a streaming service. It operates a lot like Pandora. There are stations that you can listen to that play certain types of music. There are also real radio stations that you can tap into. Of course, it also has Chromecast support. iHeartRadio is particularly great around the holidays as their holiday stations are second to none in most cases. It’s completely free to use as long as you can tolerate some advertising. It’s one of the better Chromecast apps for streaming random music. DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

LocalCastPrice: Free / DonationDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYLocalCast is another great option for those who want to cast their locally stored media. It supports music, TV shows, movies, and images stored on your device. It works with Chromecast along with any other DLNA supported device. Like other options, it has cloud storage support so you can cast your cloud saved media as well. It can even cast PDF files if you need it to. It’s ad supported, but you can donate an amount you choose to get the pro version. The rates are between $0.99 and $21.30.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Take a break and check out some more awesome Android apps!10 best video streaming apps and video streaming services for Android
Video streaming is a big deal. That old cable subscription is looking less and less like a good deal and there are now tons of ways to enjoy content online. Online streaming services also beat …10 best music streaming apps and music streaming services for Android
Music streaming has grown up tremendously since its inception and is now among the best ways to listen to music. Many streaming services let you listen for free, which has helped curb the need for …

Movies AnywherePrice: Free (movies cost money)DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYMovies Anywhere is one of the newer Chromecast apps. It’s a movie aggregate service. It integrates with Google Play Movies, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, and Disney Anywhere. The app has some bugs. However, it works pretty well for the most part. You buy a movie on any of the aforementioned services. They become available on this app. This is one of the few ways to cast Amazon content to a Chromecast. The app itself is free. Movies on the various services cost money, obviously.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

NetflixPrice: Free / $9.99 per month / $11.99 per monthDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYNetflix is definitely one of the must-have Chromecast apps. Everyone knows what Netflix is, what it has, and what it costs so there really isn’t much new information here. It has been continuously updated and improved over the years and the developers have done well with keeping with the latest design trends. Streaming is almost flawless as long as your connection holds out. Their selection is among the best and their original programming is considered on par with the best out there. It’s worth a shot since you can usually get a free trial for signing up.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

PandoraPrice: Free / $4.99 per month / $9.99 per monthDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYPandora Radio is one of the most popular Chromecast apps out there. People have been using it for years to discover new music, listen to random radio stations based on their tastes, and more. It’s simple, it works well, and it’s compatible with virtually everything. You can pay $4.99 per month to get rid of advertisements. Alternatively, you’ll soon be able to get Pandora Premium for $9.99 per month. That will allow for on-demand streaming of any song in their library. It’s a heavy hitter and it’s a must for Chromecast owners.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

PlexPrice: Free / $0.99 / $3.99 per monthDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYPlex has consistently been one of the best Chromecast apps available. It’s an app that lets you stream video from your phone or computer to your TV via the Chromecast. It takes a bit of time to set up, but it works great once you do. You’ll be able to use most of the features with the free version. However, you will need to fork out a small, one-time fee to use the Android app. You can also get Plex Pass for $3.99 per month. That adds more services and features on top of what you can already do. It’s powerful and the best way to get video from your computer to your TV without a bunch of cables.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Pocket CastsPrice: $3.99DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYPocket Casts is probably the best out there for listening to podcasts. As it turns out, it also has Chromecast support. There are a ton of podcasts that you can subscribe to. It also supports video and audio podcasts. There are also some other features, including a dark theme, syncing support, playlists, auto-downloading, and more. There isn’t a free version to try out. Thus, you’ll need to buy it and test it out inside of the refund time. Otherwise, it’s among the best CHromecast apps for podcast fans.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

You’re almost at the end! Here are even more fun music and video apps for you!10 best music player apps for AndroidA lot of folks these days have transferred to some sort of music streaming service like Pandora, Spotify, Google Play Music, or Apple Music. However, there are those of us left that hang on to …10 best video player apps for AndroidVideo streaming has taken over in a big way. A lot of people have Netflix, Hulu, VRV, and even YouTube subscriptions. However, there are still plenty of us out there with video files on our …

Solid ExplorerPrice: Free trial / $1.99DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYSolid Explorer is one of many file explorers out there. However, this one comes with Chromecast support. It’s also pretty awesome. You’ll get a Material Design interface, dual pane support, and all of the basic features you’d expect from a file manager. It even supports FTP, SFPT, WebDav, and SMB/CIFS protocols along with cloud storage support. You can pick up a 14-day free trial by downloading the app. After that, it’s $1.99 to keep it for good. It’s a great way to stream your locally stored content and cloud storage content. It’s also great for file management. Obviously.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

SpotifyPrice: Free / $9.99 per month / $14.99 per monthDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYSpotify took its sweet time getting on the train when it came to Chromecast support. However, it finally did and now it’s one of the best Chromecast apps out there. The streaming service itself has over 30 million tracks along with various radio stations, video content, podcasts, and more. It’s currently the reigning king when it comes to popularity in the streaming business. It’s also compatible with most devices. The $9.99 per month plan gets you in the door while the $14.99 per month plan is their family plan (supports up to six people). They also offer discounts for college students.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

TuneIn RadioPrice: Free / $9.99 per monthDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYTuneIn Radio is a different kind of streaming app. It supports music like most do. However, you can directly stream tons of AM and FM radio stations, and even podcasts. It’s mostly for fans of talk radio, although there is a little something in there for everybody. Those who go with the premium subscription can get live sports games (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL), 80,000 audiobooks, and access to 600 radio stations that don’t have advertising. It also removes the ads from the app. It’s arguably one of the best Chromecast apps for fans of talk shows, radio, podcasts, and similar content.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

VRVPrice: Free / $9.99 per monthDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYVRV is one of the newer Chromecast apps. It’s a conglomeration of anime and cartoons streaming channels. Some of them include Crunchyroll, Funimation, Rooster Teeth, RiffTrax, and Geek & Sundry. The app is new and a tad buggy. The Chromecast support is pretty good, though. This is better than getting an individual subscriptions to any of these services, although you do miss out on some special rewards for things like Rooster Teeth First or Crunchyroll. This is an outstanding video service and one our picks for best apps of 2017.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

YouTubePrice: Free / $9.99 per monthDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYYouTube is pretty much where it’s at for video streaming. You can find tons of channels (including ours!) that cover and show all kinds of content. You can find educational stuff, music, tech, entertainment, news, and all kinds of other stuff. The app is free to use although you can pick up a YouTube Red subscription for $9.99 per month. That also gives you access to Google Play Music’s premium features and that makes them a one-two punch that’s tough to beat. Everyone knows YouTube and it’s definitely among the best Chromecast apps.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Thank you for reading! Here are a few final app lists to check out!15 best Android TV games
Android TV’s release was exciting. Here was a platform that was more stable than Google TV and the developer community responded in kind by developing some awesome stuff for it. A little time has passed …10 best Android TV apps
It’s been a couple of years since Android TV has come out and it’s been slowly maturing as a platform. It has more apps and games available for it than ever before. There could be …
If we missed any of the best Chromecast apps for Android, tell us about them in the comments!
> Best Media streaming devices – what your options?
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10 best video editor apps for Android

Video editing is one of the heaviest tasks that a device can perform. On computers, it requires decent specs, tons of RAM, tons of storage, and some know-how on how to make it work. Because of this, it’s one of the more difficult tasks to reproduce on mobile. Phones do not have the specs or power to replicate experiences like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro. You will not find anything even close to that on mobile. However, some apps can do the basic stuff pretty well. It’s even good enough for some pro vlogging if you’re patient. Without further delay, here are the best video editor apps on Android.
Here are some more related app lists you might enjoy!15 best Photo Editor Apps for Android for 2018
Thanks to the vast improvements made to smartphone cameras, mobile photo editing is more popular than ever. Everyone wants to add those little tweaks to make their photos really pop and there are a metric …15 best camera apps for AndroidCameras on smartphones are a much bigger deal than they used to be. Companies are chomping at the bit to make their cameras more reliable, work better in low light, and add features that people want. …

ActionDirector Video EditorPrice: Free / $3.99DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYActionDirector is one of the most popular video editing apps on PC. It’s also available on Android. It does the basics. You can import clips, edit them, and render the video. You can do things like add your own music, trim and cut video, add text, employ slow motion, and more. It’s one of the few video editor apps that also supports 4K video. You’ll have to check and see if your device supports it, though. The developers have a nifty tool linked in the Google Play Store to see if yours can. It also gets frequent updates.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Adobe Premiere ClipPrice: FreeDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYAdobe Premiere Clip is one of the big names when it comes to video editor apps. It has a laundry list of features, including the ability to auto-generate videos using your images and video if you don’t want to do it yourself. If that’s not your thing, you can edit your video manually using a variety of tools, effects, and music. The app boasts that you can use your own music but some users have found this process to be difficult. It does sync and work with Adobe Premiere Pro so you can start a project on one and continue on the next one. However, you’ll need an Adobe Creative Cloud account to make all the syncing work.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

FilmoraGo – Free Video EditorPrice: Free / $7.99DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYFilmoraGo is a video editor app by Wondershare. It’s easily one of the best video editor apps. This video editor packs a whallop. You can do the basics like trim and cut, render, and that kind of stuff. It also includes the ability to play in reverse, do square videos (1:1) for Instagram, and 16:9 videos for YouTube specifically. It also has support for things like slow motion, transitions, music, overlays, and more. It’s not half bad for what you get. There are in-app purchases that add to the power. However, most of the features are, in fact, free.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Funimate Video Editor and EffectsPrice: Free with in-app purchasesDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYFunimate is one of the surprisingly popular, but not overly powerful video editor apps. It bills itself as being a great app for making music videos or simple videos out of the stuff you already have on your device. There are 15 video filters that you can play with and the creation process is fairly painless. This isn’t something you’d want to use on a serious video. It has things like video effects. However, it’s better for short little social media posts rather than actual video production. You can download it for free to try it out yourself.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

KineMasterPrice: Free / $4.99 per monthDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYKineMaster is one of the most powerful video editor apps available. You can do the basics like most of these other video editors can. However, this one includes multiple video, image and effect layers. Additionally, there are audio filters, chroma key (for your green screen fans out there), various video effects, transitions, and more. It’s not as powerful as a full desktop editor. However, this gets much closer than most other competitors. We would recommend this for actual video production (at least for stuff like YouTube). You can use it for free in trial mode for a while. However, you’ll need the $4.99 per month subscription to get everything forever.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

We’re halfway done! Here are some more excellent app lists!15 best Android apps of 2018
Here it is ladies and gentlemen. The crème de la crème. The Android apps that stand alone at the top of the pantheon. These apps have become ubiquitous with Android and if you’re looking for …10 best gif creator apps for Android
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Movie Maker FilmmakerPrice: FreeDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYMovie Maker Filmmaker among the best free video editor apps currently available. You’ll be able to trim, crop, and reorder video content as well as set focal points. The app also boasts a variety of video effects and you can design your own custom filters, although that functionality isn’t amazingly powerful. It also has the rest of the basics, like music. The app has struggled with some bug issues since it’s major redesign, but it’s still one of the better video editing apps out there. It’s also completely free with ads. DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

PowerDirectorPrice: Free / $5.99DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYPowerDirector is one of the most comprehensive video editor apps on this list. It comes with a ton of features, including quick editing tools, various effects and other tools, and it even comes with things like a collage maker and slow motion support. The interface is relatively easy to work with and it utilizes the classic timeline editor method. It should be more familiar for those who video edit often. It’s free to download and use, but you’ll need to fork out some extra money to get all the features.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

QuikPrice: FreeDOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYQuik is from a newer generation of video editor apps. It’s halfway decent if you need something simple. The way it works is you add up to 50 photos and video clips into the app. The app then analyzes them and spits out a short video from them. Quik contains about two dozen video styles and you can re-order and customize your video before you export it. It’s not nearly as powerful as something like Adobe Premiere Clip or PowerDirector, but not everyone needs something that intense. It’s free to download with no in-app purchases.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

VivaVideoPrice: Free / $3.99DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYVivaVideo is one of the exceptionally popular video editing apps. In practice, though, it’s a very middle-of-the-road video editor. It works especially well for short clips for social media. The app uses a storyboard style of editing where you load clips, edit and trim them as needed, and then move on to the next segment. It includes over 200 video filters and various other effects, text input, and fast and slow motion support. VivaVideo has a free version that comes with a watermark and a time limit for any given video. You can remove these restrictions by buying the pro version.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

VideoShow Video EditorPrice: Free / Up to $19.99DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYVideoShow Video Editor is one of the more popular video editing apps. It’s a simple video editor that lets you do the basic stuff like trim video, organize your clips, and add music. You’ll also find some additional features like the ability to add emoji and text to videos and a variety of video effects to make things a little more fun. It’s great for stuff like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, but it’s not powerful enough for bigger productions. You’ll want to check out something else for that. The app is free to download and use with some additional stuff available as in-app purchases.DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Thank you for reading! Allow us to shameless promote a couple more app lists!10 best gallery apps for Android
Despite the simple premise, not all gallery apps are the same. Some of them work fantastically with great designs and quickness. Others suffer from poor design and slowness. The good news is that you have …10 best cloud storage services and apps for Android of 2017
We’re not in an era where having cloud storage is a good idea. It’s efficient, doesn’t take up your internal storage, and it’s far more convenient than carrying a hard drive around everywhere. it also …
If we missed any of the best video editor apps for Android, tell us about them in the comments! You can also click here to check out our latest Android app and game lists!
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Deal: Project Fi offers the Android One Moto X4 for $249, Pixel XL for $549

Project Fi’s latest promotion knocks $150 and $120 off the Moto X4 and Pixel XL, respectively.
You have from now through Valentine’s Day to get the discounted prices.
The Moto X4 is the newer phone, though both are slated to receive timely software updates.

If you are on the hunt for an Android smartphone that is not overly expensive, Project Fi‘s promotion brings the Moto X4 and Pixel XL down to $250 and $580, respectively.
The Moto X4 normally goes for $400, while the Pixel XL sells for $700. The phones are automatically discounted during checkout, but make sure to activate Project Fi within 30 days of the device’s shipment. Otherwise, whatever discount you received will be charged to your Google Payments account.
Finally, the promotion goes through February 14 or while supplies last.
Motorola launched the Moto X4 in October 2017 with Android Nougat, though the phone received an update to Oreo in December. The Project Fi version of the Moto X4 is slated to receive timely updates, thanks to it being part of the Android One program.
Editor’s PickKilling the ‘Google can’t innovate anymore’ argumentGooglers leaving Google is not always news, but when an outspoken former Google advocate breaks free and starts flamebaiting, it’s worth considering their thoughts.

Steve Yegge’s blog about leaving Google after 13 years in the colorful, …
The phone features a 5.2-inch display with 1080p resolution, dual 12 MP and 8 MP rear cameras, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 630 chipset, 3 GB of RAM, and 32 GB of expandable storage.
The Pixel XL launched in October 2016 and features a 5.5-inch display with 1440p resolution, 12 MP camera, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 chipset, 4 GB of RAM, and either 32 GB or 128 GB of storage. The phone is slated to get Android P and security updates directly from Google until the end of 2019.
The Moto X4 might be the newer phone, but both will get Android P and timely software updates. This boils down to whether the Moto X4’s hardware entices you more than the Pixel XL’s.
You can make that decision at the link below.
Get the Moto X4 or Pixel XL on Project Fi
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The Apple HomePod speaker will not work with your Android

Apple has been quite busy promoting its upcoming HomePod wireless speaker with lots of TV commercials ahead of its official launch on Feb. 9. However, if you were hoping that the HomePod would work like a standard Bluetooth speaker, the company has quietly revealed that won’t be happening, at least not for the launch.
The official HomePod specs have now been posted at Apple’s website (via Engadget). The good news is that the speaker supports Bluetooth 5.0. The bad news is that the specs show that streaming audio from third-party apps like Spotify is only available via Apple’s AirPlay from devices like the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, and Mac PCs. That means if you have an Android smartphone, you can’t stream audio from it to play on the HomePod, even if you have the Android version of the Apple Music app installed on your phone.
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To make matters worse for non-Apple hardware owners, you can only set up the HomePod with a device that’s running on iOS 11 or higher. Again, this means you have to own an iPhone, iPad or other iOS 11-based device to even get the HomePod up and running. The HomePod will support streaming audio directly from Apple Music, along with any iTunes music purchases, audio from your iCloud Music Library (if you have an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription), the Beats 1 live radio services and the Podcasts app. If you stream a third-party app from Apple devices to the HomePod, like Spotify, it will not be able to support voice commands via the speaker’s Siri digital assistant.
All of this means that the HomePod is strickly for Apple hardware owners, and fans of Android phones, tablets, or Windows PCs are left out in the cold. The good news is that there are plenty of high quality wireless speakers out there that are far more flexible when it comes to audio sources and hardware devices. It’s possible Apple could release updates to the HomePad to allow the use of non-Apple devices as audio sources, but we won’t be holding our breath for that to occur anytime soon.
In the meantime, the speaker itself will go on sale in the US on Feb. 9 for $349. It will also go on sale on the same day in the UK for £319 and in Australia for A$499. Sales of the HomePod will expand to include France and Germany sometime later this spring.
This post was originally published on Dgit.com.
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Imported smartphones could become more expensive in India

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Indian Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, tabled the 2018 Union Budget before the Parliament on Thursday. While the budget had its own merits, it did leave many disappointed with respect to prices of imported goods such as mobile phones.
The Minister announced import duties will jump to 20%, up from 15% previously. This will impact all imported smartphones and other electronics including wearables and televisions. The latest hike follows in the footsteps of a recent import duty revision from 10% to 15%. Import duties have also been hiked for components such as printed circuit boards (PCBs), connectors, and camera modules.
The five percentage points hike is expected to translate to a 3-4% increase in the final price of imported smartphones, though it’s possible that manufacturers will absorb some of the increase in order to keep their prices competitive.
Expect a 3-4% increase in the final price of imported smartphones

Against the backdrop of a seemingly populist budget, the move by the Finance Ministry to further increase import duties is viewed as the Government’s way of pushing local end-to-end manufacturing and reduce reliance on imported goods. Many Android OEMs, including Gionee, Xiaomi, Samsung, LG, Micromax, and LAVA International, have already established bases in different parts of the country and more OEMs are expected to shift or start new manufacturing bases here. India’s large customer base and availability of cost-effective and skilled manpower are seen as advantages over competing China.
While the move to push local manufacturing has been largely welcomed, the other side of the story does not paint a very rosy picture. Apple already makes its iPhone SE in India and has recently asked the Indian Government for more sops with respect to waiving of import and export duties. The Government is understood to have not yet bowed down to Apple’s demands due to the extensive policy changes required. Thus, while locally made iPhone SE’s have been immune to changes in import duties, imported, flagship iPhones are being sold at higher prices than their US counterparts. For example, the iPhone X 256 GB retails for $1,149 in the US but costs $1,646 in India after taxes.
Editor’s PickBest Android phones under 10,000 Rs in IndiaConsumers in the Indian market are spoilt for choice when it comes to picking the right smartphone. Whether it be the latest and greatest, or the affordable mid-range, or the ultra low-cost, there is something …
India has also come under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) scanner due to the duties being levied on mobile phone imports, despite the country being a signatory to the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). India is contesting WTO’s allegations and is open for technical discussions on the matter. The Finance Ministry’s move to further increase customs duties could further damage India’s prospects at the WTO.
From a consumer standpoint, the duties hikes are coming at a time when mobile usage is on the rise and data service penetration is increasing exponentially. The majority of the population could be using locally manufactured phones, but the new rules do dampen the spirit for those willing to purchase imported flagship devices. Ultimately, if the Government’s intentions bear fruit, more OEMs can be expected to start end-to-end operations in India benefiting both themselves and consumers.
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Killing the ‘Google can’t innovate anymore’ argument

Googlers leaving Google is not always news, but when an outspoken former Google advocate breaks free and starts flamebaiting, it’s worth considering their thoughts.
Steve Yegge’s blog about leaving Google after 13 years in the colorful, happy, free-food-everywhere world caught plenty of attention. That’s definitely what Yegge was after too — he spent more than half of the post hyping where he’s off to next. It’s a fine playbook.
But is Yegge just disgruntled and determined to throw a few headline-grabbing rocks for free publicity, or is he actually making valid points? Some background: Yegge spent six years at Amazon before Google, and once said “Amazon does everything wrong, and Google does everything right.” So what’s changed?
Unpacking Yegge’s first three points are pretty standard for a big company. The company is too conservative, mired in politics, and arrogant. As Yegge himself confirms, those are pretty much unavoidable for a company the size of Google. So let’s leave them be.
The fourth claim is the most meaningful. Yegge believes Google is failing to innovate, that it’s looking sideways rather than investing in new ideas.
“Google has become 100% competitor-focused rather than customer focused.”
Copy-cat competition
Yegge focuses on big copy-cat launches like Google+, Google Cloud copying Amazon’s AWS, Google Home competing with Amazon Echo, Allo vs WhatsApp, and Google Assistant vs Apple’s Siri. He also recognized some exceptions: Google’s Cloud Spanner, BigQuery, TensorFlow, and Waymo.
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It’s short-sighted to slight Google for offering useful tools to their users to keep them inside the Google ecosystem. Some of the competitor apps or tools mentioned here are not even innovations — Apple purchased Siri, and Facebook paid a king’s ransom for WhatsApp.

But Yegge hints at deeper problems, at the DNA-level — a popular Silicon Valley term you’ll often hear in metaphorical media bites; “X runs deep in Apple’s DNA” (replace X with music, education, technology, or you can further confuse the metaphor and say that Steve Jobs’ DNA is the base for Apple).
“They are stuck in me-too mode and have been for years,” writes Yegge.
“They simply don’t have innovation in their DNA any more. And it’s because their eyes are fixed on their competitors, not their customers.”
The problem here is that being perceived as innovative can be shockingly fleeting. Snapchat was once lauded for its innovation, especially in the augmented reality space with their Spectacles. Then Spectacles’ cool factor fell off a cliff and they stopped selling, forcing the company to write off $40 million of funky glasses.
Amazon might be praised for the successful projects of its secretive Lab126 R&D unit, like the Kindle and the Amazon Echo. But the Fire Phone was an utter debacle, even if that failure hasn’t slowed anything down. Innovation and failure often walk side by side.
Then again, perhaps Yegge is hinting at Amazon’s rapid progress compared to his perception of Google’s “stalled” innovation. As already noted, he worked for Amazon years before it ever had a hint of being a “cool” brand that could win Oscars and open automated supermarkets people will actually line-up for. Amazon is clearly leading innovation right now; it spends more on R&D than any other company in the world. Alphabet spends third-most, some $3 billion per year ($8 million per day) behind.
(via Bloomberg)
Yegge is (mostly) wrong
But back to the main point. Just because Amazon is leading, it’s wrong to say Google is no longer innovating. The “100 percent competitor-focused” line is a complete throwaway cliche. Of course Google is competitor-focused, it just doesn’t sound as catchy to say any number lower than 100.
There are no companies of significance ignoring their competitors. At the scale of Google, not offering something a competitor does means hundreds of millions of users can’t get it in their ecosystem. That’s a problem when the competition also reaches hundreds of millions of users. Not keeping up at the Google level is a massive risk.
True innovation is still possible, but some of the most interesting ideas are only truly possible as start-ups. Uber and Airbnb infamously skirt the law around the world. Ethically challenging ideas like Bodega might make money but can’t be done by a company like Google.
In addition, new innovations build on existing work. The ones we know about are generally the best executions. Apple rarely innovates — the iPhone wasn’t the first multi-touch device, but it was the best implementation. Apple is proud of being the “best,” rather than the first.

A sign of strong desire for more homegrown innovation came late last year when Google shelled out $1.1 billion for approximately 2,000 HTC engineers to better develop its hardware. It also established a separate hardware team in Shanghai, close to the global epicenter of electronics manufacturing. The Pixel line, as influential as it is, hasn’t dramatically changed the smartphone space, but who has? It’s an incremental world of improvement until the next big thing.
Google is a leader, we just don’t always see it
A short and incomplete list of things Google is leading in starts with AI. Google Assistant dominates everything other than Alexa. The DeepMind acquisition has famously beaten Go, and also improved energy efficiency at global data centres, and their photo and image AI is world class. Of course, that’s only scratching the surface. It’s very hard to see what’s changing in Search, which raises an important point.
First we see the big innovations, such as Search, Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and StreetView. The curse of such successful innovation is that it grows to become enormous. The Google Search codebase is more than two billion lines of code. Search is locked into first place, and decades of fine-tuning — more than 50 million commits — have kept Google in front. That’s innovation we’ll rarely see any hint of beyond better results.
Most of us use Google Maps as a boring-but-necessary utility, rather than a source of delight. It isn’t exciting anymore, but Google is so far ahead of other map services it’s ridiculous.

New Essay: “Google Maps’s Moat”https://t.co/RYaNfmTkrj pic.twitter.com/zZCFOFw93C
— Justin O’Beirne (@justinobeirne) December 19, 2017

A great indicator of just how far ahead Google Maps has gotten was published just last month, showing some remarkable features over rivals including Apple. Google Local Guides was a neat innovation that is decidedly not machine learning-based, collating raw data from users and turning it into opening hours, answers for questions like if cafes or restaurants are cosy and quiet, or if there’s Wi-Fi available. That’s not happening at this scale anywhere else. Other crowdsourced innovations include, er, Crowdsource, and the very new Google Bulletin for hyper-local news.

With the new AI-powered Clips camera, Google Photos will offer amazing AI insight into your photos, as well as free storage and a host of new experimental Photos apps. Google AMP was a response to Facebook Instant Articles and it won — AMP is now a significant part of the web for publishers.
Let’s also not forget it was Google that found recent vulnerabilities like Broadpwn, Cloudbleed, Heartbleed, Spectre, and Meltdown (the latter two were also found by multiple independent sources). It is clearly leading hardware and software security for everyone, not just Google users.
Then there’s the company’s moonshots, probably the craziest innovations, though admittedly more in the territory of parent company Alphabet than Google itself. Most have now been spun out of Google X, but many use Google’s unparalleled data to produce innovative ideas in spaces like urban planning and city building (SideWalkLabs), the medical sector (Verily), autonomous vehicle development (Waymo), and even immortality (Calico). There’s also a renewable energy spin-off via backyard geothermal play Dandelion. That’s on top of all the plays Yegge mentioned himself, like TensorFlow.
Perhaps in response to the dubiousness of his claim, Yegge posted a follow-up note clarifying some of his points and made it clear he didn’t believe the sky was falling at Google. He made his point clearer after just hinting at it in the previous post: it’s really just that Amazon is doing it better. But innovation isn’t an all-or-nothing scenario.
Jeff Bezos has one of the world’s great start-up investment portfolios
Jeff Bezos is an exception. He innovates all the time and he doesn’t fear failure. Many of his ideas fall flat, but he almost never throws them away. Instead he hammers at it until it’s in the right form for success. Amazon churns out innovations at a rate much, much higher than companies of similar size. Not surprisingly, Bezos is now the richest man in the world.
Maybe it’s grass-is-greener talk — Yegge described Bezos as an “infamous micro-manager” who “makes ordinary control freaks look like stoned hippies” back in 2011. That was also when he described Google as 99 percent arrogance-free, so things have either changed dramatically or Yegge has just grown tired of Google life. Either way, smack-talking his employers current and past seems to be Yegge’s M.O.
Opinions aside, Bezos has one of the world’s great investment portfolios in Bezos Expeditions, which includes investments in Airbnb, Google (a $250k investment in 1998), Blue Origin, Uber, Twitter, Stack Exchange, Business Insider, Kongregate, and more. He clearly has a talent for judging and supporting innovation.
Now the Google-Amazon rivalry seems bigger than the Apple-Google one. Apple is increasingly isolated in a premium-cost and premium-build world which not everyone likes, but it works just fine for the Cupertino company. Amazon is for everyone, and it looks like they could dominate the world. With Bezos driving a demand for innovation and spending more than anyone else, suddenly Amazon is the behemoth coming for all others.
Google isn’t known for being feisty. It won’t come out to defend itself from every minor criticism. Google highlights their innovations just like Amazon, only in a more fun, friendlier, Googlier-way. Where Amazon’s innovations gain attention as consumer-focused and therefore mainstream, Google’s innovations across AI and its enormous array of products don’t always dominate the headlines — the DeepMind defeat of the world’s best Go player is one exception.
After 13 years on the inside, Yegge should know Google better than anyone. He’s obviously hugely talented, but he seems jaded. Maybe stepping outside Google will inspire him again. But no innovation and too much competitor-focus? At Google? That’s a reach.
Source: Trickmost.ml

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Sprint, Foxconn, and Comcast named in America’s most hated companies poll

Sprint, Foxconn, and Comcast were ranked among the 20 worst hated companies in the US.
Sprint ranked seventh, while Foxconn and Comcast finished sixth and 15th, respectively.
All three companies encountered several negative headlines throughout 2017.

Congratulations to Sprint, Foxconn, and Comcast for being three of America’s most hated companies!
24/7 Wall St. tabulated the list and reviewed several metrics on customer service, employee satisfaction, and financial performance. The website also accounted for events that impacted a person’s perception of companies.
Based on the results, Sprint was America’s seventh most hated company. According to RootMetrics, the carrier is either at the bottom or close to it in terms of speed, data, calling, texting, and overall reliability relative to Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
Not all is bad for Sprint, as the carrier saw customer satisfaction increase 4 percent from 2016 to 2017. Sprint also looks to keep pace with the other major US carriers in the race to 5G.
With $38 billion in debt and a focus on cutting costs, however, we do not know if Sprint will make the appropriate improvements quick enough.
Foxconn, meanwhile, ranked sixth among the most hated companies. The company is known for making and assembling electronics for companies like Apple and Nintendo.
Foxconn is also known for the slew of suicide completions and suicide attempts that were reportedly due to poor working and living conditions, as well as low pay. The company “addressed” this by installing safety nets, with the most recent reported suicide being a 31-year-old night shift worker in 2016.
Editor’s PickSprint appoints industry veteran Michel Combes as president and CFO Sprint

Sprint has appointed Michel Combes as its new president and CFO
Combes will replace Tarek Robbiati in the role, who will leave at the end of the month
Combes is expected to cut …
Most recently, homeowners in Wisconsin filed a lawsuit against Foxconn over the company’s potential abuse of eminent domain. Foxconn wants to build a complex in an area that would push homeowners out and cost them, along with local and state governments, an estimated $4.5 billion.
Finally, Comcast ranked 15th on the list. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, the company was rated lower than industry averages for its internet, subscription TV, and fixed-line telephone services.
Comcast also rubbed some folks the wrong way when the company applauded the FCC’s decision to repeal its net neutrality regulations.
Whatever 2018 brings for these three companies, I am sure they hope it is positive.
Source: Trickmost.ml

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Why we are keeping phones for longer

After years of rapid growth, global smartphone shipments are slowing down. This is party due to the plateauing of the smartphone revolution in China and India, which has seen hundreds of millions of new customers purchase their first 4G smartphones over the past half a decade. At the same time, data suggest consumers are keeping their smartphones for longer across the U.S. and EU markets.
Combined, these two examples offer key insights into why the smartphone market is no longer the momentous investment opportunity it was just a few years ago. Yet the reasons behind this lengthening product life-cycle aren’t entirely clear. Here are some of the possible reasons why consumers are increasingly keeping their handsets for two years or longer.
Those $999+ price tags
An obvious starting point for explaining why consumers are holding onto their phones for longer is that they’re becoming increasingly expensive. When the latest top tier models from Apple and Samsung go for more than $999, it’s clear that annual, 18-month, or even 24-month upgrades aren’t always feasible on a typical income. That’s especially true now, as household disposable income growth has only begun recovering across much of Europe and the U.S. in the past couple of years.
You might think consumers would simply switch to more affordable models or stick within their previous budget range, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. There’s actually a growing appetite for aspirational high-end phones. Some of the latest data suggest an eighth of smartphones sold in Q3 2017 were priced above $900, twice as much as in Q3 2016. Consumers are buying the more expensive models, but they’re attempting to make them last longer, which seems reasonable.
The average amount spent on smartphones is increasing, causing buyers to wait longer before spending again.
Further evidence for this comes from the same smartphone life-cycle data, which shows China isn’t quite exhibiting the same trend. The life-cycle in China is gradually becoming longer, but there’s more of an ebb and flow thanks to how the smartphone market operates in the country, with a greater emphasis on online shopping.
The low cost, highly competitive nature of China’s internal market also ensures there’s a healthy consumer appetite for new products at more affordable price points. While Apple and Samsung are pushing into the $999+ bracket in the West, home-grown Chinese brands like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi are continuing to focus on value for money and price innovation. At lower prices, regular upgrades are a more feasible option.

Contracts and data packages
The increasing prices of high-end smartphones also has a knock-on effect for subsidized carrier plans and contracts. Although some regional trends are moving towards unlocked and online purchases, carrier store sales and prepaid plans are still the most popular method of purchase in the U.S., and are essential for many to spread the costs of high-end purchases in other Western markets.Editor’s PickThe best prepaid and no contract plans in the US (November 2017)When we first started this list in 2012, things were starting to get exciting. We were seeing processors with more cores, screens in true HD, and things were starting to get really interesting for Android. It’s …
While 24 month contracts are certainly nothing new in the smartphone industry, the higher cost of smartphones has a couple of implications for purchasing habits. First, the higher price makes spreading out the cost over longer periods of time more appealing and affordable. The monthly cost of a 24-month subsidized plan for a $999 phone is comparable to a 12- or 18-month contract for a $750 handset.
Second, upgrading part-way through the contract has also become less affordable. Previously it was reasonably affordable to pay off the remaining balance to upgrade early or return an old handset for a partial exchange on a newer model. With flagship prices creeping up and depreciation taking a chunk out of partial exchanges or second-hand sales, this is now a less viable option. Instead, customers may be waiting for 24-month contracts to be paid in full before considering a new model.

The tech arms race has ended
It could also be that customers just aren’t feeling the urge to upgrade their handsets as frequently because the differences between each generation have become smaller and smaller. The giant leaps in processing speed, storage capacity, and camera quality we saw three or four years ago simply aren’t happening anymore.
There are obviously still improvements being made, but they don’t impact the day-to-day experience as noticeably as they used to. Apps don’t stutter on phones with older processors and the only consumers really interested in these components are the benchmark chasers and serious gamers.
You’re not likely to run out of storage very quickly if you have 32 GB or more memory, especially as most people’s music listening and video watching habits have shifted to streaming services. The “advancements” in dual cameras and superior post-processing aren’t as significant as manufacturers would like to believe either, though consumers won’t turn their noses up at better-looking pictures.
Even two year old handsets run apps flawlessly, offer plenty of storage space, and take great pictures. So why upgrade?
Even the smaller features and unique selling points aren’t as interesting or meaningful these days. IP ratings for dust and water resistance can still be found on older handsets, as can nice glass or metal build materials. More recent advancements in smart assistants — helpful for some — aren’t realistically going to be a major factor in the purchase of a new phone. Especially as Google Assistant and Alexa supported apps are handset agnostic. Similarly, virtual reality support and accessories have been far from a compelling reason to upgrade. Pundits have been particularly critical about the lack of smartphone innovation, but the reality is OEMs have simply converged on the best formula.
Simply put, smartphone hardware has matured to the stage where customers aren’t running into any major reasons to upgrade annually anymore. The only exception with Android remains software updates, and after a couple of years or so consumers might finally be tempted to upgrade if for no other reason than to see the latest features from Google. Another likely reason to upgrade eventually is old non-removable batteries causing issues.

4G LTE widely adopted
The final and less often cited point is that very fast 4G LTE networks and compatible smartphones are now the norm across most of the globe, including significant reach in emerging markets. The global consumer drive to switch from 3G/HSPA+ models into 4G LTE capable handsets has largely been fulfilled.Editor’s PickZTE looks to launch its first 5G smartphone by early 2019

ZTE might not have had a strong presence during CES 2018, but Lixin Cheng, the CEO of the company’s US arm, still made a splash by announcing ZTE will launch a 5G-capable smartphone by early …
The move to faster data speeds has previously been a major driving factor for new purchases. However, the more incremental speed boosts offered by new modem technologies like LTE Unlicensed spectrum or support for new bands like T-Mobile’s 600 MHz are a tougher sell, especially since availability is limited to certain areas. Much like other parts of smartphone hardware, data speeds have matured to a state that most consumers are content enough not to spend hundreds on slight improvements.
It remains to be seen if 5G will be a major driver of new smartphone sales. There’s a certain appeal to being a first adopter, but nationwide 5G networks are going to take a significant amount of time to deploy — there’s unlikely to be a major consumer rush to buy new 5G capable phones when networks aren’t ubiquitous. We’ve also covered some of the reasons doing so might come at a significant cost. Sticking to the current 20-plus month average life-cycle will probably suit a gradual move into 5G just fine, especially considering high speed 4G LTE is perfectly fine for most smartphone use cases already.
Wrap Up
There are, of course, still very good reasons to purchase a new smartphone. As the market has matured these excuses have shifted from obtaining meaningful improvements to replacing hardware on its last legs. Between higher prices, expensive contracts, and hardware being more than good enough to last two or more years, there’s less incentive than ever for consumers to upgrade regularly.
Have you found yourself upgrading less frequently? How long are you keeping your smartphones for these days?
Source: Trickmost.ml

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Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile will run ads Sunday during Super Bowl LII

Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon will all run new TV commercials on Sunday, Feb. during Super Bowl LII.
Sprint’s Super Bowl ad has already been released online, as it goes after Verizon.
T-Mobile and Verizon are keeping their ads a secret for now.

The NFL may have had lower TV ratings in its most recent season, but that won’t stop pro football’s biggest game, Super Bowl LII, from becoming the single biggest live television event of the year, with 100 million people expected to watch the match between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. As a result, the TV network that’s showing the game, NBC, is supposed to be selling ads during the Super Bowl for over $5 million for just 30 seconds of time.
Editor’s PickHow to legally watch Super Bowl LII (in the US)

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events in the United States, with 160 million viewers annually. Whether you’re watching from your phone, Android TV or at a friend’s place, we want to …
AdAge reports that three of the top four US wireless carriers will be running new TV commercials during Super Bowl LII. Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless have all bought time during the game. In fact, you can watch Sprint’s 60 second Super Bowl ad right now online. It shows a human in an android development lab that looks more than a bit like the labs on HBO’s TV show Westworld. The androids in the lab decide to make fun of their human co-worker because he spent twice as much for his Verizon unlimited plan compared to the one offered by Sprint.
T-Mobile says it will return to the Super Bowl with its own 60-second ad on Sunday. The carrier is keeping quiet on its contents, except stating it will feature Kerry Washington, the star of the hit TV show Scandal. One of the most mysterious ad buys for Super Bowl LII is from Verizon. It has confirmed it will run a commercial during the game, but aside from that it is keeping its details a secret, including its run time. This will actually be Verizon’s first Super Bowl ad in several years; the last time the carrier ran one was in 2011.
Aside from the wireless carriers, Super Bowl LII will also feature ads from Amazon to promote its Alexa digital assistant, along with another ad that will show a trailer for the upcoming Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan TV series that will be an exclusive on the Amazon Prime video service. Monster Electronics will also show a commercial during the game to promote its new wireless earphones AirLinks Elements.
Source: Trickmost.ml

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Chrome OS 64 update adds tablet mode screenshots, Android app improvements

Google recently updated Chrome web browser to version 64 and now it has followed suit for Chrome OS. The latest stable build adds a handful of new features to Chrome OS devices, including various improvements based on how Chromebooks with Google Play support will handle Android applications.
The update (build 64.0.3282.134) first and foremost adds a handy new screenshot feature for Chromebooks with a 360-degree hinge. Up until now, there hasn’t been a way to take screenshots on devices like Google’s own Pixelbook when used in tablet mode.Editor’s PickObservations on Chrome OS, Android apps, and Google’s ecosystem

It’s been well over a year since Google officially announced that Android apps were coming to Chromebooks. A number of models have shipped with the new software, but many are still waiting, and may be …
With the new update, Chrome OS borrows a shortcut we’re all used to thanks to Android smartphones and tablets – simply hold down the volume down and power keys at the same time to capture a screenshot.
The new features for Google Play support aren’t quite as exciting, unfortunately, but I’m sure users with compatible devices will welcome any small improvements as Android apps continue to grow on Chrome OS.
One addition is a revamped Intent Picker that forces Android apps to open in the same window “by default with override”. There’s also VPN support for Play apps, as well as more minor tweaks like Android Container auto update optimizations, and enhancements to the protected media pipeline for Android.
General improvements to lockscreen performance and touchscreen pairing also arrive as part of the update, alongside various security fixes including further protective measures against the Spectre exploit.
Google says the update will hit Chrome OS systems over the next several days. Here’s hoping the next update adds recently mooted features like support for split-screen Android apps and/or Play apps running in the background.
Source: Trickmost.ml

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This infographic shows what’s included in Samsung Experience 9.0

An official infographic shows all the new features and improvements coming to the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus with the Samsung Experience 9.0 update.
The additions include a new on-screen keyboard, Color Lens and more.
The Samsung Experience 9.0 update will roll out for those phones with their Android 8.0 Oreo upgrade.

The Android 8.0 Oreo beta testing program is now over for the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus in the US. That means the official Oreo update should be coming any day now. Alongside the Oreo update arrives the Samsung Experience 9.0 software upgrade. Today, we have a look at an official company infographic that shows what’s included in Samsung Experience 9.0.
Members of the beta testing program have seen this infographic before inside the Samsung Members app, but SamMobile has now posted it up for everyone to check out. As you can see below, it’s really, really long, so be prepared to scroll down a lot to check all of its info. It showcases new additions coming as part of Samsung Experience 9.0 such as a revamped Samsung keyboard, the new Color Lens option to change the color of the screen for a better reading experience, and more.
Other notable features coming with Samsung Experience 9.0 include the Dual Messenger app that’s already on the Galaxy Note 8. There are also some new improvements when the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are connected to the Samsung DeX desktop monitor dock. Keep in mind that this infographic only shows what’s included in Samsung Experience 9.0. It does not show any of the new features and improvements that will be added to the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus from Android 8.0 Oreo itself.
SamMobile
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Garmin vívofit 4 review: two steps forward, one step back

There are plenty of cheap fitness trackers on the market, but often the lower price tag means getting fewer features. That’s still the case with Garmin’s new vívofit 4, but this device aims to bridge the gap between lower end wearables and the other $100-plus devices out there.
The vívofit 3 was one of our favorite fitness trackers in 2017. Is the vívofit 4 a worthy successor? Let’s find out.
Garmin vívofit 4 review notes: Our first vívofit 4 review unit had a bug that would stop the device from counting steps. Our second review unit has had no such issues.
I’ve been using the Garmin vívofit 4 as my main fitness tracker for roughly two weeks. The Google Pixel 2 XL has been my smartphone companion of choice for the duration of this review.Show More

Design

Related readingGarmin vívosport reviewWhat happens when you take one of the best fitness trackers on the market and add a new color display, all-day stress tracking, strength training, and more in a thinner form factor? You get the vívosport, …
Garmin has done a pretty good job at making the vívofit 4 look like the company’s pricier fitness trackers, like the vívosmart 3 or vívosport. The vívofit 4 is slim, measuring just 11 mm thick and 23 mm wide — slightly wider than its predecessor. It’s light, too, at just 25 grams. I often went through the day without realizing it’s still on my wrist, which is important for a fitness tracker.
One of the big differences in design between the vívofit 3 and 4 is the bump up to a larger, color screen. The vívofit 4 has a slightly larger 11 x 11 mm display (the 3’s was 10 x 10 mm). The vívofit 4’s screen has a backlight too, which can be turned on by pressing and holding the physical button for about a second.

The display is easy to read outdoors, though it can be difficult to read in average-low light when you’re inside if the backlight isn’t turned on. It feels a little odd the backlight doesn’t turn on when you click the button, but that’s probably to keep that battery going for a full year.
The included strap is comfortable enough to keep on your wrist all day, though it feels more plasticky than the vívosport’s strap. It also comes with a standard watch-style clasp this time — likely a welcome change for those upgrading from any other vívofit model.

You can buy the vívofit 4 in three different color options — black, white, or black/lime green speckle. All three of those bands can be purchased separately for $19.99 a piece, or you can spring for the two pack of merlot and navy speckle bands for $29.99.

Features and performance

The vívofit 4 costs $80 — $60 less than the vívosmart 3 and $120 less than the vívosport. The lack of a GPS and a heart rate monitor means it isn’t for everyone, but it’s definitely an attractive device for those who just need the basics.
It’ll track your steps taken, calories burned, sleep, and distance traveled, though the lack of a GPS means you won’t get hyper-accurate distance data.

See alsoThe best heart rate monitors and watches (January 2018)Keeping track of your heart rate is one of the most essential metrics when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle and improving your fitness training and finding a good heart rate monitor is part …
Normally lacking a heart rate sensor would be okay. Previous vívofit models allowed you to connect to an external heart rate sensor thanks to ANT+ connectivity. For some reason Garmin didn’t find it necessary to include ANT+ support with the vívofit 4, which is quite frankly a shame. Heart rate sensor connectivity made the vívofit line stand out from other similarly priced trackers, and now it’s gone. This alone makes it difficult to recommend over the competition.
The removal of ANT+ connectivity is a shame.
Garmin says moving to a color display and including more features built into the software made the company concerned about the amount of code space available to support ANT+ connectivity. A Garmin representative told Android Authority it could be added back “in the future.” We sure hope this feature returns with the vívofit 5.

The vívofit 4 supports Garmin’s wonderful automatic activity recognition feature, Move IQ. That means you won’t need to manually start an activity before your workout. It auto-detects activities like walking, running, biking, using an elliptical, and swimming, though it won’t track your swims — you’ll need to spring for a more expensive device if you want lap/speed data.
The vívofit 4 comes with a 5 ATM water resistance rating, which means you can take it in the pool or shower.
Even though it has a rating of 5 ATM, the vívofit 4 won’t track your swims — you’ll need to spring for a more expensive device if you want lap/speed data.
If you’re just interested in the vívofit 4 as a pedometer, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s great a tracking steps. After we received our second review unit, the vívofit 4 was able to keep up with the vívosport and Fitbit Charge 2 in terms of step count accuracy.
One other useful feature is the move bar. Throughout the day, the vívofit 4’s colored move bar fills up and notifies you when you’re stationary for too long. Walking around for a few minutes will clear the move bar, or you can turn these notifications off if you don’t want to be bugged throughout the day.

During exercise, the vívofit 4 keeps track of your steps taken, total exercise time, and calories burned. It will also show you distance, pace, and speed information but these metrics are based on accelerometer data, so they’re not going to be as accurate as you might like. Still, the fact that the device attempts to provide these metrics will help give users a general idea on their performance level.
The vívofit 4’s accelerometer was hit and miss throughout our testing period, but it was mostly a miss. It often overshot distance and speed by a lot. I took a three-mile run on the treadmill and kept a steady pace of 7.8 mph. In the screenshots below, you’ll see the vívofit 4 recorded my distance as 2.57 miles, my best pace as 2:30 minute/mile, and my max speed as 23.9 mph!

Sleep tracking ranges from mostly accurate to wildly inaccurate, depending on what you’re doing before you go to bed. There are times when the vívofit 4 recognized I was reading in the living room before bed, and did not record that I was sleeping. Other times I wasn’t so lucky. Watching Netflix before bed resulted in the vívofit 4 entering sleep mode, which means it looked like I slept 12 hours multiple nights in a row. Even worse, during the time that I was watching Netflix, the device recorded that I was in deep sleep mode — not even light sleep.

You can alter mis-recorded sleep and activity data right from the Garmin Connect app, but we wish the device would record the data correctly in the first place.
Garmin Connect records your sleep levels and movement throughout the night, as well as how much of your sleep was deep, light, and if you were awake. The app also offers weekly sleep trend graphs, though they’re not displayed in a very helpful fashion. We much prefer the line graphs Fitbit’s app offers.
Luckily you can alter mis-recorded sleep and activity data right from the Garmin Connect app, though we wish the device would record the data correctly in the first place.

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Despite having a screen (albeit a small one), the device has very few smart features. You can set alarms, but there’s still no way for the vívofit 4 to send you smartphone notifications. It’s not like we want to read full emails on that tiny screen, but at least some vibration alerts would be nice. It’d be extremely useful for the device to vibrate and show an email icon when a new email is received or display a phone icon when someone’s calling your phone. It’s a missed opportunity for a device with a display to not offer any type of smart notification, especially when most other wearables on the market offer these features.
It’s a missed opportunity for a device with a display to not offer any type of smart notification, especially when most other wearables on the market offer these features.
We understand the argument that smartphone notifications would kill the battery faster, but even if that were the case it’d still last way longer than most other fitness trackers. We’re sure many users would be happier with eight-month battery life and vibration alerts than with no alerts and year-long battery life.

Admittedly “year-long battery life” sounds way sexier than “eight-month battery life,” and Garmin feels that way too. That’s right — the vívofit 4 takes two SR43 coin cell batteries, which Garmin says will power the device for up to a full year. This is hugely beneficial for those who never want to take their fitness tracker off to charge it up. There’s also no proprietary charging cable to worry about losing.
Okay — Garmin included some smart features here. The vívofit 4 has a stopwatch, a countdown timer, a weather widget, and a find my phone feature which will ring your phone if it’s connected with Bluetooth. There are also a handful of different watch faces to choose from, which can be customized with the color of your choosing.

 Garmin vívofit 4

Display11 x 11 mm color, transflective eight-color memory-in-pixel (MIP) display
88 x 88 pixels

BatteryUp to one year
2 x SR43 user-replaceable

MemoryFour weeks of activity data

MaterialsSilicone or TPU

Water resistance5 ATM

ConnectivityBluetooth Smart

NotificationsMove reminders, alarms

CompatibilityAndroid, iOS

Dimensions and weightSmall/Medium: 19 x 9.4 x 122-188 mm, 25 g

Large: 19 x 9.4 x 148-215 mm, 25.5 g

ColorsSmall/Medium: white, black, lime green speckled
Large: black
Interchangeable bands: speckled merlot, speckled navy pack

The Garmin app

Garmin Connect seems to improve every time we review a new Garmin device. It’s not the most approachable fitness app out there, but it works.
The newest improvement to Connect is the My Day screen, which is where you’ll  spend most of your time in the app. This is the main screen, which displays your daily steps, intensity minutes, calories burned, sleep, and even an activity summary from the last seven days. Tapping on any one of these sections will allow you to dive deeper into that activity.

The navigation tab at the bottom of the app hasn’t changed. From there, you can get quick access to the Challenges, Calendar, News Feed, and Notifications sections. Challenges lets you connect with and challenge other Garmin users. The News Feed section shows your recent activities from the previous 30 days.
The Calendar section lets you go back in time and see all the activities recorded for a particular day. This is a novel idea — it can be quite useful — but it’s not implemented as well as it could be. Once you open up the Calendar, all you see are a bunch of differently colored bars on each day of the week. There’s no indication whatsoever about which colored bar correlates to which activity, so unless you memorize what each bar stands for you’re going to play a guessing game every time you look up previous stats. It’s a minor annoyance, and certainly won’t bug everybody.

Garmin, your app is finally good. Now focus on adding more third-party app support.
If you use any other applications like MyFitnessPal, Strava, or Office 365, you can easily sync your activity data from Garmin Connect. Unfortunately those are the only third-party apps that work with Connect, which is still far behind Fitbit’s extensive list.

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Should you buy it?
The Garmin vívofit 4 is available now on Garmin.com and Amazon for $79.99, which is $20 cheaper than the vívofit 3 at launch. That cheaper price tag doesn’t come without consequences, though.
If you use your vívofit 3 with a heart rate monitor, the vívofit 4 should be an obvious pass unless you’re okay with logging HR data in another app. As for the competition, the Fitbit Alta (non HR) offers similar features for a slightly higher price tag, but that also means you’re getting into vívosmart 3 pricing territory. The Huawei Band 2 Pro is also a viable option for $10 less, and it comes with built-in GPS and heart rate sensors.
In a lot of ways, the vívofit 4 is a worthy successor to the vívofit 3. It’s more comfortable, with a better strap, a new color display, and plenty of useful extras like a weather widget and stopwatch. The lack of heart rate monitor connectivity is unfortunate. Hopefully it returns with the next model.
The vívofit 4 is an inexpensive fitness tracker that you basically never have to take off, and it keeps track of the basics. We just wish it tracked the basics a little better.
Throughout our two weeks of testing, the vívofit 4 was so close to delivering accurate results but ultimately fell short more often than we’d like. It offers users a more general idea of their performance levels, which is why most people will buy the vívofit 4. It’s an inexpensive fitness tracker that you basically never have to take off, and it keeps track of the basics. We just wish it tracked the basics a little better.
Next: How to get into great shape with a fitness tracker in just 7 minutes… a day
Source: Trickmost.ml

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