Thursday
Jun272019

Facebook tests out a feature that’ll let you mute notification dots

Matt Navarra/Twitter

Facebook’s notification system on mobile is broken, to say the least. You get duplicated or delayed notifications sometimes. Add to that the in-app indicators (those eye-catching red dots) that always seem to be calling for your attention. It seems Facebook has finally listened to its users and is testing out a feature that will let you disable in-app Notification Dots for category tabs. These include Groups, Marketplace, Profile, and Menu. As expected, the main Notifications tab won’t be disabled, since this is the main tab you’re getting all your notifications from.

First spotted by Android app reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong, the social network confirmed it started testing out the feature for a subset of iOS and Android users. Facebook’s well-being team spearheaded the release of this feature because they wanted users to spend their time more rationally on the app. If you want to check if you have it, you can head to Menu > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Notifications > Notification Dots. You can toggle the dots for each group separately.

Source: XDA Developers

Thursday
Jun272019

Samsung’s Galaxy A90 gets leaked, might get two versions

Embed from Getty Images

What was rumoured to be part of a new Galaxy R series of devices is actually part of Samsung’s Galaxy A line, and we’re hearing more about it now. The Galaxy A90 will be the latest one out of the gate for Samsung’s mid-range devices with flagship-grade specs. It’ll reportedly have two versions. One is the SM-A905 which will have 4G, a 6.7-inch screen, an in-display fingerprint sensor, a triple rear camera setup (48MP + 12MP + 5MP sensors), and a mystery feature called “Tilt OIS.” The other version called SM-A908 will reportedly get 5G support, the same screen with an in-display fingerprint scanner, but will get a 48MP + 8MP + 5MP rear camera setup instead.

Both phones will reportedly run on Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, which will be a first for a Samsung Galaxy A-series phone to get the top-of-the-line processor. It’s going to be interesting how this will affect the sale of phones like Samsung’s own Galaxy S10e or the other affordable flagships from its competitors. Now, we just have to wait for this model to launch.

Source: GSMArena

Thursday
Jun272019

Apple’s legendary designer Jony Ive leaves the company to put up his own design firm

After being with Apple for nearly 30 years, Chief Design Officer Jonathan “Jony” Ive has announced he will be leaving the company to put up is own design firm called LoveFrom. One guarantee is that he counts Apple “among its primary clients.” Ive, who has led the design team since 1996, has helped craft Apple’s most iconic products, including the iPhone itself. Ive’s has even helped design the company’s “spaceship” Apple Park campus as well as the look and feel of Apple retail stores. He has also helped reshape the look of Apple’s software, starting with the revamped iOS 7 in 2013. Taking Ive’s place, Evans Hankey, current vice president of industrial design, and Alan Dye, VP of human interface design, will report to Jeff Williams, who “will spend more of his time working with the design team in their studio.”

“Apple will continue to benefit from Jony’s talents by working directly with him on exclusive projects, and through the ongoing work of the brilliant and passionate design team he has built,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a press release. “After so many years working closely together, I’m happy that our relationship continues to evolve and I look forward to working with Jony long into the future." 

Wednesday
Jun262019

Samsung Galaxy Buds update fixes Ambient Sound problem as well as improves on audio quality

The newest update coming to the Samsung Galaxy Buds brings some important fixes to the wireless earbuds. Version R170XXU0ASF3 finally addresses the temporary glitch with Ambient Sound, which Samsung tried to address in a previous update. Audio quality gets improved when streaming music and making voice calls. The battery indicator now also shows which of the earbuds have a lower battery level. You can get the latest update from your phone via the Galaxy Wearable app or through your Windows or Mac computer via the Galaxy Buds Manager app. It’s just 1.36MB in size.

Source: GSMArena