There are tons of web browsers to choose from on your smartphone and computer, ranging from Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge to Opera and Brave.

We thought it would be a good idea to ask you about the web browser you use on your phone and computer. Well, the results are in, and here’s what you said.

Samsung has offered a desktop mode called Dex since 2017, allowing you to get a PC-like experience when connecting your phone to an external display.

Samsung isn’t the only brand to offer a feature like this, but it certainly popularized the feature on Android. So with that in mind, we asked you whether you used Dex on your Galaxy phone. Here’s what you told us.

Credit: Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Phones with high refresh rate screens are very common today, offering smoother scrolling and a more fluid experience in general than phones with a standard refresh rate display.

We wanted to know whether you’d buy a phone without a high refresh rate screen, though. So we posted a poll earlier this week, and here are the results.

Credit: Xiaomi

Xiaomi‘s Redmi Note line is right up there as one of the most popular Android phone families ever. We can see why too, as these phones usually bring plenty of features and competitive pricing.

The company recently launched the Redmi Note 12 Turbo in China, and this looks like another great mid-range entry. But what do readers think of this phone? We asked Android Authority readers whether this phone was hot or not, and here’s what you told us.

My colleague Calvin recently wrote about why he ditched Google and installed the privacy-focused GrapheneOS on his Pixel 6. He explained how the latter is not only feature-full but also allows users to protect themselves from Google’s data-collecting clutches. Calvin found GrapheneOS, available to install only on select Pixel phones, to be a very secure Android experience without compromising on usability.

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

A leaker claimed last week that Samsung was working on a third foldable phone form factor for 2023. This would ostensibly be a Tri-Fold foldable phone, with two hinges in the folding screen.

A form factor like this would allow for much larger folding screens, but would you buy something like this? We posed that question in our news story last week, and here’s how you responded.

True wireless earbuds are available at a variety of price points, but some of the biggest names in the industry frequently charge $100 and much more for their offerings.

We recently went through the pros and cons of buying cheap earbuds over these more expensive buds, also asking readers whether they’ve bought cheap earbuds before. Well, the results are in and here’s what you told us.

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

Samsung phones have been in the headlines this week after a Redditor’s experiment revealed that Galaxy phones do some questionable things when taking photos of the moon. More specifically, the Redditor found that Galaxy phones added lunar details to a blurry, low-resolution photo of the moon when the Scene Optimizer was enabled.

This saga suggested that Samsung was generating details for its AI-enabled moon snaps rather than enhancing them. But do you care whether your moon snaps are generated by AI? We posted this question earlier this week, and here’s how you answered it.

Credit: Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority

Microsoft’s Bing search engine gained a supercharged upgrade earlier this year thanks to ChatGPT integration. The new feature means you can enjoy longer, more detailed responses without phrasing your query in a specific way.

Our own Calvin Wankhede recently tried Bing Chat on mobile, which arrives with voice functionality. He declared that he wouldn’t be going back to Google Assistant as a result. We used his article to find out whether readers would switch from Assistant to Bing. Here’s what you told us in this poll.

Last week, we asked our readers if they use an app for two-factor authentication. Our question was inspired by Twitter’s recent decision to start charging users for SMS-based 2FA. After almost a week of polling, our readers have spoken. Here’s the method they use the most for two-factor authentication.

A few days back, OnePlus launched the Oneplus 11 with 80W fast wired charging. Being a flagship device, one would have expected the phone to carry wireless charging support too. However, it skipped the feature, and the company explained users won’t really miss it because the wired solution is fast enough. So we asked our readers if they are okay giving up on wireless charging if their phones support fast wired charging speeds, even though the former offers more flexibility. Here’s how they voted in our poll.

Earlier this month, Samsung officially launched the brand new Galaxy S23 series. It wasn’t long before word spread that the Galaxy S23 series still doesn’t support Seamless Updates.

What are Seamless Updates? When your phone receives an update — say, a new security patch or even a brand new version of Android — it can go one of two ways. The first is the “normal” way, in which your phone downloads the update, shuts down, installs the update, and then reboots. This can take up to 10 minutes to complete, and your phone is inoperable during that time. The more modern method is known as Seamless Updates. In this scenario, your phone downloads and installs the update all in the background. It takes longer, but you can still use your phone during the whole process, with only a quick reboot needed at the end.

The world’s economic situation is not so great right now. Inflation is at an all-time high, and people are buying fewer phones. It’s not something that’s just happened. Most smartphone companies have reported a sales dip in the past quarter or so. Industry leaders like Samsung and Qualcomm are also predicting that consumer demand for smartphones will fall further, at least until the second half of the year. Even if affordability is not an issue, some people may be holding brand new phones from last year or even from 2021, and may not want to invest in a new model.

Google’s Pixel phones generally stand out thanks to the camera experience (among other features), offering great image quality and some handy features.

In saying so, we recently wrote an article calling for more camera-focused accessories for the Pixel line. We also used the article to ask whether you thought the Pixel needed more camera accessories. Here’s what you told us in that poll.

The first month of 2023 is just about wrapping up, and we’ve already seen a few flagship phones launching. But we’re expecting some high-profile launches next month thanks to the Galaxy S23 series and OnePlus 11.

Nevertheless, we were curious as to what you actually wanted from phones in 2023. Did you want more horsepower or longer endurance? We posed this question to you, and here’s what you told us.

Smartphone chargers are capable of some amazing speeds today, with 65W, 80W, 100W, and even 150W speeds on the market. In saying so, not all chargers are equal when it comes to their ports.

Some chargers are equipped with a full-sized USB-A port while others are equipped with USB-C connectivity instead. But do Android Authority readers have USB-C ports on their adapters? We posted this question earlier this week, and here’s how you answered it.

Google has offered Chromecast with Google TV streaming gadgets since 2020, giving users an affordable way to get Google’s platform on their own TV sets. News emerged last week that a third model could be on the way, potentially replacing the 4K model.

That got us thinking about how many people actually own a Chromecast with Google TV device. So we posed this question in our news article last week and here’s what you told us.

Modern smartphones are pretty big, which means there isn’t a lot of space in our pockets for these devices. Then again, women’s clothing tends to miss out on usable pockets in the first place.

Nevertheless, we were curious to find out how you stored your phone in your pocket. So we posted a poll article last week and here’s what you told us.

Power banks are a handy accessory to have for your phone, allowing you to charge your device when you’re traveling or out of the house. But many of today’s phones also offer large batteries and super-fast charging, potentially reducing the need for a power bank in the first place.

We were nevertheless interested in finding out how many readers own a power bank. So we posted a poll earlier this week and here’s what we discovered.

RISC-V is a rival computing architecture to Arm, and it’s been gaining steam over the last few years. However, it recently got a major boost when Google announced that Android will support this new architecture.

An Android-powered RISC-V smartphone is still a long way off, but we wanted to know whether you’d buy one. We posted the poll last week, and here’s how you answered it.

Our very own Andrew Grush spent some time with the highly anticipated Sony PlayStation VR 2 at CES 2023. He checked out everything that’s new with the headset and concluded that it perfects all the faults of the original PSVR. The difference in quality is immediately noticeable, eye-tracking tech is super responsive, haptic feedback ensures you feel everything that hits your head, and the embedded cameras ensure you no longer need an external one like the original headset.

2023 is here, and we’ve already seen the first flagship phones launch from the likes of OnePlus, Vivo, and Xiaomi. These devices will undoubtedly bring some respectable camera credentials to the table, among other selling points.

One of the best things about Android is that you can sideload apps onto your device. In other words, you can install apps from sources other than the Play Store.

In any event, we were curious about the last time readers sideloaded an app on their phones. We posed this question over a week ago and the results are finally in.

When was the last time you sideloaded an app on your phone?

Results

Over 2,800 votes were tallied in this poll to date, and it turns out that the most popular pick was “a week or two ago” (24.35%). We can see why people would sideload apps now and again, as there are several popular apps you can’t get on the Play Store. These apps include third-party YouTube clients, ad-blockers, the full-fledged Cerberus security app, and Fortnite.

Interestingly, those who said they’ve never sideloaded an app before accounted for ~15% of the vote and second place. We’re guessing the Play Store meets the needs of these readers just fine. Otherwise, those who said “today” took third place with 13.68% of the vote.

It’s also interesting to note that almost two-thirds of respondents (~65%) have sideloaded an app in the past year at the very least. This suggests that while it might not be the kind of feature you use everyday (after all, who installs apps daily?), it’s still a key selling point for Android.

Comments

• Resuna: When I upgraded from my Pixel 2 XL to my Pixel 4a and transferred a couple of apps I’d previously sideloaded. Also, calling ‘installing an app in the normal way people have installed apps on personal devices for the past almost 50 years’ “sideloading” is a a bit twee. This should just be a normal thing you can do on any device you actually own. If you can’t, you don’t really own it.
• Jacque G.: I’ve written several apps for personal use that I update and install frequently.
• B!: It’s been a few years. Haven’t had the need in awhile.
• eszklar: Google Play Store, F-droid, Developer’s Web site or GitHub, APKMirror. Whatever app I need and where ever I can find it legitimately.
• roaduardo: It’s a feature that if it were taken away from me I’d resign and just move to iOS permanently.
• Kent Seaton: On the play store there is a version of an application that just flat out sucks in comparison to an older version, which obviously isn’t “available” anymore. I sideload that same app at least once a month as I don’t keep it on my phone and only install it when I know I’m going to need it.
• Abhinav Srivastava: I sideload apps like Blokada, SpotiFlyer and Revanced, so basically apps that corporations consider out of their terms of service.
• thesecondsight: GCAM, AdGuard and NewPipe are just a few apps in which I’ve regularly sideloaded over the years. I’ve also found XDA to be an excellent place for open source apps which aren’t available on the Play Store.
• Pokeguy4: The only sideloaded apps on my phone are Sonic Runners Reloaded and ReVanced. 1 is a fan game/continuation of Sonic Runners, the other is an objective improvement on the og app

Many TVs these days are of the smart variety, and Android TV is one of the most popular smart TV platforms around. However, AA colleague Adamya Sharma lamented her experience with her Sony Bravia W950D Android TV set.

In any event, that got us wondering just how many people have an Android TV set, streaming box, or something different altogether. We posed this question in our opinion piece last week and here’s what you said.

Do you own an Android TV device?

Results

This was a pretty popular poll, accruing over 3,400 votes to date. The winning pick? Well, it turns out that 43.74% of respondents say they’ve got a TV running Google’s platform. We’re not sure if this poll reflects consumers at large given that Android TV boxes/sticks are much cheaper than Android-toting TVs. Then again, Android TV is pretty common on smart TVs these days.

Meanwhile, 26.2% of surveyed readers say they’ve got an Android TV stick or streaming box. As Adamya noted in her opinion piece, dedicated Android TV boxes like the NVIDIA Shield and Chromecast with Google TV get more (and more timely) system updates compared to smart TVs running the platform. So it makes sense to buy these devices over a smart TV if you’re worried about updates and/or price.

Otherwise, almost 17% of polled readers say they don’t have an Android TV device of any kind. We’re guessing at least some of these voters have an Apple TV box or a device with Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Tizen, or LG WebOS. Finally, 13.2% of respondents indicated that they have multiple devices running Android TV in their household.

Comments

• Grey: I do not trust any Smart TV and any Smart TV updates. I have a Roku TCL and I never connect it to the internet. I plug in my Chromecast or any other smart device for that aspect.
• Craig S.: Yeah, I wouldn’t recommend actual Android TV sets when you’re at the mercy of the Android TV OEM themselves to deliver the updates…with Android TV being the wild wild west situation that it is. Hisense doesn’t update much either. Amazon keeps their Fire TV OS builds on their Fire TV’s patched and they continually add new new features, but they never update the entire FireOS Android codebase to a new version of Android. Roku updates their Linux based Roku OS TV’s for years, delivering every few months with updates and usually smaller features. Dunno how well Samsung with Tizen and LG with WebOS do??? Android TV is fine with cheap HDMI sticks/dongles or the Shield that’s been updated for 7 years now, but NOT inside of the actual TV.
• Fried PB+Banana Sandwich: This kind of garbage is why I refuse to buy an expensive TV these days. Quality is no longer linked to price, all you’re getting is a headache’s worth of problems. Just get a basic smart TV, never connect it to the net, and plug in a set top box for all your media needs. Or better yet, get a PC connected so you can stream everything for a decade+.
• icwhatudidthere: This happened with my Sony Android TV also. At least you got 5 years out of it. I got 2 years out of mine. After a series of bad updates and various bugs it finally just hung during an update and never turned on again. Will never buy another Sony TV ever again.
• Arlondiluthel: This is part of the reason that I believe a Chromecast is a better route: take any working display and make it “smart” for under $100. Then, if the “smart” functionally gets EoL’ed, it’s under $100 to replace, as opposed to $1K+ for a new TV. Of course, if the TV itself craps out, you’re up the creek either way.
• darjen: I have a sony x800d in the bedroom… about 7 years old. all of the hdmi inputs died a couple years ago. can’t connect any device without the picture being completely scrambled. i can only assume it’s the motherboard or something. the one thing that still makes it useful is the built in android tv, where you can still use it to watch anything you want. honestly doesn’t matter one bit that the version is old. it still works completely fine with all the streaming apps.
• Masked_Avenger: I had a Sony TV that died after 6 years. The cost of replacing the motherboard was half the original cost. Also have a Panasonic LCD, non smart TV which is probably 12-13 years old and still going. Won’t buy Sony again… Android isn’t the problem the manufacturer is.

Google’s Chrome OS has been available for roughly a decade now, carving out a niche in the enterprise and education space. But it still pales in comparison to Windows and Mac OS when it comes to global market share.

Rita El-Khoury recently waxed lyrical about her experience with Chrome OS in 2022, posting a poll to ask whether you’ve used the platform in the last year. Here’s how you answered that question.

Have you used Chrome OS in the last year?

Results

Just about 1,600 votes were counted as of writing, and it turns out that ~52% of respondents say they use Chrome OS all the time. This was reflected in the comments, with several readers noting that they actively use a Chromebook.

Meanwhile, ~16% of surveyed readers said they used Chrome OS from time to time, while 8% said they rarely used it in the last year. Finally, ~24% of polled readers said they haven’t tried out Chrome OS in the past year. This is understandable, as we’re guessing that these readers are happy with their existing Windows, Mac, or Linux machines.

Nevertheless, as Rita noted in her post, you should probably give Chrome OS a try if you haven’t used it for a few years. Between Android phone integration, annotation/screen capture/screen cast tools, and the ability to run apps from a variety of platforms, there are plenty of recent additions.

Comments

• Adam Johannes: Get a pixelbook go from eBay and you will love it even more! I had a pixel slate,.the keyboard doesn’t last but with the bridge type g, it’s perfect
• ManFredMann: Can you really fall back in love with something that you left previously? Maybe you never stop loving it, but there’s something about something else that is new. That also allows us to go back to the beginning. I’m just hoping that chromos stays as lightweight as it is. I recently installed Chrome OS flex on a second generation i3 all-in-one Dell desktop and the thing flies!
• bluedye17: I had a Chromebook at work, and I’m pretty computer competent, but I literally could not access or download letterhead with Chrome OS. I would invariably end up saving whatever I had written as the letterhead itself, causing problems for everyone. I could not get my head around the whole file system thing. I eventually just asked my work if I could bring a PC in, and they allowed me to do it.
• Beardednomad: I use the Lenovo Duet 5 every day as my main computer. I do have a Microsoft Surface laptop as well but I rarely use it these days. Between Linux, Android and web apps there’s not much you can’t do on a Chromebook.
• eszklar: A friend of mine lent me their 2017 Pixelbook at the beginning of last October when he and his girlfriend went on a three-week vacation to Paris, France. Like you Rita, I was pretty impressed with how far ChromeOS had evolved. Used ChromeOS, Android apps from the Play Store, installed Linux containers and I also tested CrossOver for ChromeOS. Gave the Pixelbook back when my friend returned from his vacation and thought about what Chromebook would I ever get and saw the Framework Chromebook Edition laptop. Expensive, but can install up to 64 GB RAM, the Framework USB-C side modules available are amazing and the machine’s core main-board can be replaced with a “regular” main-board to install Windows or Linux. That’s what I’d go for Rita.

It emerged last week that Samsung has apparently formed a chip development team inside its mobile division. This would be a departure from the norm, as the mobile division currently relies on a sister division for its custom smartphone processors.

This news got us wondering whether readers thought Samsung would be able to develop a Snapdragon-beating mobile chip. We posed this question last week, and the results are finally in.

Do you think Samsung can develop a Snapdragon-beating mobile chip?

Results

This was definitely a popular poll, accruing over 9,100 votes to date. The winning pick? Well, it turns out that almost 56% of respondents think Samsung can indeed develop a Snapdragon-beating mobile chip.

It wouldn’t be the first time Samsung beat Qualcomm. The Exynos 7420 was arguably the best chipset of 2015 while the rival Snapdragon 810 suffered from over-heating issues. Samsung also enjoys a partnership with AMD that could translate into superior graphical performance in the mobile space (although the AMD-powered Exynos 2200 wasn’t amazing). Toss in the recent news of an in-house development team, and it sounds like Samsung could deliver the goods down the line.

Otherwise, 44% of surveyed readers felt that Samsung couldn’t develop a Snapdragon-beating smartphone chip. This is perhaps reflected in the short term by the Galaxy S23 being exclusively powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 globally.

It’s also worth noting that Qualcomm has a potential ace up its sleeve with its upcoming Nuvia Oryon custom CPU technology, which it plans to use in lieu of Arm CPUs. Samsung is expected to stick with Arm CPU technology for now. So we could theoretically see a big CPU gap between Samsung and Qualcomm in the next couple of years.

Comments

• eszklar: I’ve always thought Samsung could design Exynos SoCs to be right up there with Snapdragon, but something was missing. Whether they need to bring in outside chip/engineering help, or simply buy an existing company that does design work. Apple has done this with the Ax series of mobile SoCs and the Mx series for tablets/desktops/laptops. Samsung is big enough to do this as well. They can compete with Apple for chip fab time.
• daftrok: Do I think they are CAPABLE of doing so? Yes. WILL they be able to within the next couple years? No.
• Beardednomad: The demise of Exynos has been talked about for months now. Samsung wasn’t happy with the peformance of those chips, there was even talks of them switching to MediaTek or partnering with them for their own chipsets (which this could very well be related to those rumors). Samsung LSI is reportedly ending Exynos alltogether and focusing on smart devices and iot going forward. That could end up being a disaster for Google as the Tensor is heavily Exynos based.
• Daniel Hollibaugh: I think that Samsung is perfectly capable of exceeding Qualcomm, they just need to get the best engineers, give them time to do their best work, and treat money like it doesn’t exist
• Mookie: They have the capabilities but no imagination.

Smartphone charging speeds have increased dramatically in the last few years, but not every brand has hopped aboard the faster charging train though.

That got us thinking about how long it takes for our readers’ phones to fully charge from empty. We posed this question last week and the results are finally in!

How long does it take to fully charge your phone?

Results

Just over 1,500 votes were cast in this poll after it was posted on December 7. The most popular option? Well, 18% of respondents said their phones took over 90 minutes to fully charge.

At least one reader specifically noted that they had a Pixel device, with Google’s phones indeed taking ages to fully charge. So we wouldn’t be surprised if readers who chose this option either have a Pixel or a similarly slow charging handset like the iPhone series.

Related: How fast wired and fast wireless charging works

In second place with 15% of the vote was “51 to 60 minutes,” while “61 to 70 minutes” took third place with ~14% of the vote. Interestingly enough, almost 9% of surveyed readers said they had no idea how long it took for their phones to fully charge. Presumably these readers charge their devices overnight, are content to come back to their phone after a few hours, or don’t charge it from zero.

Either way, it’s clear that a charging time of 30 minutes or less is still a niche feature among our surveyed readers’ phones, accounting for less than 10% of the vote. In fact, 50.8% of polled readers have a phone capable of fully charging in over an hour versus 40.8% having phones that fully charge in 60 minutes or less.

Comments

• Beardednomad: That’s one of the things I love about OnePlus, they not only have real fast charging they also still give you the charger for free unlike Google, Samsung and Apple. My OnePlus 10 Pro takes about 45 minutes from 0-100 but a quick 5-10 minute charge provides enough to last a day.
• Commentor: Switched to Xiaomi 12 pro with 120w ultra fast charging, if the battery is at 20% you are looking at under 10 mins…. once you have this, you cannot go back, plus charger supplied in box, unlike Samsung & IPhone
• Konrad Uroda-Darłak: More than 90 minutes because of intentionally slower charger (to only 85%) :)
• Walter Kowalski: Pixel 6 pro is about 1%/minute. However when it’s warm or cold it can vary.
• Joe Black: I have absolutely no clue :-D I probably never had issues with battery life to make it into a something I have to think about. Even my smartwatch has a battery life in a range, I do not have to think about it, I just plug it for few minutes probably every 14 days, when it is down to something like 50-60% and add some charge.

There are several ways to transfer files between your phone and PC, such as the old wired connection, third-party apps for wireless transfer, Bluetooth, cloud storage, email, and more.

The sheer variety of sharing methods got us thinking about how Android Authority readers transfer files between phone and PC. We posed this question to you earlier this week, and here’s how you answered it.

How do you share files between phone and PC?

Results

Roughly 1,700 votes were cast in this poll, and it turns out there was one option that stood out above all else. 38% of polled readers said they stuck with a wired connection as their method of choice for transferring files between PC and phone.

We can see why many people would choose this option, as it’s still the most reliable method and offers top-notch speeds as well. This solution is particularly important for transferring large files such as videos and game files.

Related: The best Android apps to transfer files from Android to PC

Otherwise, the runner-up pick was “I use two or more of these solutions,” accounting for 17.6% of the vote. This makes complete sense, as smaller files might be better suited for some methods (e.g. email) while larger files might require a cable or something similarly fast.

Rounding out the podium was cloud storage (~16%). Otherwise, the “wireless” option also gained plenty of votes (~14%), with Nearby Share, PushBullet and Link To Windows being some popular options in this regard.

Comments

• Ayayo: I message the file to myself on a messaging platform because it’s the easiest with the most straight forward user experience and doesn’t need extra software.
• Shubham: I bought a USB3.0 cable just to copy files from PC to phone and reverse. Its 5times faster than USB 2.0
• HemanthJabalpuri: I use FTP/HTTP Server using MiXplorer in Android and sometimes MTP using wired connection.
• thesecondsight: I’m old school. I use a USB cable.
• veesonic: USB transfers via MTP are terrible. Computuer always seems to freeze and it seems Android is picky about what files it wants to accept. I use SD card reader as its easier. (Consequently this is one reason why my Android device must support SD cards!)
• dunnywastaken: Syncthing, also use it to transfer files to my Steam Deck.
• allhaileris: I use a cable for transferring big data like music folders or videos to the phone. For pushing smaller junk I use Telegram or Pushbullet. You can push files up to 2GB with Telegram. Both run on PC and all my Android devices.
• Lawrence Aubin: I use Microsoft’s Link to Windows mostly, sometimes USB cable and sometimes I send via email.
• Todd Heath: Been using KDE connect for Windows for file transfers over WiFi. It’s really good for being a port from KDE.
• B!: Pop the Type-C adapter in my phone, backup files to SD card, pop the Type-C adapter in the PC, move/copy files to my PC.
• Glen M Lj: Gotta make use the free 15GB Google gave me for file sharing purpose between my phone and my laptop, but that’s limited to smaller files only, because the internet in my region sucks big time. For larger files, I’ll just use a wired connection.

Android and iOS are effectively a duopoly right now, but we’ve seen quite a few challengers come and go over the years. Failed rivals include BlackBerry 10, Windows Phone, WebOS, and more.

Do we still need a third major smartphone platform to take on Apple and Google’s operating systems, though? That’s what we asked last week, and here’s how you answered this poll.

Do you think we need a third smartphone platform?

Results

Just over 3,000 votes were tallied in this poll as of writing, and it turns out that 68.69% of respondents think we do indeed need a third smartphone platform. Judging by the comments, some readers want Linux, Google’s Fuchsia, or Windows as potential third platforms.

Meanwhile, just under a third of polled readers say they don’t think we need a third smartphone platform. At least one reader suggested that we don’t necessarily need a third option if we’ve already got two options that work well enough. Another reader also pointed to apps as a major challenge for any third platform.

Nevertheless, we also wonder how many people would put their money where their mouth is and adopt a phone running a third platform in the first place. After all, we’ve already got alternative (but niche) platforms like Sailfish OS, Ubuntu Touch, and several custom Android ROMs.

Comments

• Beardednomad: I actually loved Windows phones. The software was incredible back in the day especially on lower end hardware. It was one of the most lightweight systems. The problem was always the app gap. And that will be a problem for any third OS going forward. The only real shot is an offshoot of Android or a Linux system that can run Android apps.
• Nick V: Although I wasn’t a Windows Phone user, I always thought the UI was innovative and pleasing. Unfortunately, the App Store was lacking severely for me to switch. I like the idea of the X Phone from Musk, and the thought of satellites to communicate, once Starlink is able to handle the bandwidth.
• Yakubu Tukur: Yes. Window Mobile is the third OS many people need.
• Chandler Cruttenden: I voted yes, however what I would most like to see is Google Fuchsia develop for Pixel phones. It will run the same apps but be much more efficient than Android and be much easier to refine, in the same way iOS is for Apple.
• eszklar: Yes. Third platform would be interesting. There are mobile OSes out there such as Ubuntu Touch, SailfishOS and PostmarketOS, but none of these are mainstream. I enjoyed using Windows Phone back in the day as well. Would like to see a “pure” Linux mobileOS come about like on the Librem 5.
• D’Sar Darkstar: There’s nothing wrong with two platforms that work well. Like you stated, Web OS, Windows phone, BlackBerry… They all failed. If it’s not broke don’t fix it. However, it would be nice if the USA could get some of those cooler phones from China, Korea and Japan and not leave us stuck with limited brands and models while being jealous of other countries better phones. I’m no fan of Samsung or Apple so we need something that brought variety and excitement like HTCand LG did.
• duckofdeath: Android is fine, we just need to get Google off the ecosystem. They’re really going all-in on abusing the control of everything to undermine Android manufacturers to sell their own trash hardware. It’s getting kafkaesque to see all easily swayed tech “writers” swallowing Google’s lies about their own trash vs existing hardware.
• roaduardo: We have enough fragmentation.
• Tetso Anoki: I would really like to see a cell phone with Chrome OS.

Google quietly revealed that the Pixel 7 devices were actually the first 64-bit only Android smartphones. The Tensor G2 processor inside these phones indeed supports 32-bit operations, but the company decided to disable 32-bit support in software.

There are loads of smartphone brands out there, but you might not be able to buy some brands in your neck of the woods. You therefore might be forced to import a device if it’s not available in your market.

I recently wrote about my experience using a Pixel 7 Pro that I had bought while in the US, and we also used the post to ask whether you’ve ever imported a phone before or bought one when overseas. Well, the results are in, and here’s how you voted.

Have you ever imported a phone or bought one when overseas?

Results

Just over 1,700 votes were cast in this poll, and it turns out that a massive two-thirds of respondents indeed imported a phone before or bought one while overseas. Of course, we are a smartphone-focused website, so we’ll undoubtedly attract enthusiasts who are more likely to import a device. But it’s still a pretty interesting result.

A couple of comments mention importing a Pixel device, which isn’t a surprise given the subject matter of the article in the first place. However, we wouldn’t be surprised if some respondents also imported phones from the likes of Xiaomi and Huawei in the past.

In any event, 32.6% of surveyed readers noted that they’ve never imported a smartphone before or bought one when traveling internationally. This is understandable, as you’re on your own in terms of after-sales support and repairs.

Movement is a huge challenge for many smartphone cameras, but many devices today tout effective image stabilization tech. Be it software-based electronic stabilization or hardware-based OIS, it’s become easier to get that blur-free night shot or that recorded video with minimal judder.

Still, there are times when a smartphone tripod will be handy. But we wondered whether Android Authority readers actually owned one of these gadgets. So we posted a poll to ask you, and here’s how you voted.

Do you own a mobile tripod for your smartphone?

Results

Just over 1,000 votes were cast in this poll, and it turns out that the results were split almost evenly down the middle. In saying so, those who voted “no” won out with 51.15% of the vote.

More photography coverage: These photography tips will help you take your snaps to the next level

Interestingly, none of the reader comments on our poll article reflected this position. Nevertheless, we can see why many people wouldn’t have a mobile tripod, as today’s night modes and Super Steady video modes mean you don’t need a tripod for many situations.

Meanwhile, 48.85% of respondents said they indeed had a tripod for their smartphone. Comments point to uses such as night shots, group pictures, selfies, time lapses, and images of the sun (!). Still, this figure is definitely higher than I expected. There’s no doubt that our enthusiast audience is more likely to own a mobile tripod, but it’s still a pretty interesting result.

Comments

• Paul: Yes, but my wife got it for me though Walmart’s Spark Reviewer program
• Albin: I have a mount and little folder in a amall beltpack (with Moto Mod snap-on battery) and in a backpack a larger Gorlillapod that mounts either a regular camera or the phone. Oddly, I’ve found just attaching the mounting bracket alone provides a better landscape grip than ordinary handholding (though I’ve been tempted by the Adonits with bluetooth shutter).
• duckofdeath: Yes. Used it to take photos of the sun with my S22U. The 100x zoom is good enough to produce clearly visible sunspots. Remember to use a solar filter if you want to try something like that.
• Joe Black: I do have one or two cheap ones, I managed to break a few of them as they have plastic parts holding a screw. But I used them probably only for night shots.
• Michael Schaap: Yes. Not so much for night shots and other long exposures, but to take better group pictures with myself in it. I rarely have it with me, though, when I need it… 
• mattc: Yes, I tend to use it for night time photography, time lapses and the occasional selfies.

There are loads of smartphone brands out there, but the unfortunate fact is that some brands simply aren’t available in your neck of the woods. For example, Google’s Pixel phones aren’t available in Latin America, many Asian markets, or Africa. Meanwhile, the US misses out on many Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and realme.

So with this disparity in mind, we wanted to know which phone brand you really wanted in your country. We posted a poll earlier this week and here’s what you told us.

Which phone brand do you want most in your country?

Results

Almost 1,400 votes were cast in this poll, and it turns out there was one runaway winner. Almost 41% of respondents said Google was the phone brand they wanted the most in their country. This is an understandable result, as Pixel phones aren’t available in many countries even with the Pixel 7‘s expanded launch.

Sony was in a distant second place, accounting for 17.61% of the vote. The company had a large footprint six or seven years ago, but scaled back in a big way as part of a rejigged mobile strategy. More specifically, the Xperia brand retreated from Africa, Australia, Canada, India, Latin America, the Middle East, and South East Asia.

Xiaomi took the final podium spot with 11.38% of the vote. The company actually has a broad presence, but it’s missing a major region in North America.

We also saw 6.73% of respondents voting for the “other” option. Judging by reader comments, brands that fit the bill in this regard include Nothing and ASUS.

Comments

• Beardednomad: Xiaomi and/or RealMe in the US would be amazing. Not just for their actual phones but for how much it would transform the US budget/midrange market. The Pixel 6a and Galaxy A53 are the two best midrange phones in the US, both are crap compared to what those two brands offer. There’s a reason Google sells in so few markets.
• Xeritaes: American here, I’d love to see Nothing come to the US. I’ve been thinking about throwing caution (and potentially money) to the wind and buying the Nothing Phone 1 anyway. I’m a sucker for aesthetics.
• thesecondsight: More competition always benefit customers. As an American I’m so sick and tired of Apple and Samsung being the dominant players in the U.S. It’s true that Google, Sony, Nokia, OnePlus and Motorola have carved out a niche market. However we need more heavy hitters like Xiaomi, HONOR, HUAWEI, OPPO and realme. They offer budget-friendly phones with excellent specs.
• Hashim: ASUS and in particular their ROG lineup
• ThatWeirdCarNerd: I would like the Nothing Phone 1 in the US. It would be nice to see some fresh design in the upper-midrange segment.
• NNN: OnePlus in Nigeria. Enough of the Transsion family (Tecno, Infinix and Itel) with their ultra budget offerings. Samsung & Apple on the other cost a kidney leaving the market open for OnePlus to come in. Good thing they have budget offerings too.
• Joe Black: Google and vivo have abysmal supply chain in my country – no official distribution for Google phones and only lower ends vivo. Those two would be nice as IMHO Google makes good products and vivo is probably the best camera phone solution out there.
• Fabiano Forte: I’d like to have Sony back to Brazil…

Dual-SIM support has been available on smartphones since the mid-2010s, allowing people to use two SIM cards in their handset at once. It looks like the proliferation of eSIMs hasn’t dampened support for the feature either.

We posted a poll earlier this week asking whether you had a smartphone with dual SIM support. We considered dual SIM support to be two physical SIMs, a physical SIM and eSIM, or two eSIMs. Well, the results are in and here’s how you answered the survey.

Does your phone support dual SIMs?

Results

Over 1,500 votes were tallied in this poll, and it turns out that 55.3% of respondents have a phone that supports two physical SIMs. That’s a pretty steep figure, but it makes sense in light of the fact that many mid-range phones and some flagship devices offer dual physical SIMs.

Meanwhile, 31.5% of surveyed readers said they had a phone with a physical SIM slot and eSIM support. Rounding out the top three was “no, it doesn’t support dual SIMs,” accounting for 7.9% of the vote. Bringing up the rear was “yes, two eSIMs” (2.7%) and “I don’t know” (2.63%).

In other words, almost 90% of polled readers (89.5%) say they have dual SIM support of some kind. So these readers can take advantage of the second SIM/eSIM for travel, keeping work and personal numbers on the same phone, and more.

Comments

• ptsenter: I have 3 phones – 2 with eSIM and one is dual physical – to be used for travel.
  Galaxy S22 Ultra, USA version, is pretty useless, as it does not allow to use one SIM for voice and messages and another for data. It always bounds all 3 functions to one SIM. Pixel 6a is pretty good. The only issue is data eSIM I’m buying through Airalo or MobiMatter are time-limited: 7 or 30 days. During my travel I never spent more than 3GB per week. It means I always loose 40% of data I paid for. Physical data SIM I bought from vodafone, Italy, is the most versatile. Practically, it does not have time limit and I can use it in UK or France.
• Black Spectrum: My phone has support for dual sim (physical) and a microsd card!
• Enigma: Yes but when the second Sim in I no longer have space for the microSD card and which is very much important to me to have. Recommend strongly microSD card space should be created together or separately….
• Igor Costa: There’s no single SIM phones in my country for ages now.
• Dogeanimupower: Two physical sims and one eSim. But no sd card. Come on Samsung. I would renounce one physical and the esim in a blink of an eye to get that stupid sd card back
• Dai Jiawen: using Xiaomi dual sim phones for 10 years and counting.

It seems like almost every person locks their smartphone, be it with a PIN code or biometric authentication. As for smartwatches, though? We wondered whether Android Authority readers locked their watches, so we posted a poll to find out.

Well, a few days have passed since the poll’s publication on November 17. So how did readers vote? You can check out the results below.

Do you lock your smartwatch?

Results

Almost 1,100 votes were cast in this poll, and it turns out that the results are almost evenly split. 51% of respondents said they didn’t lock their smartwatch, winning by a very small margin over the “yes” camp.

Most of the people who said they locked their smartwatch noted that they did so for mobile payment functionality. Of course, there are other reasons to lock your wearable, such as to protect your private data and in case it gets stolen. But these reasons seemingly pale in comparison to mobile payments.

Meanwhile, 49% of surveyed readers said they didn’t lock their smartwatches. At least one reader noted that unlocking their watch every time they wanted to use it would be annoying.

Comments

• Asher: I have it locked because of mobile payments. Only requires me to unlock when I take it off my wrist to charge
• duckofdeath: There isn’t an option if you want to enable contactless payments. Locked, but only required authentication once a day.
• meh…: I like having Samsung Pay usable, so it’s required.
• Bonedatt: My watch is usually unlocked, but it requires a PIN prior to using Samsung pay for payments.
• Kent Seaton: My not-so-smart watch doesn’t support NFC. It shows if I have a message, or an incoming call, but no details about it. Also it doesn’t unlock my phone… so I see no reason to lock it other than keeping someone from changing the settings. Also, locking the watch can be unlocked easily with a factory reset so locking it as a theft deterrent is moot.
• Konrad Uroda-Darłak: Automatic lock when removed from the hand :)
• bradavon: No. It would be so annoying having to unlock it to use my watch. All they’d get of any worth is some notifications. Used to hate to use Samsung Pay on my watch I’d have to enter a fiddly pin every time. Besides when you’ve likely also got a phone on you and your is quite literally strapped to your arm few thiefs would try.

We haven’t seen many new entrants into the smartphone business within the last few years, and it’s easy to see why. The industry is dominated by a select few, while others are often left to fight for scraps.

Unfortunately, we’ve also seen plenty of dead smartphone brands over the years as a result. But we wondered which dead brand readers would revive if they could do so. We posed this question earlier this week, and here’s what you told us.

Which dead smartphone brand would you resurrect?

Results

We posted this poll on November 14, and it was a very popular one indeed. Over 4,500 votes were cast, and it turns out that the top choice was BlackBerry (40.65%).

BlackBerry itself effectively left the smartphone space in 2016 when it announced that it would outsource hardware development to other players such as TCL. However, TCL in turn stopped making BlackBerry-branded handsets in 2020. These phones nevertheless stood out thanks to the physical keypad and variety of productivity and privacy features.

Opinion: Nokia, BlackBerry, Palm — We should stop trying to revive dead phone brands

In second place was LG with 34.09% of the vote. The Korean brand announced just over a year ago that it would be exiting the smartphone business, bringing an end to a long run of devices. The brand also stood out thanks to its focus on the audio experience, as well as some weird ideas like the LG Wing and second screen case.

Rounding out the podium was our “other” choice with 9.07% of the vote. Readers left comments voting for Microsoft’s Lumia handsets, HTC(essentially a zombie brand at this point), Nextbit (acquired by Razer), and the Nexus line.

Finally, Essential and Palm brought up the rear, accounting for 8.32% and 7.86% of the vote respectively.

Comments

• Phillip Roey: Microsoft/Lumia I really liked the Windows 10 Phone OS and used mine pretty much until it died
• Riku_Xander: LG was always so experimental and I loved it.
• BCP: HTC. It’s a dead brand right now
• Ralph Angelo: The Lumia series. It had such a unique and colorful aesthetic.
• Dion: Nexus. Loved my 5
• Jeff: NextBit
• John Quincy Adams: Simple, Blackberry. I would have chosen HTCbut apparently they’re barely surviving. Blackberry brand with a Pixel skin would be awesome. I miss the keyboard feature. Give it a Pixel camera and Pixel AI….let’s go Google.
• meh…: I still miss my BlackBerry Passport…

Shortly after Google launched the Pixel 6 series, customers started noticing a ton of problems with the phones. They were mostly software-related issues that Google fixed in the due course of time, but it’s safe to say that the Pixel 6 series didn’t have the smoothest of launches. Since it’s been a few weeks after the launch of the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, we thought of asking people if they’ve witnessed any major issues with Google’s latest flagships. Here’s how users voted in our poll.

Have you had any major issues with your Pixel 7 phone?

Results

We received over 4,800 votes in our poll about possible major issues with the Pixel 7 series. We can only assume in good faith that most of those votes came from actual Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro users. Nevertheless, the results of the poll are totally one-sided, in Google’s favor.

79% of the voters said that they’ve had no major issues with their Pixel 7 series phone. 21% of the participants still responded to say that they’ve had some trouble with the phones.

Also read: Don’t worry, these things are normal on your Pixel 7 phones

Google doesn’t limit the number of accounts you can have on the platform. You can create as many Google accounts as you want and link them to one another. You can even jump from one Google account to another quite effortlessly. So we surveyed Android Authority readers and asked them how many Google accounts they have. Here’s how people voted.

How many Google accounts do you have?

Results

We received just over 2,300 votes in our poll and found that a very tiny fraction of our readers don’t have a Google account. Only 1% of the voters said that they don’t own a single Google account. The rest of the vote was almost equally split between respondents who said that they have one Google account (25.7%), two Google accounts (27.7%), and four or more Google accounts (27.7%). Meanwhile, 17.8% of our readers who participated in the poll said that they have three Google accounts to their name.

What’s clear is that a majority of the poll respondents have more than one Google account. The comments on the poll article shed more light on why people prefer holding multiple accounts with Google.

Your comments

ThatOtherOtherGuy: I only have four, but my three dogs each have their own.

Nick V: As someone who has duties in different organizations, I keep a gmail account for each of them, so that I can maintain order, and if I choose to give up that duty, I can just hand off the email to the next person.

Cat: I use one main account for everything and a secondary account for emails only. Helps me to organize my mails better. If i get a mail on the secondary Google account then i know it’s an important one.

John Oliver Abella: 1 main + 1 backup + 2 extra (extra storage, email, and for multi-game account)

PhaserArray: 11 in my password manager, but there could be a few more with old bad passwords.

Albin: Only one nonsense Gmail account and no commercial relationship with Google, used for Android, siloing Google services, and a few free websites. What Google gets is a stingy grouch disabling whatever he can under its privacy controls I use Firefox and more privacy-protective apps and platforms wherever “real me” credit card identity is important.

It’s safe to say that things at Twitter are a hot mess right now. Amidst the layoffs and uncertainty, Musk’s plans to make verification paid on the social media platform have been met with strong criticism from users and industry watchers alike. Still, Elon isn’t budging from his plan to charge $8 for a Twitter Blue plan that will include the coveted blue check mark.

Just yesterday, the platform tried to introduce a double check mark feature to differentiate between users who pay for the blue tick and those accounts that are officially verified by Twitter. However, hours after the confusing rollout, Musk abruptly killed the feature. What’s happening now is anyone’s guess, but we asked our readers if they are willing to pay for Twitter verification. Here’s what they had. to say.

Will you pay for a blue check mark on Twitter?

Results

We received over 1,750 votes in our poll, and the majority of the respondents (54%) voted to say they won’t pay $8 per month for Twitter verification. It makes sense that people are unwilling to pay for something that once represented a status symbol of sorts and has now been reduced to just another paid social media feature anyone can have. Paid verification also poses a risk of impersonation and opens up the platform for more fake accounts that could do some serious harm.

Meanwhile, 35% of the voters also said that they don’t use Twitter or would stop using the service because of the new paid verification scheme.

Only 7% of the respondents voted to say that they would pay $8 per month for a blue check mark, while 4% think that the amount is too much to pay every month.

Your comments

Joe Black: I do not see a point for me… or 99,99% of other Twitter users.

ThatOtherOtherGuy: Would you pay for two-factor authentication so your account doesn’t get hacked? Would you pay extra for a website to actual secure your personal information so it can be accessed by hackers? Do you get a refund if you are scammed by a verified account? Security is not a revenue stream.

spann37: Eh, I’m already paying for a Twitter Blue subscription. I wouldn’t pay simply to be verified though.

Ozzie Khoo: You forgot the poll option “I am just an average person so obviously I do not need this.”

sala1hut3: I’d definitely pay $8 for verification.

serge bureau: Totally ridiculous, typical Musk stupidity.

Dave64: I’m leaning hard into probably deleting all my social media. Keeping it isn’t worth this level of aggravation, intrusiveness and trolling by a billionaire.

Stanley Kubrick: LOL…Musk is just trying to recoup the 30+ billion he torched when he bought this fiasco of a company! I wouldn’t use it for free and I certainly will not pay for it! How stupid people can truly be!

Peter Tomov: Buy, buy Twitter! I am not paying to read crap! I am already out of Facebook for 2 years and I do not miss it.

Micro-USB ports are very much still a part of our lives, even though USB-C has been around for several years now. To think most devices would have switched to the latter would be wrong, or so proves a poll we recently conducted on Android Authority. We got some interesting results as to which devices people use with micro-USB ports on them. There are some device categories that are clearly behind in adopting USB-C ports. Read on for the results.

Are you still using any devices with micro-USB ports?

Results

Our poll about micro-USB devices gathered over 11,450 votes. We asked people about the micro-USB devices that they are still using, and the accessories space dominated the results. It’s still very common to find micro-USB ports on devices like power banks, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, gaming controllers, etc. 46% of the respondents said that they own an accessory with a micro-USB port.

Meanwhile, some folks are also hanging onto phones with a micro-USB port. 13% of the poll takers said that they are using a smartphone with the age-old standard, which is surprising given most major OEMs have widely adopted USB-C ports across budget, mid-range, and premium handsets.

Elsewhere, 12% of the respondents said that they own and use an e-reader or tablet with a micro-USB port, while 17% said that they have at least two or more of all the micro-USB devices mentioned in the poll.

Only 13% of our readers voted to say they are not using any micro-USB devices whatsoever.

Your comments

fearlessferret: That moment when you remember that tens of millions of PS4s are still in use and those require MicroUSB. Pretending that MicroUSB is incredibly niche in 2022 is too funny. The comments and the poll itself really prove my point quite dramatically. My theory is that a lot of people who think micro-USB is old news are only thinking about smartphones and forgot about other devices.

Chris53: My MX Master 2s mouse, small keyboard for TV and bicycle lights.Everything else uses USB-C or proprietary ports

RichSPK: Headphones, mouse, several rechargeable bike lights.

DarkAngelBaM: micro-USB? I still have devices that are using Mini USB. (Use PS3 Controller for PC, Arduinos, shoot the Mega2560 using a USB Type-B.

Zagreus: Mouse, Mirrorless camera, Kindle, Xbox controller, Raspberry Pi (3B and Zero W). Generally, it’s stuff that doesn’t need an upgrade very often

ttguy: My brand new Nextbase dashcam uses, wait for it…mini USB! But to be fair, it stays connected to its magnetic windshield dock and only the microSD card is used to transfer files to a PC in the event of a crunch.

Reon: I have waited with buying stuff until a USB C version was available. Now we don’t have anything other than USB C in our house.

Shawn: The last device I bought that had microUSB is my motorcycle helmet. The Bluetooth add-ons are custom for the helmet so not much choice. Other than that, just some random stuff like Xbox One controller, old Alexa speaker. Micro-USB definitely seems like it stuck around longer than say miniUSB. USB wasn’t as common back in the days of miniUSB but then again, so many companies dragged their feet moving from microUSB to USB-C.

Billy Jo: On micro-USB, we still have two Bluetooth keyboards, two mechanical keyboards, two Kindles, two power banks, a mouse, a pair of earbuds (their case), half a dozen game controllers, and a few sundries like a cat toy and lamp. I think we’ve phased out all mini-USB except for an HDD enclosure.

Mace Moneta: There’s are likely tens of billions of micro USB devices still in use. It will take a decade for them to age out.

Vinícius Passarella Quennehen: IMO mini-USB is far superior to micro-USB, in terms of durability and ease of use. I still have some devices that use it, like an iPod clone and my ps3 controller as an example, the rest is only USB-C, all the devices that I had that used micro-USB I have had problems with the port. Still, micro-USB will still be around for at least 5 or more years. I really think USB-C is a great default for the future if we can improve it without changing the form factor. Still, if you still have micro-USB devices and they didn’t fail yet, there’s no reason to upgrade it only for the port, apart for the luxury of carrying only one cable around.

Ronson Wagner: I’ve got several devices that still use micro USB. My hearing aid charging case, my Samsung Gear S3 Frontier charger, my Kindle Keyboard, my Xbox Elite controller, and my oldest power bank. This isn’t including a couple old phones I use on occasion or devices that I have that I barely ever use.

Robert Pearson: Both my canon cameras (EOS M, Sl3 aka 250d), Battery chargers for cameras, luckily Neewer started making them with both microUSB and USBC which is super nice for my EOS M, just not my Sl3 yet. Anker power bank has both, Zoom H1n when using USB audio, probably a few other things I’m not thinking of.

John Oliver Abella: I have 2 extra smartphones lying around, 2 Bluetooth headphones, and one powerbank and it’s charging port is micro USB. Some newly released gadgets still use micro USB because it’s cheaper than Type-C

disqus_dSnKYymumi: My Sony XB950’s and a power bank that I have still use micro. Until that headset and power bank either breaks beyond repair or the batteries fail, I’m going to keep using them.

roaduardo: I’ve worked to try and reduce the number of devices I have that still need Micro USB because USB-C makes everything easier. The one device that still has me using Micro USB are my Razer BlackShark V2 Pro headset. I’ve got two, one for backup. I love them and it’s difficult for me to move away from them unless Razer updates this series with USB-C charging.

Kent Seaton: I still have quite a few devices that use micro, even some that still use mini. A couple of the micro devices were purchased just this year and it wasn’t because they were what I was wanting, but that they were the only option out there. I think USB-A and USB-B should be ditched in favor of USB-C across the board.

Voice notes are a popular method of communicating in messaging apps (aside from sending texts), allowing for more intimacy and saving time for the sender. Google has even launched a voice message transcription feature on the Pixel 7 series, albeit limited to Google Messages.

We were curious about the proportion of Android Authority readers who send voice notes though, so we posted a poll earlier this week to find out. Well, the results are finally in.

Do you send voice notes on your smartphone?

Results

Over 1,600 votes were cast after we posted the poll on October 31, and it turns out that almost 60% of respondents said they don’t send voice notes on mobile. Reader comments suggest that some of these voters simply don’t like receiving voice notes and so don’t send them either. A few readers also point to alternative solutions like voice-to-text functionality (as seen on Gboard).

Meanwhile, 29.39% of surveyed readers said they only send voice notes “sometimes.” At least one reader noted that they send voice notes if they’ve got something lengthy to send. Another reader said voice note functionality came in handy when they were hospitalized.

Finally, just 10.73% of respondents said they sent voice notes “all the time.” Hopefully, Google brings voice message transcription support to IM apps to make life easier for these recipients.

Comments

• Konrad Uroda-Darłak: Never. It always irritates me when I get one, I never play it.
• Commentor: Long voice messages can be tedious & also one cannot listen to them when others are around, I find it easier to voice to text, it saves typing time
• Joe Black: I do not use them and when someone actually sends them, I do not listen to them… like hell I have time to listen to it, it is incredibly inconvenient while on the move. If someone is too lazy to type, I am too lazy to listen.
• 007700: Only when the topic at hand is too much to type out or I’ll use Gboard voice to text
• Bojan Tomic: If it’s something long, of course. I don’t want to make or receive a phone call, so this is the next best thing. Also, you can speed up voice messages in most apps, so a one-minute message becomes a half-minute message. I don’t have problem with that. Voice dictation sucks with most languages other than English, so that’s not really an option for most people.
• Paul: Yes, but not often. I recently had to be rushed to the hospital and during that time my wife was watching over 3 young ones and not able to get to me. I was too out of it to make sure Gboard transcribed everything correctly so I just sent some voice notes. I also, with the permission of the doctor, recorded my conversation with him using Google Recorder to send to her. Thankfully it wasn’t life or death so these tools worked well in my circumstance.
• McStagger: I don’t send voice messages but I do voice dictation constantly.
• Serval: I hate it when I have to listen to a voice message , especially when i’m at work and can’t really do that… So I don’t ever send one !
• RovingFox: I use voice to text from gboard if I need that convenience.

Security cameras are one of the most important purchases you can make for your smart home, and they’re available in both cloud-based (e.g. Ring) and IP-based versions.

Our own Dhruv Bhutani recently wrote about switching to an IP camera, calling it the best home security decision he’s ever made. But we wondered about the security cameras our readers had, posting a poll inside Dhruv’s article. Here’s what you told us.

What kind of security cameras do you use?

Results

Just over 1,700 votes were tallied, and it turns out that the most popular type of security camera was an IP-based camera. This accounted for 49.03% of the vote. We’re guessing this article, praising IP-based cameras, attracted at least some IP camera fans. Nevertheless, advantages like privacy, local storage, and no need for paying a subscription fee are big reasons to go for these cameras.

On the other hand, 33.39% of surveyed readers said they had an IP-based camera like those sold by Ring and Nest. These devices are all-in-one solutions that tend to be much easier to set up and use.

Finally, 17.58% of respondents said they simply didn’t use any security cameras. We’re guessing this figure will come down somewhat as the tech drops in price and more models are released.

Apple’s Craig Federighi made some interesting comments recently regarding the company’s refusal to bring iMessage to Android. The executive curiously claimed that an Android version of iMessage would’ve held back innovation, adding that it “seemed like a throwaway.”

Of course, a 2013 email by Federighi suggested that the real reason was that an Android port could mean fewer iPhones sold. In any event, we wanted to know whether you’d download iMessage if it were available for Android. We posted a poll last week, and here’s how you answered it.

Would you download iMessage for Android?

Results

This poll accrued over 4,400 votes as of writing, and it turns out that 52.62% of respondents would indeed download iMessage for Android. We’re guessing at least some of these respondents are based in the US and therefore have loads of iPhone-toting friends who don’t use WhatsApp, Telegram, and other popular IM apps.

Meanwhile, 27.98% of surveyed readers said they wouldn’t download iMessage for Android. It stands to reason that most of these people are perfectly happy with existing messaging apps.

Finally, 19.4% of respondents chose “maybe, it depends on features.” In other words, over 70% of surveyed readers are either open to downloading iMessage on Android or definitely will grab it.

Comments

• Colm Donnelly: The key difference here between Apple Music/TV apps on Android, and iMessage on Android, as that the former apps involve paid services. Apple ultimately aren’t interested in delivering a perfect (and closed) ecosystem, if it means they cannot extend monetised services. It’s about the bottom line.
• James: I used to wish iMessages was available for Android but now I wouldn’t want iMessages to become the dominant messenger in the world.
• Davin Peterson: Apple doesn’t like or want to make software for Windows or Android. They just want to make it for their devices. Unfortunately, Tim Cook hasn’t changed anything at Apple still doing it the same way as Steve Jobs.
  It would be nice if Apple opened up and made their apps available for Android like Google does with its own apps
• spann37: I’ve been using Beeper, and I have iMessage working on my Pixel 7 Pro that way.
• Steven Colvin: What about people like myself who avoid getting too invested into the Apple ecosystem, because they don’t want to get locked in. Even though I have an iPad, and love it, I use a Pixel phone and a Chromebook, both of which I enjoy also. Apple loses me a customer because I like the flexibility of using different platforms.

Benchmark tests are considered one of the better ways to measure a smartphone’s horsepower, and there are a range of benchmark apps out there. However, a Google exec recently said that the company was “very comfortable” with not winning benchmarks, focusing on AI-powered features instead.

This assertion got us wondering about what our readers thought of benchmark tests. Are benchmarks important to you? We posted this question inside our news story and as a separate article, and here’s how you answered it.

What do you think of benchmark tests?

Results

This was a popular poll, attracting over 5,600 votes to date. The winning pick? Well, it turns out that 50.86% of respondents said they don’t really care about benchmark tests.

We can see the logic here, as real-world performance is ultimately all that matters. After all, who cares about a flagship phone topping the benchmark charts if it’s a stuttering mess to actually use? This is also particularly noteworthy due to several smartphone brands cheating at benchmarks over the years.

Meanwhile, 40.81% of polled readers said that benchmark tests are one of several factors they take into account for a smartphone. Finally, just 8.33% of respondents said that benchmark tests were their main reference for performance.

Comments

• Stanley Kubrick: My 7 Pro works great for me. Every OnePLus phone I ever used worked great for me including the N20 5G that was replaced by this Pixel 7 Pro. Benchmarks are something I have NEVER ever even considered for a phone! Useless for 99.9% of all cell phone users!
• Reon: Benchmarks are almost useless. They don’t even show sustained performance or the fluidity of a phones UI. They were useful when android phones where lagging their way to success to find the fastest phone.
• PL: Between the inclusion of custom SOC and improved development frameworks, the processing benchmarks on phones has become irrelevant. It is a remnant of the past when most software was written badly and you needed a bulky processor to compensate for bad development. At this point I would be far more interested in metrics for camera, radio and battery performance.
• Wizzy: Forget these silly benchmarks. Work on battery life!
• deltatux: Benchmarks are great but honestly unless you buy bottom of the barrel devices, you’ll get great performance. Used to be a much bigger thing than it is now. I guess if you need the best performance at all costs because you play lots of games on the phone then I guess one would really care about benchmarks?
• Mark Kendrick: Benchmarks aren’t all that relevant in my opinion. While it’s interesting to see how phones with similar processors score, it doesn’t determine which phone I buy. A devices smoothness, feature set, and support are my priorities.
• AD_LB: If it’s really low, it almost always means that the device has quite a weak hardware. But when it’s similar to others, it’s just a nice-to-know detail.

Many Android phones can be rooted, giving you a greater level of access to the device. This opens the door for greater customization, more system-level tweaks, and a host of other benefits.

We wanted to know how many Android Authority readers actually have a rooted phone, posting a poll about this topic on Monday (October 24). Now, the results are in, and here’s how you voted.

Is your Android smartphone rooted?

Results

We posted the poll earlier this week, specifically asking whether your daily driver was rooted, and over 3,300 votes were tallied. It turns out that a massive 77.4% of respondents said their phone wasn’t rooted.

Many of these voters noted in the comments that Android has matured to the point where rooting isn’t necessary for them. One reader also noted that they simply didn’t have time to tinker anymore.

Related: Everything you need to know about rooting your Android device

Meanwhile, 19.7% of surveyed readers said their phones were indeed rooted. Comments backing this choice pointed to benefits like ad-blocking, call recording software, custom ROMs, and improved backup support.

Finally, 2.9% of respondents said they simply weren’t sure whether their phone was rooted or not. We can understand this being the case if you’ve had your current daily driver for years now.

Comments

• roaduardo: I personally have no practical reason to root. Those days are way behind me, as fun as they were. Android today, IMHO, is very mature and basically all the things I rooted for in the past are here out of the box (and more). Also, security is way, way more important to me on my mobile devices. I don’t want to increase the risk of anything happening by unlocking and rooting.
• Stanley Kubrick: No need for many, many years now.
• HemanthJabalpuri: I rooted my realme C12 only because I want Call Recording feature through Basic Call Recorder(BCR) which needs to be made as a system app to function.
• Martin Pollard: Rooted and bootloader unlocked with a custom ROM.
• Skifarterking: Always have and always will root my phone. Backups and restores are much easier this way when switching phones, ADBlock works much better, really removing bloatware and nice tricks here and there.
• Craig Southwick: I voted no but I have a Pixel 6 not rooted and a Xiaomi POCO x3 rooted with a custom ROM. I used to install a custom ROM after about a year on everything. It was a good way to enhance your cheap and/or old phone. With a Pixel 6 I think I get all the features and performance I need. Rooting and ROMing is effort I don’t need to put in. It’s still fun though. Getting the POCO X3 to nearly Pixel like features and performance is a good feeling
• fd2blk78: It’s been YEARS!
• PhaserArray: It would be if I didn’t have to deal with getting SafetyNet to pass.
• Konrad Uroda-Darłak: I did it when I was young, now I have a job and a family so time is always too short. The need is also gone – Android has matured.
• Bolski: I haven’t rooted in years. For me, the Samsung phones (S7 and now S20 FE) are fine as is. With my S20 FE, I’m getting 1.5 days per charge and the performance is fine. Also, with better backups to the cloud now than when Android first came out, I no longer have to use Titanium Backup which required rooting when wanting to backup certain apps. So rooting for me is no longer something I require.

It turns out that the Google Pixel 7 series doesn’t actually support 32-bit Android apps, making it quite possibly the first Android phones to support 64-bit apps only.

That made us wonder whether any Android Authority readers actually used 32-bit apps on their phones. We posed this question on October 14 and here are the results.

Do you still use any 32-bit-only Android apps?

Results

Just over 2,800 votes were counted in this poll to date, giving us a decent sample size. And it turns out that 25.79% of polled readers say they don’t use any 32-bit only Android apps on their phone. On the other hand, 20.75% of respondents said they still used 32-bit only apps on their Android device.

The big winner was “I don’t know,” though, accounting for a significant 53.45% of the vote. We can definitely understand why people would choose this option, as smartphones don’t really make it easy to ascertain whether an installed app is 32-bit or 64-bit.

In saying so, Google has long mandated that all apps submitted to the Play Store must have 64-bit versions. In fact, the storefront has also stopped serving apps without 64-bit versions to 64-bit devices since last year. So chances are high that if you stick to the Play Store, you’re only running 64-bit apps on your phone. Then again, there are also quite a few abandoned apps that haven’t received 64-bit versions over the years.

Comments

• veesonic: Yeah there are tons of old apps and games I have installed that the developers stopped updating. I’m sure some of those are 32-bit only smh.
• Blake Sinnett: It really sucks. I use a speech synthesizer with TalkBack called Eloquence that is quite popular in the blind community. This app is 32-bit, and the devs stopped working on it in 2019. Now I’m forced to use something which is less intelligible at fast speeds, so my mobile productivity is reduced a bit.
• roaduardo: I’m pretty sure Zooper Widget is 32-bit and I still use it because I’m too dumb to figure out KLWP and KWGT.
• Joe Black: TBH I have no clue :-D on my personal phone, it is most likely just fine, but my work phone still have some older or “special” app installed.

One technology that’s gained more attention in the last few weeks is eSIM connectivity. This comes after Apple announced that its US iPhone 14 models would ditch the physical SIM slot completely in favor of eSIM support only.

The tech isn’t new for Android devices, but we wondered how many Android Authority readers have actually switched to eSIMs to date. So we posed this question to you last week, and here’s how you answered it.

Have you switched to eSIMs yet?

Results

Just over 1,800 votes were tallied to date, and it turns out that the vast majority of polled Android Authority readers haven’t made the switch yet. More specifically, 76.72% of respondents said they haven’t switched to eSIM yet.

We can understand this low adoption rate, as we’re guessing many people are simply more comfortable with old fashioned SIM cards at this point. A couple of readers also noted in the comments that they prefer the flexibility of a physical SIM. It’s also worth noting that eSIM support is largely restricted to high-end phones.

Nevertheless, 23.28% of polled readers say they have indeed made the switch to eSIMs. So there definitely seems to be interest in this tech. We do wonder whether some Android brands will blindly follow Apple and ditch a physical SIM slot in favor of eSIM only. If that does happen, we could see more people saying they’ve made the switch.

Comments

• splus: Imagine if you had to just insert a SIM card instead? Oh, how complicated that would be…
• Paul: I did when I upgraded my 3a to a 6 Pro last year. The initial setup was a bit frustrating but this year upgrading to the 7 Pro, I only had to run though the setup steps to move the eSIM and it was done quickly & I moved onto the rest of the phone setup
• JahnJB: I’ve been on an eSIM for about a year now, it wasn’t by choice. It was the only way the store employees at T-Mobile could get my p6 pro to work. I forgot about it until Apple acted like it was something new. I don’t care if I have to use a SIM card or eSIM as long as my phone works.
• Walter Kowalski: Yes pixel 6 pro was easy to setup last year
• Tristan Schmitt: Because my phone from 2020 doesn’t have esim. If it would I of course would switch
• Kira: Nope.Nor is that service readily available in my country.
• bazaroworld: Yes, since Pixel 3xl. But all eSims are not the same. Some only work in one country, some can work in multiple countries, some can’t be activated outside of one country if you have trouble like changing phones or a reset, and some are only for data, and the best ones work internationally and automatically switch to the best local cell towers
• deltatux: No, as carriers in Canada still treats eSIM as a premium feature. Only the mid-tier and upper tier mobile brands have eSIM support. No discount carriers support eSIMs at the moment and not all regional carriers support it at the moment. Plus, being able to swap physical SIMs is still essential for international travel for the foreseeable future.
• Shizuma: Nope, and want to stick with a sim card as long as I can, as far as the consumer goes sim cards are far more consumer friendly so you can quickly and easily switch devices, which I know I have done so many times.

Google Chrome has been in the news recently due to the web browser switching to a new extension platform. Unfortunately, this change will also essentially break many ad-blocking add-ons.

We wondered whether this change would cause users to make the jump from Chrome. So we posed this question to Android Authority readers and here’s what you said.

Will you switch from Chrome in light of its extension changes?

Results

This was a very popular poll, accruing over 6,800 votes to date. The most popular answer? Well, 29.83% of respondents answered “yes, I plan to switch.” We do wonder how many of these users will actually switch, though.

In second place with 25.99% of the vote was “yes, I’ve already switched.” Reader comments suggest that Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are the go-to alternatives.

More coverage: The best web browsers worth downloading for Android

Rounding out the top three is “maybe, I’ll see what happens.” We can understand why you’d want to wait and see, as it’s possible that ad-blocking companies will quickly come up with some solutions for Chrome’s changes.

It’s also interesting to note that those who said they’ve switched from Chrome or plan to switch account for a combined total of 55.82% of the vote. So there’s definitely plenty of pushback against these changes from our polled readers.

Comments

• Avieshek: Already switched (to FireFox on Windows and Orion on Mac) but keeping Chrome (on Windows) to have Google Services signed-in, like Google Chrome would still be the safest bet to have Gmail, Gdrive or Google Analytics stay signed-in.
• rouxenator: Switched to Edge ages ago, even on my phone, way better.
• Mace Moneta: So far, uBlock Origin Lite, which uses the new API, has been working well. I can’t “zap” things that it doesn’t block (like overlays), but that hasn’t been much of an issue yet. If things degrade, I’ll switch even though I’m using a Chromebook. I’ve checked out Firefox in the Linux environment, and it’s tolerable on my model – more so than being inundated by ads and malware.
• Daniel: Firefox all the way! <3 I really hope Firefox can grow back to some of its popularity it once had!
• B!: Part of the 27% who’ve already switched, but that was 3 years ago.
• TJ_3rd: When I first read about this a couple weeks ago, I went ahead and pulled the trigger and fully moved over to Firefox. Now all that’s left on Chrome are a few corporate things I can’t avoid. At home and mobile, fully Firefox. I made 3 new FF accounts for my 3 different ‘profiles’ (2 personal and 1 side gig business account). Sadly Firefox doesn’t allow pinning your browser profiles as shortcuts BUT you can do it anyway (using standard Windows shortcuts and add command-line parameters to tell FF which profile to open).
• Kenneth McConkie: I’m not at all worried about the switch to V3. My ad blocker is not subject to the changes. It works on a system/DNS level. Changes that Chrome makes can’t affect that. Chrome is super convenient for everything else, so I will not be switching, and I will enjoy the same ad-free experience I’ve always had, both on PC and Android.
• Dave64 : If cheat makers can provide cheats for video games that bypass anti-cheat software, I have faith developers will be able to figure out a way to bypass Manifest v3.
• Obaid Farooq: Already using Microsoft Edge on Android and Windows.

Google’s Pixel 7 series is powered by the Tensor G2 processor, and it doesn’t seem like a massive upgrade over the original Tensor chipset when looking at the CPU and GPU.

We compared the Tensor G2 to its predecessor and rival chipsets in a benchmark article last week, but also asked readers whether Google nailed the new processor. Here’s how you answered this question.

Do you think Google nailed the Tensor G2?

Results

We posted the poll inside our benchmark article on October 12, and it attracted over 2,800 votes to date. So did readers think Google nailed the Pixel 7’s processor? Well, 64.08% of respondents, equating to almost two-thirds of voters, voted for “it’s fine, could be better.”

We can see why people voted for this option as the chipset doesn’t seem like a major CPU and GPU upgrade over the original Tensor. And the first-gen Tensor was already slower in some ways than last year’s rival processors. The SoC should nevertheless offer more than enough grunt for most people, even if it doesn’t match rivals for peak performance.

More Pixel coverage: Google Pixel 7 Pro review — All that and a bag of (Tensor) chips

Meanwhile, 19.99% of surveyed readers felt that Google didn’t nail the Tensor G2. This is an understandable choice given Google’s insistence on sticking with older CPU tech, an older manufacturing process, and a GPU that seems like a sideways move or a slight downgrade on paper.

Finally, 15.93% of respondents felt that Google did indeed nail the Pixel 7 processor. The processor seems to deliver good sustained performance compared to rival SoCs, while other elements like the TPU and modem have received welcome upgrades too.

Comments

• Rato Ketu: Can’t wait for next year’s Tensor G3. Also, Google should consider making Tensor chips available for non-Pixel Android phones, make it a compelling option for other manufacturers to use it instead of Snapdragons or MediaTeks.
• Dragos Lucian: If only they used TSMC’s node instead of Samsung’s. I hope they do that in the future.
• Delta Whiskey Hotel: Whether it was intentional or just a happy accident, they certainly seem to have achieved performance under load in a way that other manufacturers simply haven’t for the last few years. If Tensor G3 can put together burst performance along with sustained performance, it should be a slam dunk.
• Beardednomad: Still doesn’t hold a candle to Qualcomm but overall the performance is fine for the vast majority of people. The biggest difference is in the modem which based on reviews is still a complete mess on Pixels.
• Eoaoos: In other words, they’re all more than enough. But it’s good to see the Samsung & Google supports AV1 decode.
• Dorian_at_ATT: Sustained performance is wonderful. There’s no need to put that much GPU power in something if it can’t do anything with it, and really what area are you going to be using the GPU for? Gaming. Especially on a phone. On a PC I can see it being used computationally, but if you’re doing that on a phone you need to look at the Tensor neural cores or you need to re-think some things about how you work.

We’ve seen some impressive zoom tech on smartphones in recent years, with 3x, 4x, 5x, and even 10x cameras popping up. Google has also stepped up with the Pixel 7 Pro, going from a 48MP 4x camera to a 5x shooter.

However, our own Rob Triggs argued that Google’s decision to embrace long-range zoom cameras means that portrait photography suffers by looking less realistic. So with that in mind, we asked Android Authority readers whether they valued robust zoom or realistic portraits.

Do you prefer phones with more robust zoom or more realistic portraits?

Results

We posted the poll inside our opinion piece last week, attracting just over 1,500 votes to date. The winning pick? Well, it turns out that 54.51% of polled readers would pick robust zoom over more realistic portraits.

Meanwhile, 45.49% of respondents said they’d prefer more realistic portraits instead of more robust zoom capabilities. We can understand this stance if you often take photos of loved ones to begin with.

Then again, phones like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and vivo X80 Pro have two telephoto cameras, with one being used for short-range zoom and portraits while the other is used for longer-range shots. So you don’t necessarily have to choose between polished portraits and long-range zoom these days.

Comments

• bull3946: I want my telephoto to be actually useful for telephoto, not to limit it so that portrait shots come out better. Portrait photography isn’t something I’m overly concerned about for a pocket point and shoot camera because I want to be capturing moments, not face-on posed photos. I’m not saying there isn’t a time and place for a good portrait with nice bokeh, but it’s dubious to compromise other functions of a camera to optimize for that.
• Rick: There’s a reason so many film 35mm cameras shipped with 35-70 lenses. Perhaps phones aren’t such great cameras after all if they ship with 25mm base lenses, which is possibly economics rather than utility.
• The Mr. Globe: I’d rather have two focal ranges. This is why I applaud Sony’s solutions, even if flawed. That said, I really like telephoto on Pixels especially with super rez. It helps on a lot of non closable occasion. Maybe they can slap back their 2x on future flagship.
• bptryp: Waiting for a 15x optical
• jimv1983: I’d rather have good zoom. I care about portrait mode about the same amount as the ultra wide which is not at all.
• Peter S: We’ve lived with highly distorted smartphone photos on the wide end for many years. The optimal focal length for a portrait is a highly debated topic. My favorite focal length is 135mm, but I used to shoot all my headshots at 200mm. 50mm is good for environmental portraits, as pointed out, but having something longer would be neat and give me less ammo to dis smartphone cameras with.
• Joseph Murphy: Joke’s on you, a lot of professional photographers consider some of the best portrait focal lengths to be either 85mm or 135mm full frame equivalent. Literally Google “best portrait focal length”. The 4x slots right in between those, and the 5x leans toward the 135mm length. If you want the 50mm equivalent, the Pixel 7 will take a 12MP crop out of the center of the main sensor, just like the iPhone. You lose a bit of low-light and noise performance, but it could be worse.

The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are finally here after months of waiting, and the phones look like iterative upgrades over the Pixel 6 family. But we also have a few more substantial upgrades like more camera features, more AI-powered capabilities, and longer range zoom for the Pixel 7 Pro.

What do Android Authority readers think of the Pixel 7 series, though? We posed this question last week in the wake of the Google launch event, and here’s what you told us.

Pixel 7 series: Hot or not?

Results

We posted the poll on October 6 a short while after the conclusion of the Google launch event, and it turns out that you really like new smartphones. Almost 87% of surveyed readers thought the Pixel 7 series was “hot.”

We didn’t see a lot of comments elaborating on this decision, but at least one reader pointed to the Pixel 7 Pro’s camera experience. Another reader also felt it was hot, although this was subject to the out-of-the-box experience being great.

Otherwise, ~13% of respondents reckoned that the Pixel 7 series wasn’t hot stuff at all. We’re guessing these readers voted this way due to the Pixel 7’s similarities to the Pixel 6 family. It’s also worth noting that the Pixel 7 line lacks features like fast wired charging, while the Tensor G2 isn’t a huge upgrade on paper over the original Tensor.

Comments

• Aashish: I like the updates on the phone but I do wish they had kept the camera bar like the pixel 6. I really liked the all black glass bar over the aluminium thing implemented this year.
• Rick45TX: slightly overpriced for a rehash of the 6.
• Bubba Jones: Pixel 7Pro camera is outstanding. Cellphone cameras for casual photographers and photo enthusiasts are excellent devices producing quality images. The cost of purchasing a DSLR or Mirrorless camera with extra lens, compared to purchasing a capable cellphone camera is becoming more difficult to justify.
• Stanley Kubrick: I voted “hot” but it will all depend on how well they perform OOB. I did a preorder for the 1st time in my life. Fingers crossed!

Google’s Pixel phones have been around since 2016, but these devices were preceded by the Nexus line of smartphones. The Nexus phones were designed by other OEMs but essentially built to Google’s specifications and offered a pure take on Android.

We recently marked seven years since the last Nexus phone launched (the Nexus 6P), but also asked readers whether they missed the Nexus line. Well, we got plenty of votes, so here’s how that turned out.

Do you miss the Google Nexus series?

Results

Just over 2,000 votes were counted, and we have a runaway winner on our hands. A massive 87.04% of respondents said they indeed missed the Nexus series. Judging by the comments, there’s simply a lot of nostalgia for these phones. But there was also something really cool about Android OEMs like Samsung, LG, and Huawei releasing devices under the Google banner.

Meanwhile, a miniscule 6.82% of surveyed readers say they simply don’t miss the Nexus line. Finally, 6.15% of respondents say they missed some of the Nexus phones.

It’s worth pointing out that not every Nexus phone was a critical hit, with devices like the Nexus 6 being pricey and chunky to boot. Nexus phones like the Nexus 5X and 6P also had major defects like those dreaded boot loop issues. So we aren’t surprised that some readers aren’t 100% keen on the series.

Comments

• Mark McCoskey: I had the Nexus 6 (which T-Mobile/OnePlus gave me $300 for as a trade-in for my current 6T) with the Nexus 5x as a backup. I’d personally love to see the return of the 5.2-inch Nexus 5x, but bezelless, with the 16:9 ratio, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Back to basics.
• Geeeeeeeeeoff: I loved my 6P until the bootloader and battery issues. At least Google was nice enough to replace the phone—which I’d probably had for 18 months by that point—with a brand-new Pixel XL. That was a fun (and free) upgrade. One thing I still miss, however, are the 6P’s speakers. Phones nowadays all claim to have “stereo” speakers, but it’s usually something blasted out of the earpiece and a bottom-firing speaker. The 6P had actual, balanced stereo speakers, and they were great. I’ve still not heard their equal when I’m consuming media and wish I had balanced audio. (And I’m not saying the speakers themselves were top of the line, simply that they were true stereo.)
• Sean McNair: Fantastic phone, until I met the bootloop of death! I was able to utilize my insurance policy to get paid the full price of the phone. I also received settlement funds. I truly enjoyed that device, especially the camera for that time!
• hakkers519: I still charge up my 6P from time to time I really miss it. Only thing for me was the battery took a serious hit after a system update and never recovered.
• Carson Cheung: Nexus 6P’s and Nexus 5X’s camera were the very first smartphone camera that truly amazed me. That HDR+ was absolutely stunning, plus the sharpness and detail of the photo, just no phone could even reach that standard at that time.

The Google Pixel 7 series is launching this week, but we’ve already seen a few details emerge courtesy of official and unofficial channels. In fact, Google has shown off all the colorways ahead of launch too.

We wanted to know what Android Authority readers thought of the Pixel 7 series colors, posting a poll last week to find out. The results are finally in, and here’s what you told us.

What do you think of the Pixel 7 colors?

Results

The phones are available in Obsidian (black) and Snow (white), while the standard model also has a Lemongrass option and the Pro variant is available in Hazel. So what did readers think of these colors?

Over 1,600 votes were tallied after we posted the poll on September 29, and 55.54% of surveyed readers said they liked the Pixel 7 series colors. This suggests that many readers are happy with basic colorways like black and white.

More Google coverage: How Pixel phone pricing changed over the years

Meanwhile, 24.01% of respondents say they don’t like the Pixel 7 series colorways. We can understand this opinion, as most of these color options do seem very safe compared to past variants like Coral, Sorta Sage, and Oh So Orange.

Finally, 20.46% of surveyed readers say they’re indifferent to the colorways on option. In fact, a couple of readers noted that they didn’t care because they slapped a case on their phones anyway.

Comments

• Drone9: Did the Manager of Color leave Google or something? Having a dual tone color is Google’s niche design, why did they have to trample on their own feet by missing out on the opportunity for these few color combos? Yellow+black, Red+black, White+black, Blue/teal+chrome silver
• Lirch: These colors are lame. I wish Google would make bright Google branded colors! It would really set them apart.
• Rob A.: I don’t understand how color is relevant if you use a case, as most people seem to.
• jimmy cychowski: I love the look of the Hazel Pixel 7 Pro
• JWB: They’re not terrible, but I’d have preferred more options; a mint green, a lilac, a bronze for example? Just more options altogether because what you’re actually asking is if anyone likes the yellowy-green because most other phones offer black and white these days, it’s just a basic given rather than being a question of colours.
• Kevin Mikulaj: Need the old Nokia Lumia colors.
• Rac3r4Life: I like the colors. I think the colors match well with the color theme across their entire product line.
• Say What??: Since I always use a skin and a case the color doesn’t matter to me but the colors of the Pixel 7 series are a little bland IMO.
• Mac jackson: Indifferent since most likely, never own one. However, it might be the first phone in many years where the black is the best looking with that silver camera module bar running across the back. Can always purchase skins to change the color.

The Google Pixel 7 series launch is only a few days away, so we’ll officially know everything there is to know about these phones on October 6. But history tells us that no Pixel handset is truly without issue.

So with that in mind, we asked Android Authority readers what Google would get wrong with the Pixel 7 series (if it got something wrong). The votes are finally in, and here are the results.

What will Google get wrong with the Pixel 7 series?

Results

Over 1,300 votes were tallied as of writing, and it turns out that the most popular pick was “performance.” 21.1% of surveyed readers think Google’s latest phones might disappoint in the horsepower department. This might not be a surprise in light of the original Tensor lagging behind its rivals, while leaked Tensor G2 specs suggest no real CPU upgrade either.

The fingerprint scanner came in second place, with 18.86% of respondents saying Google will stumble when it comes the Pixel 7 line’s authentication. This isn’t a surprising choice either, as a slow, inaccurate fingerprint scanner was a major complaint last year.

Related: Google Pixel 6 series problems and how to fix them

Rounding out the top three was “software polish,” accounting for 17.80% of the vote. This was a serious stumbling block at the Pixel 6 launch last year, so it makes sense to see this option also gaining a ton of votes.

We also saw 7.65% of polled readers vote for the “other” option, and comments point to potential woes like slow charging and higher pricing. Otherwise, it’s interesting to note that only 3.11% of respondents felt that Google will get the cameras wrong. This perhaps speaks to Google’s long-standing strength in this field that very few voters thought they could mess up the camera experience.

Comments

• Nope!: Not actually charging full 30W even though their tech specs says they support it.
• splus: The poll doesn’t allow to select all the items, so I’ll write it here – they’ll get wrong all of those things.
• roaduardo: For me software polish and performance go hand in hand. But price is number one for me. They’ve always messed up on the price first, in my opinion.
• ssallen: I just have a bad feeling they haven’t learned their lesson about cheap fingerprint scanners yet.
• Brian Glaze: It’s going to be fine. This seems like an iterative upgrade so there will be a lot of polish :)
• Atti Halmágyi: Charging speed could be better, around 50W.
• Rob: The curved display is a nogo for me.

The smartphone thinness war has been over for years now for the most part. This period of mobile development saw various companies tout ultra-thin designs, although this often came with compromises (mainly smaller batteries).

Nevertheless, we wanted to know whether Android Authority users still cared about smartphone thickness, and here’s what you told us in the subsequent poll.

Do you care about smartphone thickness?

Results

Over 4,800 votes were cast in this poll at the time of writing, giving us a good sample size to work with. The most popular pick? Well, 41.7% of respondents said they simply didn’t care about a phone’s thickness.

This is a pretty interesting stance, as a thick phone can obviously be a little cumbersome for some. But many thick phones on the market (like the S22 Ultra and Pixel 6 Pro) also bring additional benefits like superior camera systems and bigger batteries. Plus, there are definitely some users who like a heftier, more substantial design.

In second place was “A thin phone is nice to have but not a must” (36.23%). Other considerations clearly come first for these users, but they wouldn’t complain at all if their wishlist was wrapped up in a thin package.

Rounding out the podium was “Yes, it’s one of several considerations,” accounting for 17.83% of the vote. Finally, just 4.25% of surveyed readers said a thin phone was their “main consideration.”

When we looked at the poll from a different angle, we can see that almost 80% of respondents say they don’t care about a thin phone or think it’s merely nice to have.

Comments

• Beardednomad: No but it depends. It’s more about hand feel than thickness.
• Gregory Tschirhart: I’ve had smartphones since they first started making them. I want a phone that is sturdy and able to withstand a little bit of abuse. Then again, I do not want a brick in my pocket neither. The phone needs to be fairly flexible, so as to be in my pocket without snapping in half.
• jimx2: Wish they’d stop making camera bumps and just make the entire phone as thick as it needs to be with a larger battery
• NESter: Am I the only one who hates how thin phones are? They’re hard to hold. I put a big thick heavy duty case on mine on day one, not just to protect it. Also I’d take a week of battery life in a thick phone that’s rugged any day. These dainty little wafers we have today are unappealing to me.
• Milan Svitek: I honestly would prefer it if manufacturers stuck closer to the 10mm range instead of trying to go down to 9…8…7mm … Hell, didn’t vivo make a phone less than 5mm thick!? At that point it’s downright uncomfortable to hold! Give me a bigger battery to drive a brighter screen and take your paper-thin piece of glass back. I don’t want it. I’m happy that Google kept my Pixel a bit chunkier last gen. It’s way more comfortable to hold
• Vulpes: Anything under about 8mm seems unnecessary. Over 9mm though and I do think I notice in a bad way. Don’t use cases since I care about the ergonomics of using a phone first and foremost. So yes I definitely care, but other factors are more important – even related to the physical dimensions, such as width and weight or even edge shape.
• mckillio: I certainly care and would like my phone to be about 8mm. Thicker phones also mean heavier phones and phones are just too heavy these days given their enormous sizes. Hopefully we’ll get solid state batteries in the coming years and we won’t have to compromise.
• needa: I care a lot about it. I can’t stand the heft and thickness of my op9 . But what can you do? Nothing.
• JL: Don’t care about thickness. Never did. I just want the phone to do cool stuff. I always put a beefy battery case on my phones anyway. I care mostly about function over form.
• Richard Quist: It’s one of several considerations. I want the phone to feel solid, but be something I can comfortably hold and place in a pocket without feeling like I am carrying brick around.

LG was forced to cancel its Rollable phone after the company pulled out of the smartphone business, but that didn’t stop a Korean YouTube channel from getting a unit and reviewing the device.

The LG Rollable certainly seemed like a pretty interesting product in the video review, but what do Android Authority readers think of it? We posed this question in our news article covering the review last week.

What do you think of the LG Rollable?

Results

Just over 1,000 votes were counted as of writing, and we have a runaway winner on our hands. A massive 80.19% of respondents said they liked the LG Rollable. A few readers noted in the comments that this form factor seemed better than foldable phone form factors.

Otherwise, 15.85% of polled readers felt that the rollable phone was merely “okay.” We can see why people would vote for this option, as the screen in particular definitely seems like a first-generation effort. For example, there’s plenty of glare and you can even make out some wrinkles.

Finally, 3.96% of respondents said they hated the canceled phone. We didn’t see any comments reflecting this stance, but we’re guessing that the exposed plastic OLED screen raises questions about durability. That’s in addition to the aforementioned screen glare and wrinkles.

Comments

• Tennisfreak: If LG could have stuck with this form factor I feel it would have been the ideal way to use a foldable OLED right now. I’d get this form factor over the fold or flip.
• Commentor: Looks very interesting, I think it would have been a success, more attractive than the fold & flip models that are on offer
• serge bureau: Much more interesting than fold and flip, this is way better !
• meh…: This would have been an antidote to LG’s problems in the market, but they decided to cut bait instead of try this as a hail Mary. Such a shame.
• Farhan Ahmad Tajuddin: I definitely love this idea way more than foldable screen. Not only you don’t have any creases, you can roll the screen all the way to a legit tablet size. If I really want to have a smartphone as a tablet replacement, foldable screen isn’t it. Rollable screen definitely is.

Seamless Update functionality has been around on Android for years now, letting a system update install in the background and then asking users to simply reboot to apply the update.

Some companies like Samsung still don’t support Seamless Updates, though. But it emerged last week that Google will enforce a key change that could lead to this update method being mandatory on Android. So with all that in mind, we thought it would be a good idea to ask readers whether their phones supported Seamless Updates in the first place. Here’s how you answered the survey.

Does your phone support Seamless Updates?

Results

Over 2,500 votes were tallied to date, and it turns out that the single most popular option was “I don’t know” (40.35%). We’re guessing that some respondents who voted this way simply aren’t familiar with the concept of Seamless Updates in the first place. Furthermore, system updates aren’t something you’ll deal with every day, so we wouldn’t be surprised if some people simply forgot what update method their phones use.

Otherwise, 31.4% of surveyed readers said their phones don’t have Seamless Updates. It’s not a surprise to see so many respondents choosing this option as Samsung is the top smartphone brand globally and it hasn’t embraced this update method just yet.

Finally, 28.26% of polled readers said their phones did indeed support Seamless Updates. At least one reader noted in the comments that they had a OnePlus phone that supported the feature. But it stands to reason that others who voted for this option had phones from the likes of Google, Xiaomi, and/or other brands.

Comments

• M Hector: The seamless update approach seems useful, especially because it is possible to toggle back to the previous working partition. But also, correctly or incorrectly, it gets everyone thinking about letting Google manage OS updates directly, like do Microsoft and Apple. This was a major selling point for me for the Windows phone, and is also very attractive with the iPhone.
• Bobby: Doesn’t matter what Google does, as long as the companies like Xiaomi, oppo OnePlus don’t share Google’s vision it’ll be fragmented forever. Heck even the pixels get three is updates. Only Samsung is offering 4. I get security updates on my 20months old s21ultra faster than the Google security every month. In my eyes only Samsung and Google are the real Android players that want to innovate. Rest all are in for business. It’s a shame that Apple is providing 6 os updates and Android barey gets three.
• Cryio: OnePlus has seamless updates, lol. Everyone else I see has that awful stuck in BIOS screen when upgrading and then tons of “optimizing apps, 1 out of 500” when the phone boots up. I have neither of those problems on my OnePlus.
• disqus_d1b9jeAcZN: What an excellent change! We will save so much time installing all those system updates we consistently receive. Jokes aside, it’s good to strive to be better, but I’ve never thought for even a moment that I was spending much time being interrupted because of an update. I wouldn’t have started the update unless I had downtime.

The Google Pixel 7 series will be fully revealed next month, but the company already confirmed that it will be powered by the semi-custom Tensor G2 processor.

A developer did some digging earlier this week and found out the apparent Tensor G2 specs. We wondered what you thought of these leaked specs, posting a poll inside our news article. Here’s how you answered it.

What do you think of the Tensor G2 based on leaked specs?

Results

Just over 1,000 votes were cast in this poll, and it turns out that a large majority of respondents don’t have strong positive or negative feelings. In fact, 67.1% of surveyed readers answered that the specs were okay but could be better.

Google is apparently sticking with the same CPU it used in the original Tensor. That potentially means two Cortex-X1 cores, two Cortex-A76 cores, and four Cortex-A55 cores. However, the Tensor G2 is tipped to arrive with a Mali-G710 GPU, which could be a solid upgrade on paper over the Tensor’s Mali-G78 setup. So it’s really a tale of two halves when it comes to the Pixel 7 processor.

Related: Everything you need to know about Google Tensor

Meanwhile, 20.4% of polled readers said they hated the Tensor G2 based on these specs. We can understand why they’d vote this way based on the aforementioned CPU, which will likely lag even further behind rival processors.

Finally, just 12.4% of surveyed readers said they liked the Tensor G2 in light of these apparent details. We’ve yet to hear about modem details, AI silicon, the ISP, and other tidbits, but we can see why some people might be looking forward to the new chipset if these categories get major upgrades.

Comments

• Joe Black: If it improves on photography computation and efficiency, I am sold. Otherwise, I do not really care for any CPU/GPU gains on my phone. I am much more curious if they will make something like RAW night sight available on Pixels, or it will support that new Bluetooth codec.
• Roost Front: If they put same chip in their top model and the budget one , it may make sense not to use the latest tech. Most of the power of the best processors can be seen only in benchmarks. There difference in real life scenarios is barely noticeable anyway.
• 1981: Performance gains wouldn’t even matter, especially when all were doing is social media activities 99% of the time.

There’s been a divisive trend in recent years for smartphone brands to ditch the in-box charger. This means you’ll need to rely on an older charger or buy a brand-new one if you don’t have an old adapter.

We were interested in finding out whether Android Authority readers got a charger in the box with their current phone. So we posted a poll last week, and here’s how that turned out.

Did your current phone come with a charger?

Results

Just over 1,400 votes were counted in this poll as of writing, and it turned out to be a close race. However, a small majority of respondents (54.21%) said their current phone came with an in-box charger.

Prominent phones mentioned by readers in this regard include the OnePlus 10 Pro, OnePlus 8T, OPPO Find X5 series, Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, Samsung Galaxy S20, Sony Xperia 1 III, and Xiaomi 12 Pro.

On the other hand, 45.79% of surveyed readers said their current phone didn’t come with a charger. According to the comments section, these phones included the Pixel 6 Pro, Apple’s iPhones, and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Comments

• Stanley Kubrick: All the OnePlus phones I have received, as well as the one I am using now, all came with chargers and cables! AND, their phones work great no matter what people say about them as a company.
• M.Rao: Recently I bought a samsung S 22 ultra for $1200/- and it was my 1st from samsung, my favorite was xiomi. So it was frustrating to see that there is no charger n it needs a high end high capacity charger, how can the Samsung expe me to have a charger like that?? And I have to buy one from Amazon paying $30.
• Tennisfreak: My S20 came with a charger. When it comes to chargers in the box I am of the opinion: If the phone boasts and advertises special super fast charging that requires a specific charger it should come in the box. If there is no special charger required then I dont care if its in the box.
• Beardednomad: My OnePlus 10 Pro not only came with a charger, it came with a charger powerful enough to charge all my devices including both my laptop and chromebook.
• Jim Smith: I have many more chargers laying around than devices to charge them with. No, it doesn’t bother me that I didn’t get another one.
• Marc Spanjol: With all the different charging standards a charger should be included. Sooner or later people choose the phone for an included charger as otherwise all the fast charging won’t work due to every maker cooking its own charging soup. Had a Samsung a while back and it complained about the charger not being compatible to charge the phone, what the hell…
• Hasib: My OnePlus 8T came with a 65W charger. Still a hidden gem in the world of smartphones today
• Wongwatt: My OPPO Find X5 came with a SuperVOOC charger, fortunate really because I didn’t have one of those and I always sell my phones on with the charger anyway.
• Commentor: My Xiaomi 12 pro came with its 120w charger, prefer phones are supplied with chargers as many models offer faster charging its pointless to use existing slower chargers, family members purchased the new iPhones & I reccommended to buy the matching chargers, as otherwise you are missing out on the faster charging capability
• Robert Cassidy: Samsung didn’t send a charger with the phone, but it gave me a $100 voucher to buy a charger and a phone protector.
• superwolfkin: Pixel 6 pro no. Charger

A crazy leak emerged last week when a veteran Chinese tipster claimed that Google was working on a small flagship Pixel smartphone. There’s no word on the exact phone size or screen size, but we’d still advise that you take this with plenty of skepticism.

Still, we asked Android Authority readers whether they wanted a smaller Pixel flagship phone, and here’s how you answered the question.

Do you want a smaller Pixel flagship?

Results

This was a very popular poll, with over 5,300 votes tallied as of writing. The winning choice wasn’t even close, as a massive 88.2% of surveyed readers said they do indeed want to see a more pocket-friendly Pixel flagship phone.

We’re not surprised by this stance either, as both Pixel 6 series flagships are sizeable and have large screens. The standard model comes with a 6.4-inch panel while the Pro is equipped with a 6.71-inch screen.

Related: The best small Android phones on the market

Meanwhile, only 6.61% of respondents said they didn’t want a smaller Pixel flagship. Finally, 5.15% of polled readers said other factors like pricing and features would ultimately sway their decision.

In any event, the results show that there still seems to be an appetite for a smaller high-end Pixel phone. But the question is just how small Google should go if it is indeed working on this device. Apple discontinued the 5.4-inch iPhone Mini series recently, purportedly due to slow sales. So it stands to reason that a future compact Pixel shouldn’t go this far.

Comments

Zed Jones: Correction: Consumers aren’t interested in the features offered at the price Apple was asking for. Reposition it as the next SE with a price to match and it would sell like hotcakes. Or, better yet, design a similar phone that still includes the fingerprint sensor button, on the side or back, because old people love it on small phones with “big” screens.

2infinity: Would it be possible to have a smaller form factor but increase the depth a little to include a decent battery pack?

Joe Black: As a Pixel 6 Pro user, all I can say is: “Please, please, pretty please, make a smaller Pixel with the camera feature set of a big boy Pixel”. I still remember fondly my Pixel 5 and really use, because of size, my Pixel 6 Pro less.

There was a time, not too long ago, when phones started transitioning from compact handhelds to 6-inch phablets. That’s when the popularity of tablets started dwindling. Global tablet sales peaked in 2013, but with phones getting more powerful and bigger over time, tablet sales have constantly been declining. It’s clear people aren’t buying as many tablets as before, and it only makes sense because tablets aren’t really daily drivers for most people.

So we asked our readers how often they switch out their old tablet for a new one. Here’s what they had to say.

How often do you upgrade your tablet?

Results

We received over 1,200 votes in our poll about tablet upgrade practices. From the results above, it’s clear that only a very tiny percentage of our readers (2%) upgrade their tablets every year. A two- to three-year upgrade cycle works for 14.11% of the respondents in our poll, while a majority of them (22.6%) prefer buying a new tablet every three-to-four years.

Also read: constant decline

Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro models finally ditched the wide notch of prior models in favor of two cutouts dubbed the Dynamic Island. The two cutouts are actually bridged by software, and tapping the area allows you to view a bubble of information such as notifications, music playback controls, and more.

It certainly differs from Android’s take on display cutouts. But do you want a Dynamic Island feature on Android? We posed this question a couple of days ago, and here’s how you voted.

Do Android phones need a feature like Apple’s Dynamic Island?

Results

This was an extremely popular poll, garnering over 14,000 votes as of writing. It turns out that there wasn’t a runaway winner here, but 53.72% of respondents said they don’t think Android needs Apple’s Dynamic Island feature.

Reader comments supporting this stance point to Android devices having much smaller punch-holes (so there isn’t a need to “hide” the cutout with a software feature) and a better notification system. Some readers also noted that the location of the Dynamic Island would be a problem for large phones, forcing you to awkwardly reach for the top to activate it.

On the other hand, 46.28% of surveyed readers felt that Android indeed needed a Dynamic Island feature. At least one reader felt this would be nice to have in order to use the area around punch-hole cutouts.

Comments

• Cappuccino Cowboy: That’s actually pretty slick, the iphone implementation, I mean. But, if they just made it one big pill, there wouldn’t be a need for it at all.
  So, it’s kind of like, they created a solution to a problem they never should’ve had in the first place. Seeing an Android dev create the same feature, makes absolutely no sense and just makes them look petty. What purpose would it serve, that the standard icons don’t already?
• Peeet: I may be alone with my tiny hands, but I never touch that part of the screen…seems like a PIA to open..
• Kevin Bradshaw: No. This is the least necessary thing for a android phone. In fact the useful aspects of it, like media play back, are already a thing your phone can do.
• Powsniffer0110: Not needed, but the option would be nice to have to utilize and coverup notches/hole punches!
• Face: Soon as I seen that I said we could easily add something like that in a mod or root this is why we choose Android we can do anything
• not me: I dont think it’s something that NEEDS to be ported over but, like most things Google stuffs into Android, I’m sure I’d enjoy it’s presence
• Joe Black: TBH, I do not see the appeal, it just looks … clumsy.
• Wowbagger: Imitation is the finest form of flattery. On the plus side, with an Android phone the bulk of the camera cutouts are really tiny, so the dead-space would actually be touchable and overall less visible. I see this as a win for everyone.
• Sir_Brizz: We don’t need it, we already have omnipresent notifications. Also, more devs should implement the floating pill like tracking live sports scores. That would be pretty nice for Uber.
• raffr: I don’t care that companies copy from each other, in fact I love it! I use an iPhone and a Pixel and love it when features I like come to each phone. It’s a win-win for me.

All smartphones offer camera zoom functionality of some kind, whether it’s via a telephoto/periscope camera, hybrid zoom tech, or a purely software-based approach. 

Android phones have supported multiple users for a while, allowing you to switch to a different profile on your device. This is a similar approach to users on computers, giving each user their own wallpaper, apps, and more.

It’s a fixture on PCs but do Android Authority readers actually use multiple user functionality on their phones? That’s the question we posed last week, and here’s how you answered it.

Do you have multiple users on your Android phone?

Results

Almost 1,800 votes were cast in this survey, and the results show that the vast majority of respondents don’t have multiple users on their phones. At least one reader comment suggests that phones are too personal for multiple users.

Otherwise, just under 17% of surveyed readers say they have multiple users on their smartphones. Reader comments suggest that this functionality is used for work/personal division and for people with kids.

We’re nevertheless glad to see Android phones still offering this feature, even if it’s better suited to tablets and Android TV devices. Aside from the aforementioned reasons, this could also be particularly handy for phones with a desktop mode, allowing you to treat it more like a PC in terms of user profiles.

Comments

• roaduardo: No way. Phone’s too personal for that, IMO. This is better for tablets and PCs, I think.
• Aashish: Why would I? My phone is mine, not someone else’s. With mobiles been so common these days, everyone can have their own.
• serge bureau: I will with the new update on galaxy phones, it will be much easier than now. Having a work and personal is a must ! And if you have a kid playing on your phone it is vital !!! Those who say no, are totalling missing the point.
• Greg Currie: Only because my kids accounts aren’t allowed if they are not the main account. At least it makes them charge their own phones but it still seems backwards.
• Rac3r4Life: I have 2 users on my phone, but they are both for me. One user is for all my personal stuff and the other is all my work stuff. I’ve got a Pixel 6 and I utilize the dual SIM feature with the eSIM to have both my work and personal phone numbers on a single device.
• Kira: Absolutely no.

Mobile payments are extremely convenient, allowing you to leave your card and wallet at home. There are loads of solutions out there too, from Google Pay and Apple Pay to OEM solutions and third-party apps.

But when was the last time you used mobile payments, though? We posed this question to readers earlier this week and here are the results of that poll.

When was the last time you used mobile payments?

Results

Just over 1,900 votes were cast after we posted the poll, and it turns out that ~40% of respondents used mobile payments on the same day they took the poll (“today”). The second most popular option was “in the last week,” with 26.3% of the vote. In other words, virtually two-thirds of polled readers have used mobile payments in the last week.

It’s also interesting to note that 20.64% of respondents said they’ve never used mobile payments at all. Presumably, these readers simply prefer cash/card or can’t use mobile payments on their phone due to tinkering. For example, many financial/payment apps don’t work on rooted devices.

Bringing up the rear was “in the last month” (4.93%), “a few months ago” (3.73%), “more than a year ago (3.22%), and “a year ago” (1.24%).

Comments

• Go_kool: Here in India UPI(QR) based payments have made life easier! I don’t remember using debit cards other than withdrawing cash from an ATM. Don’t carry wallet any more, all payments are through Mobile payments only!
• Kira: I would use it much more frequently if only my wallet contained any money !!
• Debra RightIntwo Boykin: It’s incredibly convenient to leave your wallet or bag in the car when you need to grab something in the store. I literally only have my Samsung wallet on my lock screen because it’s a swipe, a fingerprint and a tap. Works faster than inserting a card, too. Plus, no touching anything that may spread disease! It’s a win win if you have a phone that supports it.
• Stanley Kubrick: Just as easy to tap, swipe, or insert a card. At least I don’t write a check while others are waiting in line behind me! I still see this!
• DilbertDoe: Never have, never will.
• David Josefsen: Google pay is built in MIUI 13 (Android 12) on my Mi 10T Pro 5G with built in NFC support. So easy to use , I use it everyday :) also some shops like Coop (here in Norway) supports mobile payments on their own apps you have to download.
• Skifarterking: Unfortunately couple month ago when Pay became Wallet and stopped working with Magisk. Hope there’s a solution coming.
• mattc: I rarely carry a card or wallet with me

Curved displays have been around on smartphones since 2014’s Galaxy Note Edge, but they’ve become a fixture on most of today’s premium phones. From Samsung and Xiaomi to OPPO and OnePlus, it’s hard to find a brand that hasn’t taken part in this trend.

Our own C Scott Brown lamented the fact that most Android OEMs only offer curved displays on their premium phones. He added a poll in his opinion piece, asking readers what they thought of curved screens. Here are the results of that poll.

Do you like curved displays?

Results

This was a popular poll, with over 14,000 votes cast as of writing. The most popular pick by a significant margin was “no, I hate the curves,” accounting for 45.68% of the vote. Reader comments point to reasons like accidental touches on curved displays, durability concerns when the device falls, and screen protectors being more of a hassle.

In second place was the “I don’t care either way” camp, accounting for 26.2% of the vote. Rounding out the top three was “yes, I love the curves,” with 20.13% of all votes. Reader comments suggest that gesture navigation and aesthetics are a few reasons why people prefer phones with curved panels.

Finally, ~8% of respondents noted that they hadn’t used a phone with a curved display before. Curved screens are still the domain of premium phones for the most part, so we’re guessing these voters have either stuck with budget devices or it just so happens that they’ve only bought phones with flat screens.

Comments

• Bonedatt: The only time the curved display on my Note20 Ultra bothers me, is when I am using my S-Pen to take notes, and I forget to disable the edge. Other than that, I am indifferent when it comes to flat or curve screens. I use an iPhone 13 Pro Max occasionally, and the flat screen has never been something that I envied. iOS is why I can never use an iPhone as a daily driver, regardless of the flat screen.
• Jared Ourada: A big disadvantage of curved screens that you missed: glass screen protectors are terribly hard to align with curved screens. If it is just a touch off, it doesn’t lay down flat.
• M Hector: I prefer a flat display, an SD card slot and a headphone jack. Totally agree there. That said, I have an S22 Ultra and I love it.
• Victor_R: To me and a lot of people I know, curved displays feel more premium. They reduce the bezel significantly and make the phone feel seemless. To me, curved display makes a phone feel truly premium
• Will: I prefer curved screens since they are more comfortable in my hands I tried the S22+ for 2 weeks and couldn’t handle it since it digs into my hand so I swapped for the S22U and am so much happier I thought it would be too big but it isn’t in the slightest for me. Also I use slide up gestures from the bottom. Back on the left bottom, home on middle bottom and app switcher on the right bottom. I just prefer it that way after trying all of them for a long while
• Hellbeck: The other half used a Galaxy S7 Edge for about 6 years until it stopped working properly, and when had to use the phone I found myself having to go to recents to close the accidentally opened apps because of the curved screen. I like to hold my phone securely and not have to place it on the top of my palm. She now has a flat screen phone and has commented on the fact that there has been no accidental apps opened even though she was used to the curve.
• Mark Binder: I like flat displays, but the sharp corners of the iPhone just makes holding the phone to uncomfortable. I’d much prefer dealing with a comfortable curved display than sharp edges digging into my hands.
• danielmbg: I disagree on the navigation, I have both the Pixel 6 pro and the pixel 3XL, and with case the 6 is a lot easier and feels much better to navigate. On the 3 because the case goes over the screen it’s more annoying to move backwards. But I do agree on fragile, because the screen is more visible it makes it much easier to scratch. I’m kinda torn, honestly I really enjoy the curved screen, but the at same time I feel it’s much easier to scratch.
• ChrisPollard77: The curved display is really the only thing I still hate about my trusty old Note 10+. Didn’t like it when I bought it, don’t like it years later. Mainly for points already discussed here: screws up the S-Pen when you reach the curve and tempered glass screen protectors are either hideously expensive (for what they are) or feel like a complete crap shoot whether they will give you decent adhesion or not. First phone I’ve ever left the factory film on.
• JPL: Curved displays distort video at the edges a bit and are a pain to put screen protectors on. They need to go.

Today’s smartphones are capable of going from zero to 100% in as quick as ~20 minutes, with even many mid-range phones capable of fully charging in an hour.

However, we wondered how many people let their phones hit zero in the first place before grabbing the charger. That was the topic of a featured poll earlier this week, and here’s what you told us.

Do you let your phone hit zero before charging it?

Results

We posted the poll on Tuesday, August 30, and over 3,200 people cast their votes to date. The winner by a landslide was the “no” camp, as almost 80% of respondents said they simply didn’t wait for their phone to hit zero before plugging in.

Reader comments supporting this stance note that letting the phone hit zero is bad for battery health. So we can see why many people would avoid this practice in the first place and simply plug in below a certain threshold (e.g. 10% or 20%).

Meanwhile, 15.48% of polled readers say they sometimes let the phones hit zero before reaching for the charger. A couple of readers noted that it was occasionally unavoidable that their phones would die. Finally, only 4.86% of respondents said they actually let their phones die before charging them.

Comments

• Luke Court: I try not to but sometimes it’s unavoidable, letting it drain to 0 or fully charge to 100 can reduce endurance so I always attempt to avoid it.
• Kira: It’s plain inconvenient to wait for your phone to hit zero,as you may need it at exactly that point,plus completely draining your battery is not good for its health over the long term(the same applies to completely charging it). Personally,I charge my phone when battery drops to around 20%,and then allow it to charge to 90%. The same thing I do with my Nokia tablet,and my ASUS laptop,which thankfully has a feature to stop charging when the battery hits 80%. Completely draining or fully charging your battery is usually not recommended by many OEMs, and many studies back this up too.
• Jordi Mas: Sometimes at home I’m playing Brawl Stars until battery hits 0 so it’s a natural limitation to control myself xDD
• roaduardo: I’m home most of the time so my phone and watch never get anywhere close to zero. Wireless charging pads make this easy for me.
• edwardius: I never do, my wife lets her phone die all the time. I’ve had an S10 for 3 years and have only drained it completely a couple of times
• thesecondsight: I have a Moto G Power 2020 with a 5000mAh battery. I never allow my battery to drain below 30%. Though I recharge to 100% every 2-3 days, battery life remains stellar.
• mattcoz: Sometimes, sure, but not on purpose.
• Chris53: Draining a battery to 0 is bad for the battery, I try to never let it to drop to 0 if possible.
• Hasib: I’ve never let my battery drop generally below 25%. I’m trying to keep my phone for 5 years before upgrading.

A smartphone with a display over six inches is a common occurrence these days, but there are still some OEMs offering smaller phones for those who prefer a more compact form factor. You have the iPhone SE with its 4.7-inch screen, the Pixel 5 with the 5-inch display, the Zenfone 9 with a 5.9-inch panel, and more. While these options exist, small phones are surely a dying breed.

Manufacturers mostly prefer making big phones because the market demands the same. So we asked our readers how big is too big a screen for them. Here’s how they voted in our poll.

How big is too big when it comes to smartphone screen size?

Results

We received over 2,000 votes in our smartphone screen size poll, and most people feel a handset with a 7-inch display is simply too big for them. 35% of the respondents said they think 7-inch phones are too much to handle.

Interestingly, 25% of our readers also felt that 6.5-inch phones are also too big for them and 19% said that they don’t like phones that go as big as 6.7-inches. Those are pretty common display sizes these days. In fact screens of that size are found on some of the most popular phones right now, including the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus (6.6-inch screen), Pixel 6 Pro (6.7-inches), OnePlus 10 Pro (6.7-inches), and more.

Then there were readers (14%) who think that even a 6-inch display is big for a phone. Here’s what our poll takers had to say about their preferences.

Your Comments

Matt L.: I used to fit a 7″ Nexus tablet in my pocket and that had bezels. I don’t care if I can’t use it one-handed – I want more screen real estate, but it has to be 16×9 to match most video content.

farawayplace: No more rolling edges, Samsung. It is a waste. I feel like I am getting ripped off, while it damages more easily. Keep the screen flat.

Brian Fowler: I’m perfectly fine with my 6.8″ Ultra. But if I had my preference, we’d still have 16X9 screens and be around the 6″ mark. As long as we are keeping these taller/narrower, I think I could live with 7″.

Jeremias Helminen: I have Mate 20X and i could definitely take a little bigger display/ phone. Why there is no option 7,5 inch or more? No more rolling edges SAMSUNG here either!

Evie: Only chose 7+ because there wasn’t a bigger option. Currently choosing a new phone, 6.5 is the absolute minimum I would go. Trying to decide between 6.7 or 7. I don’t even consume video on my phone, I primarily do a lot of searching and research on my phone and then send the links to my Chromebook. A big phone is just super convenient for me.

JL T0x: I’ve learned to appreciate a larger screen since the Samsung Note3. but I understand that there are limits when it comes to handling a big hulking phone constantly. the larger the screen, the heavier the device. and there are other compromises. I chose my Fold2 over the Note20 Ultra mostly bc of the larger screen option & similar premium features & cameras aren’t important to me. I prefer anything with a 7+ inch screen as long as it can be folded to a smaller size.

Wongwatt: I voted 6.5 though my current phone has a 6.55 curved display. I don’t like phones that are above 160ish mm in height so my vote is based on that.

roaduardo: For a non-Spen-enabled smartphone? I think 6.4inches should top out. Any phone with a built-in S-Pen, IMO, can be up to 7inches since you don’t have to use it one-handed and using a stylus, just my view, is far superior than using your finger.

Joe Black: For me, anything above 6″ is too big for comfort. Right now I am using Pixel 6 Pro, and I still do not like the size.

Sophia: This is a strange poll, especially in light of the new foldable versions. As long as the phone can be held comfortably in a (large) pocket, I don’t care what the screen size is when unfolded.

Mega DP: I would rock a 7″ phone in a heartbeat. Why not add an option that says “There’s no such thing as a phone that’s too big?”

JK: I’d like a 5.5 – 5.9 inch flat screen, preferably without holes or notches or curved corners.

Albin: My first smartphone was a 3.5″ LG that amazed me with its extra functionality, so I got an 8″ tablet and so ever since. The tablet rarely leaves home and is the go-to screen for all but basic communication, while the phone is for pocketable size and weight on the go – for a long time I thought 5″ was my upper limit. The advent of 18:9 really changed the diagonals game: my current 6″ Moto is just a little longer with identical W and D to the 5″ it replaced. I keep an eye on folder format to unify the two-device habit but overpriced and screen durability in doubt so far.

Android TV or Google TV powers a host of smart televisions out there, while dedicated devices are also a popular way to bring smart features to a not-so-smart TV. Between the Google Assistant support, Android app integration, and relatively open nature, there’s plenty to like here.

However, we wondered just how many people have received low storage alerts on their Android TV or Google TV device. We posed this question last week and here are the results.

Have you received low storage warnings on your Android TV device?

Results

We posted the poll on August 24, accruing 2,564 votes as of writing. And it turns out that a majority (56.08%) of polled readers have received low storage warnings on their Android TV or Google TV device before.

This is an understandable choice, as many devices on the market ship with 8GB of internal storage to begin with. For example, the Chromecast with Google TV gadget ships with 8GB of storage (expandable via USB-C hub), while the venerable Xiaomi Mi Box S ships with 8GB of local storage (expandable via USB).

Meanwhile, a substantial 43.92% of respondents said they hadn’t received low storage alerts on their Google TV or Android TV devices. Judging by the comments, readers who voted for this option use microSD or USB-based storage expansion to keep low storage alerts at bay.

Nevertheless, Google has promised that a Google TV update is coming that will allow users to easily free up storage. So those struggling with low storage warnings will have one option at their disposal soon.

Comments

• mattcoz: No warning, it just fails to update apps when it’s out of storage.
• Hal: Added a usb-c hub and SD card to increase storage space.
• Chris53: I use a 64GB USB drive
• Kas: Never had any storage issues. Just major issues with poor WiFi connection.
• Patrik: I’m unable to get my device to function with extra storage. I have a dongle with charging passthrough and sd-card attached, but it’s a no go. I can view the storage in file managers but I can’t read/write. Anyone got suggestions?
• Thomas Anderson: I got one when they came out and started getting these warnings immediately as I wanted too many apps. Bought an NVIDIA shield pro maybe two weeks later and added a usb C SSD. I tried the hub trick first but kept having issues there on earlier updates
• Shizuma: Nope, my 2017 Shield TV has never given me that warning, though in the past 2 years it’s had a 6TB HDD attached since I started using it as a PLEX server, and my Chromecast with Google TV has also never given me a low storage warning.
• Joe Black: I use nvidia Shield TV for quite a while and I never had issues with lack of space – I have 2 TB USB HDD connected and 4 TB NAS as well. It was really overkill in my case, as I use only a fraction of it.

You don’t have to spend $1,000+ to get a good smartphone, as there are loads of quality options on the market for every budget. So you’re bound to find something if you only have $100 to spare. Want the latest and greatest flagship device and money isn’t a limiting factor? Well, there are quite a few picks here too.

Still, we were curious about what our readers were willing to pay for a prepaid/off-contract smartphone. We posed this question earlier this week and over 2,600 votes were tallied. Here’s how you answered it.

How much are you willing to pay for a phone?

Results

Unsurprisingly, it turns out that the budget and mid-range segments were extremely popular here, with the $200 to $599 accounting for 52% of the vote. But the single-most popular option was the $400 to $499 segment, accounting for 14.4% of all votes tallied. This was closely followed by the $300 to $399 (12.94%) and $500 to $599 segments (12.42%).

Meanwhile, respondents who are willing to pay $600 or more accounted for 41.9% of votes counted. We’re guessing that the enthusiast nature of our audience partially played a part in this result. But it still shows there are people willing to splash out plenty of cash up-front for a premium device if it means not having a contract.

Our survey results also show that the least popular segments are $1,299 to $1,399 (2.7%), $1,400 or higher (4.95%), and $900 to $999 (6%). It’s also interesting to note that 6.11% of polled readers said they’ll only pay under $200 for a phone. Low-end devices in this tier typically lack features like fast charging, useful secondary cameras, OLED screens, fast processors, and lengthy update pledges.

Comments

• PhoenixWitti: I don’t care about price, as long as I see enough value in it.
• Wongwatt: The last phone I bought was a Zenfone 8 for about 600 bucks, I’ve now converted over to a monthly plan after it went wrong because the carrier supplied phone will be replaced if it fails. With the prices of handsets these days I couldn’t justify buying any more and as pretty much all carrier supplied phones are unlocked in the UK now I wouldn’t be getting anything different anyway.
• JK: Not everyone can afford a new smartphone every now and then. But with manufacturers making them less repairable and offering only a few years of updates, and considering that I only use it for simple tasks, $100-150 is all I’d spend.
• meh…: I like flagship devices and do trade ins to get them cheaply.
• thesecondsight: Between the high cost of gasoline and inflation, I don’t have as much disposable income as I once did. As a result, I usually spend between $300 to $399 on a budget device. Coincidentally, several budget devices are equipped with expandable storage, a headphone jack and a capable SOC. As a consumer, I’m content with these features which don’t break the bank.
• Kira: Although the budget category($150-300) offers fantastic hardware with good displays and chipsets,I would still pay a little extra,say about $100-150 to get better build quality/camera,an ip rating and of course an official long term update promise. Personally,I use a smartphone for at least 3 years,and have done so for the last 3 models,so I would prefer a competent mid ranger that will age well plus offer some resale value after those years.
• ssallen: Depending on the phone I could choose any of those price brackets. I usually pay 800-1000 but if anyone released something really novel and compelling I would pay 1800+. Foldables are just “neat” and just not quite compelling enough.
• Stanley Kubrick: I could not choose a category. There are too many variables. I do not base my phone purchases on price alone. I base them on what I want/need and real life end user reviews.
• Jason Mclaughlan: Id spend up to ~1200£ if the phone is perfect enough to keep hold of for essentially ever. If its flawed already at launch in any category then id only spend up to 600 and just get it second hand half a year after release. The s23 ultra would be the first phone i will consider perfect enough to invest that much money in to but ill need to wait till launch to know for sure

Today’s smartphones offer a variety of display resolutions, with some mid-range and high-end phones even allowing you to adjust the phone’s screen resolution via a software setting.

We wondered whether readers adjust the display resolution on their phones, posing a question in a featured poll several days ago. Well, the results are in and here’s how you voted.

Do you tweak your phone’s display resolution?

Results

We published this poll last week, accruing just over 1,700 votes until now. The winning result? Well, ~39% of respondents said they didn’t use this setting at all. This likely means that they’re simply happy with the default display resolution or that their phones didn’t have the setting.

In second place were the voters who said they increased their display resolution, accounting for ~26% of the vote. We’re not surprised that over a quarter of respondents chose this option, as many high-end phones with QHD+ screens or higher set the default resolution at FHD+ instead. There’s likely also an element of using what you paid for in the first place.

Related: The smartphone pixel density wars have ended and that’s a good thing

Meanwhile, respondents who voted for “yes, I reduce it” accounted for 21% of the vote. We can understand this choice, as reducing the display resolution has performance and efficiency benefits.

Finally, 14% of voters say they have the best of both worlds and that their phone dynamically adjusts screen resolution. We’ve seen this feature on a variety of phones before, automatically increasing the resolution for some tasks (photos, local video playback) but dropping the resolution when it comes to other scenarios (e.g. when the battery is low).

Xiaomi debuted its Mix Fold 2 foldable just a day after Samsung revealed the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4. The Xiaomi device follows in the footsteps of the Mix Fold and the Galaxy Z Fold line, offering a folding tablet-sized display as opposed to a clamshell form factor.

Is it just a mediocre foldable or does it actually stand out from the crowd? Well, we asked you what you thought of the device, and here’s what you told us.

Xiaomi Mix Fold 2: Hot or not?

Results

Almost 2,400 votes were counted as of writing, and it turns out that 82.94% of polled readers think the Mix Fold 2 is a hot device. We can see why too, as the device is thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold line, packs the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 SoC, and offers 67W wired charging for its 4,500mAh battery.

Otherwise, 17.06% of voters thought the Mix Fold 2 wasn’t hot stuff at all. We can see why some people might not like this device, as it lacks water resistance and wireless charging (unlike the Galaxy foldables), is a China-only device for now, and doesn’t beat Samsung’s update commitment.

Still, we hope to see more non-Samsung foldables come to global markets, as it’s basically a case of Samsung or nothing right now.

One issue tech enthusiasts might have is what to do with all the product boxes accrued over the years. Fellow writer C Scott Brown decided that it was time to dump all of these boxes when he recently made a cross-country move.

That got us wondering about what Android Authority readers did with their tech product boxes. Well, we posed this question inside Scott’s article, and here’s what you told us.

Do you keep your tech product boxes?

Results

This was a mega-popular poll, attracting over 19,200 votes after going live on Sunday. It turned out to be a tight race, with 45.2% of respondents saying they only threw out some boxes (less than 1% ahead of the next option).

Comments suggest that readers who voted this way kept boxes for devices that were still under warranty, for more expensive products, or for products they planned to sell down the line.

Related: What you need to know about selling a used smartphone

Readers who kept all of their tech boxes accounted for 44.5% of the vote, just missing out on the top spot. One reason cited by readers in the comments was that they keep all their boxes for moving purposes. Of course, there’s also the possibility that at least a few readers might be hoarders.

Finally, just 10.3% of polled readers said they threw all their boxes out. We can understand why people would throw everything out, as they can be an issue if you have limited space in your household.

Comments

• Bikram: I keep my electronics / gadget boxes – like phones, tablet, laptop. And not because I plan to use them for resell; but just because the boxes seem so well made and sturdy!! I even saved the box of the back massager and the Winc wine box!! Send help!
• Eric Wentorf: I keep them all with the intention of getting rid of them when warranty is up or item is replaced. Alas, the tech closet and a basement storage area is filled with empty boxes. Prolly time to do some cleaning.
• Kira: I have stored many boxes,but only of costlier products or that have resale value with said boxes ranging from laptop,TVs,smartphones and various PC parts etc. Just for instance,I recently bought a LG gaming monitor,and sold my old monitor to earn some extra cash,but that seller told me that I would have gotten a much better price if I also had that older monitors box alongside the bill. Needless to say,I have now kept my new monitors box !!
• Triple-C: I’ll keep the boxes for the more expensive items while the warranty is in effect.
• dgw: We use different definitions of “tech product”, I see. Power strips and crock pots don’t fall under that label for me. Would never even think to save those boxes. Phones? Laptops? Tiny electronics (e.g. the USB tester I got yesterday)? Absolutely do.
• Jon Beuerle: I usually just keep my most recent phone box. When I got my 6 Pro, I threw out the 3a XL box. At the same time I still have some Nest and a computer box sitting around. But everything that has been replaced no longer has a box.
• JL T0x: i’d prefer to save boxes for expensive or big tech iitems – which may need to be returned for warranty related issues. small boxes for basic tech like adapters or earbuds go directly to the trash/recycling. i never save boxes for appliances. unless it’s a xmas gift thats getting re-gifted lol. i’ll keep my smartphone box. if i chose to sell it, having the box is “meaningful” to most buyers. But when tech warranties expire, i toss out those boxes.
• CarlosDuos: I’ve only saved tv boxes for moving later. Saving any other box is silly.

The OnePlus 10T launched recently. It’s the second OnePlus flagship phone for 2022, so you would expect it to be better than the OnePlus 10 Pro that launched before it. This isn’t the case with the new phone, though. Most of our readers think the OnePlus 10T is not so hot, probably because of all the sacrifices it makes to keep the price low. But there’s one OnePlus flagship that people are still willing to buy. It’s not even a new phone. But folks think this may be the best time to pick it up.

Which OnePlus phone would you rather buy?

Results

After the OnePlus 10T launch, Android Authority’s Robert Triggs wrote about how this may be the best time to buy the OnePlus 9 Pro. Why? Because the OnePlus 10 series has been a bit of a disappointment and the OnePlus 9 Pro has matured well with age. Looks like our readers agree.

We received over 11,300 votes in our poll asking people which OnePlus phone they would buy right now and a majority (59%) said they’d go for the OnePlus 9 Pro over the OnePlus 10 Pro and OnePlus 10T.

16% of the voters said they would go for the OnePlus 10 Pro and only 10% said they’d buy the OnePlus 10T. 15% of the voters said they would not go for any of these OnePlus phones.

Your Comments

Martin Pollard: Already bought a refurbished 9 Pro from Amazon. I was going to stick with my trusty 7 Pro, but the price was too good to pass up. I’m going to miss the popup selfie camera that made the 7 Pro notchless, but I’ll learn to live with the 9 Pro’s hole punch. My 7 Pro has now become my ROM development phone, while my trusty old 3T (which has hit the upgrade wall at Android 11) goes into retirement as my desktop media player.

Phil: Ah yes, the perfect time to buy the phone with the only OS with a GApps image that doesn’t have Google Assistant Driving Mode; also with the 120hz refresh rate display that intentionally pegs to 60hz when it detects playing a game. Perhaps you should also get the Chinese model, so you don’t get 5G in western regions. I can’t imagine anyone having buyers regret after buying this phone.

Beardednomad: The 10 Pro is an awesome phone, got it after the terrible experience I had with the Pixel 6 and have never been happier. Everything just works. OS12 is different but it’s not that bad once you get used to it. It’s a lot closer to OneUI or MIUI, which I actually prefer.

Sprat: OnePlus 9 pro was great until they merged their OS with OPPO. OnePlus is now on the same level as Motorola, device-wise, with a Samsung-like price tag. I’ll probably switch to the nothing phone.

ProLoveLife: Still love my OnePlus 9 Pro.

eszklar: I’ve always considered OnePlus phones to be the spiritual successor to the Google Nexus line in terms of being modded by the ROM community. Given people’s issues with the stock software, why not install LineageOS instead and test the phone’s performance?

Kira: Seems like a decent deal at that particular price.

Last week, my colleague Dhruv wrote about how having a personal G Suite (now Google Workspace) account became his worst tech nightmare. He called buying into any Google service “a game of Russian Roulette.” Why? Because over the years, Google introduced several apps and products that weren’t compatible with G Suite/Workspace accounts. So we wanted to know if you owned a personal G Suite account and had the same regrettable experience. Here’s how you voted in our poll.

Do you regret using a G Suite account for personal and family use?

Results

We received over 5,800 votes in our poll, and the results are clear. While 35% of the poll takers have never used a personal G Suite/Workspace account, those who have regret their decision.

32% of the respondents in the poll say that they are unfortunately locked into their G Suite accounts but regret having signed up for a personal account in the first place.

14% of the voters who previously owned a personal G Suite account say that they regretted having one and have already migrated away.

That means a total of 46% of the voters used G Suite at some point or are still using it, and none of them have had a great experience.

Meanwhile, 10% of the surveyed readers said they had some issues using a personal G Suite account, but none of them were deal breakers.

Only 9% of the voters said they had no complaints with their personal G Suite accounts.

Your Comments

Glenn Batuyong: Holy smokes, this headline was EXACTLY what I have been thinking for years now. Using Google G-Suite for personal use was likely the WORST tech decision I’ve ever made, and screwed up so many interoperability opportunities for me ever since.

Tony Diep: I had the same problems, was told by Google that my free Gsuite account would no longer be free and that I would lose my apps, exported my data to a regular Gmail account, bought new apps, and then was told by Google my free Gsuite account would still be honored after all leaving me with two accounts Google cannot merge. I now pay for a Microsoft subscription because I don’t want to burned by Google again.

Reese Wilson: Same, did 90% of the work to migrate away (countless hours), only to learn that if I had only procrastinated more, I wouldn’t have had to do anything. Now I’m de-googling as much as possible because I resent them, and am tired of how they treat their customers. (Also, they suspiciously got rid of the “don’t be evil” motto).

EKatowitz: I had a similar thing. Except I waited until they announced that there will be a way to convert personal G-Suite accounts to regular accounts. I was thrilled by this as they were finally going to grant my freedom!! They announced this in Mid-March and said there would be a waiting list that we had to be on by May 31st. However the list wasn’t available yet and according to “Google will be available in the coming weeks.” Two weeks before the May 31st deadline the list still hadn’t appeared. I was honestly wondering if Google was only going to put the list up on May 31st itself (just to minimize its usage). Then suddenly about a week before the deadline Google announced that we all get to keep our accounts exactly the way they were. For most people this was great news, but for me, it just meant that I was locked into the little cell Google confined me to.

Paul_i_us: The legacy G Suite account is still very limited though – not being able to buy additional storage is just one of the limitations.

Discendo Discimus: I was hoping apparently against all hope that with the legacy GSuite fiasco that Google would finally allow us to migrate all our purchases, etc. to a normal Gmail account so I could escape this endless purgatory which is GAFYD, GSuite, Workspace or whatever is the next branding. Like you, I wanted to use Nest… I ended up buying an Ecobee. I wanted to use Google Pay, but wouldn’t work with my email, so switched to Paypal, which works fine. Problems with Google Assistant? Just use Alexa.

Lex1020: I have a Gsuite account for my family that we use for storage. It’s back from the legacy days of $12/account/month for unlimited storage. But I’ve gradually moved away from that to regular Gmail accounts for personal usage and my gsuite exists solely for storage.

The ASUS Zenfone 9 launched last week, and it stands out as one of the few pocket-friendly flagship phones on the market. The pairing of a 5.99-inch display and Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset is unique in a world where 6.7-inch flagship phones are the norm.

What do readers think of the new smartphone though? We posed this question in our ASUS Zenfone 9 announcement article and here’s what you told us.

ASUS Zenfone 9: Hot or not?

Results

Over 2,100 votes were counted in this poll, and it turns out that 82.1% of respondents said the Zenfone 9 was indeed hot. We can see why too, owing to the compact form factor, flagship performance, 3.5mm port, and IP68 rating.

It doesn’t hurt that the phone has a few other selling points, such as gimbal stabilization tech for the 50MP main camera, a bundled charger, and a super-fast side fingerprint scanner.

Related: Forget in-display, this is the golden age of side-mounted fingerprint scanners

On the other hand, 17.89% of polled readers felt that the Zenfone 9 wasn’t worth a look. We can see why people might vote for this option in light of our Zenfone 9 review. We lamented the disappointing software update promise, lack of wireless charging, and average image quality. Nevertheless, it’s clear that the vast majority of polled readers feel the positives far outweigh the negatives.

These days, you’ll find fingerprint scanners in varying locations across different smartphones. While most OEMs are jumping to in-display fingerprint scanners, we still find button-mounted and other dedicated physical scanners on some phones. Take the ASUS Zenfone 9, for instance. It places the biometric reader in the smart key power button on the side. The Sony Xperia 1 IV also has a capacitive side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

While Android Authority’s Robert Triggs prefers one kind of fingerprint scanner over all others, we wanted to know what you, our readers, like more — in-display fingerprint scanners, side-mounted scanners, or back-mounted scanners. Here’s how you voted in our poll.

Which fingerprint scanner style do you prefer?

Results

Our poll received over 2,600 votes from readers, and the fingerprint scanner of choice for the majority seems to be a side-mounted one. 48% of the respondents said that they like their phones with fingerprint scanners on the side.

The next most-preferred type of fingerprint security amongst our poll takers is the in-display kind. 27% of the voters chose this style. It is, after all, very popular on current smartphones.

Meanwhile, 22% of the respondents prefer back-mounted fingerprint scanners, and 4% don’t use fingerprint unlocking at all.

Your Comments

Internet Person: Best part of side FPS is the fact it forces OEMs to use flat screen.

Kasey Smith: Former Z5 owner, currently XZ2 owner’s thoughts: The side-mounted scanner was great in every situation. It was right at hand when pulling the phone out of a pocket, but it was also not blocked when the phone was mounted to a car or bicycle. I miss it, and I’m glad they brought it back in the Xperia 1 II. Definitely one of the reasons I’m looking forward to upgrading to a newer phone this fall.

emwy_tukur: Rarely use the power key. Double tap on and off is the norm for me. In that context, a side mount scanner is a no. In display all the way.

Kira: A fingerprint sensor on the back is the best implementation personally for me.

TwoMinus: A good rear FP scanner is probably fastest on most use cases, e.g grab phone from pocket or table and start using it, but it it’s unreachable in other cases like when phone is on wireless charger, mounted to bkike or some car mounts, so I still prefer front or probably side mounted ones.

Stanley Kubrick: Not sure of the reasons…but why not put one on the back AND under the front glass? They both become active at the same time and you use whichever one is most convenient. It can’t cost that much more or take up much room. The OEM who does this first is the winner in my book.

crosph: Loved the side-mounted scanner with the Xperia Z5, love it again with the Galaxy Z Flip. On the Flip it’s a little redundant as opening the phone already wakes it, and face unlock is sometimes pretty quick, but either way, even if it’s asleep, I just need to touch the power button er, side key with a bit of intent, and I’m in before I can even press the button.

KRB: Never really cared if my device had a fingerprint reader on the back (my current device does), the side, the front chin or the display. So long as it works well and fast is what’s important… My preference? I’d probably put it on the back however given a choice.

Paul B: In general prefer touch to Face ID. My first touch was in screen Samsung S10… worked well. Then Pixel 5, touch on the back. Better than face but more awkward. Pixel 6 Pro on screen works well for me….. but I love my ipad airs touch the button feature.., would take this every time.

Marshall: In-display is, for the most part, a novelty. I have had rear, in-display and side-mounted (in that order) and I won’t be going back. Rear is fine, but I found that it worked best when using a case with a sculpted recess for the sensor (UB or similar). Side-mounted just seems to find itself under my thumb a heckuva lot quicker and easier, regardless of whether the phone is cased or au natural.

Pete Kilburn: Put in on the BACK!!! Phones are made for right-handed people when it comes to side fingerprint readers…really annoying.

duckofdeath: 100% of left-handed users hate side-mounted fingerprint readers. In-display is definitely the future. If your optical reader is trash, which they always are, get a phone with an ultrasonic reader.

Joe Carroll: I am VERY hesitant to buy another phone with an in-display fingerprint sensor. I absolutely hate them and have never used one that meets my expectations. I downgraded to an older phone just to not have to deal with it anymore, and I’ll probably buy a Pixel 5, 5A, or this new ASUS (if my budget allows) instead of a Pixel 6, 6A, or 7 because of it.

We’ve seen system ads on smartphones for a while now, as manufacturers seek to make a profit (or a bigger profit) while still delivering good hardware. Major OEMs like Samsung, Xiaomi, and Realme have all played this game.

However, we wondered whether consumers would be willing to buy a phone with ads if it were cheaper (e.g. 20% cheaper). We posed this question to our readers and they gave us a firm answer.

Would you buy a phone with ads if it were cheaper?

Results

Our poll went live on July 28, and almost 1,500 votes were counted until now. The result? Well, a massive 90.03% of polled readers said they wouldn’t buy a phone with ads if it were cheaper. In other words, the “no” camp won by a huge landslide.

Comments suggest that polled readers are simply fed up with ads on their handsets, or that the ad-supported phone would need to be free at the very least. One reader also feels that Amazon can get away with ad-supported tablets and e-readers because these gadgets aren’t used nearly as often as a smartphone.

Related: When unavoidable ads appear in a product I paid for, I stop using it

Meanwhile, just 9.97% of respondents said they’d be interested in an ad-supported phone if it were cheaper (we mooted a 20% discount). Two reader comments supporting this stance suggest they’d go ahead and buy a cheaper, ad-supported phone if there was a way to (unofficially) disable the ads.

For what it’s worth, another reader rightfully notes that Amazon sold cheaper phones with ads years ago before killing off this program. So it definitely seems like the industry has moved on from this approach.

Comments

• Richard Quist: No. No….and, NO. The strategy may be similar to what Amazon has done with e-readers and cheap tablets, but the way phones are used is vastly different from a Kindle… most people might pick up their reader at most a handful of times each day, and the same holds true for a tablet… those same people are likely looking at their phones a handful of times each hour, if not more.
• Lex1020: Absolutely not. If I’m paying for something you’d better not be showing me ads. That’s the reason I’m paying. It’s the reason I refuse to subscribe to Hulu
• Brian Simmons: If I could remove the ads easily, then yes. Otherwise NO WAY. I’ve done this with all of my Amazon Tablets and it works great. (The Amazon tablets don’t even require that you root the device to remove the ads).
• DanSparrow: Sure, why not? If you buy bad hardware, nothing you can do, but software? There’s always a way to cheat it and people always find ways to block or remove ads. Not worried if I had to do some flashing to the phone, not my first rodeo.
• cocogoat main: I’d rather use NO PHONE than a FREE phone with ads.
• Timothy: Hard pass. This is the exact reason I will never buy another Amazon Fire device.
• Kossay Zemzem: So I save 20% on a one time purchase so that the company gets to profit from my device as long as it’s working ? Absolutely no,thank you, the idea disgusts me. We already have enough ads everywhere go on the net. I want my personal devices to be my personal space where I can focus and escape the never ending advertising everywhere else.
• Craig S.: Amazon actually sold Prime phones from Motorola, Nokia and LG with ads on their lock screen and notification bar just a few years ago for a discounted price. Needless to say? They eventually removed most all of it with app updates and discontinued the program.
• deltatux: Oh hell no!
• Drone9: If the phone is free, yes

We generally have different habits when it comes to charging our smartphones, as some prefer overnight charging while others prefer charging when the phone is completely dead. But what about charging a wearable device?

Well, we wondered when you charged your fitness tracker or smartwatch; asking this question in our featured poll on Monday to find out. Here’s what you told us.

When do you charge your wearable?

Results

Over 1,400 votes were counted in the poll, and it turns out that two picks stand out above all. The most popular choice was “when it dies or is about to die,” with 36% of respondents choosing this option. Meanwhile, 30% of polled readers said they charged their wearables overnight.

Rounding out the top three was “in the morning,” accounting for 16% of the vote. However, it only just edged out the “other” option, with 15% of the vote. Reader comments show that “other” could mean charging it while doing other things (e.g. showering), charging it for a few hours in the evening, or charging it when it reaches a certain battery percentage.

Finally, only 3% of polled readers say they charge their device after a workout.

Comments

• Jeff Gordon: I charge it while I’m showering or brushingy teeth and shaving
• Michael Reed: I charge my Galaxy Watch 4 in the morning while getting ready for work or at work when needed and a few minutes at night while watching TV. I also use it for sleep tracking so it needs to last the night. I do not like the battery life but maybe the Watch 5 will be better.
• Kossay Zemzem: My watch (Xiaomi mi watch) usually consumes 8-10% a day so I charge it once a week when it reaches 20 or 15% (I usually take it off when I am studying or napping , so that’s the perfect time to charge it)
• Sad_Linus_Guy: I charge my Galaxy Watch Active whenever it’s below 15%
• Sahan: I charge my Galaxy Watch 4 in the morning and in the evening because I use it for sleep tracking. The battery life is pretty bad though
• KazeOne: Charges while I shower and get ready, it’s the last thing I put on. Fitbit Charge 5 with almost 2 weeks on a single charge
• bradavon: My smartwatch lasts 10-14 days so why would I charge it every night? HUAWEI GT2.
• Matthew Anderson: I have a Fitbit Versa 2 and I charge it when I shower and get ready each day. I don’t think it ever gets below 65% battery, and it charges wicked fast. I have the brightness on normal, I have everything on all the time, except the AOD turns off at bedtime and turns back on in the morning. I will absolutely be upgrading to a newer Versa or possibly Sense in the future.
• Brandon Jackson: I charge mine pretty much as soon as I get home and put it back on for sleep monitoring. I do that every other day just so I really never have to worry about a low battery.

My colleague Robert Triggs recently wrote about how he reluctantly ditched his Pixel 6 Pro after nine months of using it as his daily driver. He had many reasons to do so, including connectivity problems, overheating, and other issues. So we asked our readers if they are still holding onto their Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro. Here’s how they voted in our poll and what they had to say about their Pixel 6 experience.

Have you ditched your Pixel 6 or 6 Pro?

Results

We received over 30,000 votes in our poll about the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Looks like most of the readers who bought a Pixel 6 Pro and voted in our poll (33%) are still holding on to their devices. More Pixel 6 users (23%) are also still using their phones than the ones who ditched them (6%).

Meanwhile, 12% of the respondents said that they would like to part with their Pixel 6 and 6 Pro units. 23% of the poll takers have never owned a Pixel 6 series phone.

Your comments

Bruce: Absolutely zero problems with the P6Pro. Just love the phone. In fact on a recent trip to DC from Atlanta, there were two occasions where my son’s iPhone 13 couldn’t get a signal. And I was getting it on T-Mobile. Same thing going upstate GA mountains a couple of weeks ago. Maybe the Pixel just has better antennas for T-Mobile. In places where I lost signal, both phones did. But the Pixel restored signal faster as well.

Mike Shackleton: Yep, I always wait a while before buying, got mine in Australia for $200 off so it was basically the same price as a P6. Late June this year. It’s been flawless. 500Mb/s on 5G, doesn’t get hot. Battery life great. It’s a smartphone, sometimes I think people expect it to give them a happy ending every night.

Nima Nikuie: Overheating is the most serious issue. I’m in Las Vegas and my Pixel 6 pro turn itself off 2 or 3 times a day due to overheating. What gives? This is like a family shame which I keep secret from all my iphone user Friends.

John Sullivan: All of the 6’s have the same problem and it is the hardware. The Tensor chip is not great and the modem is absolutely horrible. Network battery standby is the BIGGEST user of battery on these phones aside from display. Charging and overheating is HORRIBLE, all thanks to the terrible choice Google made for a modem. Pixel 7 had better be MILES BETTER than the 6 or Google is toast.

deltatux: My Pixel 6 remains strong, got no reason to ditch it soon. Signal has been great aside from that buggy December 2021 update. Still ranks among the best phones I’ve used over the years.

Luc Lafreniere: Sadly, I’ve also had most of those issues on my P6P since launch.

Google Maps freezing: check
Glass scratched: check
Poor reception if the signal is low in the area: check. Cottage has very poor reception. Everyone else gets something, mine cuts all the time.
Overheating: check. All the time… the other day, Google Photos stopped uploading because it was too hot apparently. Got a note saying so from Google Photos. Never had that before.
Flaky wireless charging: check. Wow is that every flaky. Charges, stops… charges again, for no apparent reason. I suspect it’s related to heat…. but never had such issues with my Nexus 6P.
Connectivity in general: I had a bug of some sort after being in a remote connection for some time and having airplane mode on/off a lot. When I got back to civilization, it just would not connect to mobile data (not Wi-Fi). I tried everything to get it to connect. In the end, I had to reset my network settings and presto, connects again. I’ve been a Pixel fan for a long time… this really is frustrating.

on2wheels: There is absolutely no excuse and no defending Google anymore. You hit the nail on the head with suspecting a monthly patch broke more functions than it fixed. As a pixel 4a owner since release I can 100% support the theory of monthly patches. As a tech site you cannot in good faith keep recommending these top tier phones when basic functions keep failing, the pixel 5 was no different.

David: My Pixel 5 has been almost flawless since I got it. Overheated one time when I was taking 4K video in direct sunlight in 90 degree weather, but that’s it.

Beardednomad: Pixels were great (outside of the iPhone X Pixel Edition 4/4XL) up until the 6. The worst thing they did was ditch Qualcomm for “Tensor” (Exynos in disguise). This processor has been a complete disaster, Samsung isn’t even going to use their own flagship processors anymore they have admitted they aren’t good.

Benjamin Wuest: This is by far the worst phone I have ever owned. I can’t believe how much money I spent on this trash. Some days I’ll be texting with someone and my keyboard will just disappear and I’ll have to call them and apologize I can no longer text. Last week I needed to call 911 for an elderly lady that fell over and my phone could not connect to service despite having full bars. I had to borrow someone else’s phone! To call 911!

BrianHines: I never had it long enough to experience the overheating issues. I returned it in less than a month. Regardless of all the Fanboys defending it, it is without a doubt the worst fingerprint reader that exists on a phone in this price range. In addition to that the LTE performance on Verizon’s Network here in Phoenix was pitiful. Where my old Pixel 4XL never had any issues streaming as I drove around my pixel 6 would just cut out and drop back to 4G. When it did, the 4G performance was worse than it was on my Pixel 4XL too. The camera didn’t seem like a massive jump either. I’m going to hang on to my Pixel 4XL for a little while to see if they replace that trash intel LTE antenna and put in a fingerprint reader that’s not an abomination on the pixel 7. If not it might be time to try out an iphone for the first time since the iPhone 5. I really wish Google took the pixel line seriously. Also this stupid Pop-Up video ad that’s been playing the entire time I’m trying to leave a comment is gross and annoying.

Biscuit_tin: I’ll be paying my 6 Pro off on Verizon through 2023, or I would’ve ditched mine long ago. I was going to wait & get the S22 Ultra, but the positive things I heard about Pixels, plus the price made it too tempting. When I eventually get a new phone, it’s back to Samsung, or possibly Apple. I was bored AF with my phone the year I had an iPhone 12 Pro, but I miss the reliability. No problems & never had to worry about anything. The restrictions were a b****, though. Pixels have some neat tricks, but they’re not worth the trade-offs.

Will: I wish we could go back to the Nexus days when Google phones/tablets were actually amazing, with outstanding software. I never thought I’d see the day where I loved Samsung’s software above all other skins, I used to detest it but they really have overhauled everything and actually made features I can’t live without now on my S22 Ultra. This is just my opinion though it’s fair to love Pixels I just wish they were better.

jbriano: This article is so spot-on it’s scary. I just returned to the US from a three-week holiday in Italy and suffered through some of the same experiences. Connectivity was a nagging problem, including Wi-Fi. My wife’s iPhone consistently outperformed my Pixel 6 Pro by a large margin. Although we used her phone for all navigation tasks, it was my device that blasted through the limits on our international data plan—the Pixel was not able to connect to the weaker Wi-Fi signals at our Airbnb, and was pulling from 4G; the iPhone had no problem. The real disappointment was overheating! I ran Strava on a bike ride through Tuscany; ambient temperatures were ~85° F. The screen was off and the device was shaded in a backpack, but after three hours processes starting shutting down—the phone felt like it was melting! I was truly disappointed.

Fshack: I returned my 6 pro hours after I bought it. The cheap hollow loud screen, the world’s worst finger print scanner, and the over heating, and somewhat sluggish behavior was unacceptable. Enjoying the s22 plus. Solid phone in every way.