Samsung's Galaxy Update—Get Android 16's Best Feature Now
Google Pixels are now upgrading to Android 16, just as Samsung confirms that One UI 8 Beta 2 only just live. In the aftermath of One UI 7 delays, the clock is now ticking for Samsung to power through its beta program and push out Android 16 to Galaxy users.
But there's a twist to this Android 15 versus Android 16 story. While most Samsung users have only recently upgraded to One UI 7, it turns out that one of Android 16's best features is (kind of) available to them already. It just needs a quick settings change.
While live notification updates are important — who doesn't want to know 'why a burrito seems to be stuck four blocks away,' the real Android 16 highlight is Google's Advanced Protection Mode. This finally narrows the security gap to iPhone, some would argue it goes even further, with a lockdown that doesn't make phones unusable.
That has been the criticism of Apple's Lockdown Mode — that it goes too far. But Apple says it is just for 'the very few individuals who might be personally targeted by some of the most sophisticated digital threats.' Google's lockdown is more universal, targeting 'at-risk individuals' as well as anyone who 'just prioritizes security.'
Maximum Restrictions
Google says Advanced Protection Mode protects users from 'online attacks, harmful apps, unsafe websites, scam calls and more… providing greater peace of mind that you're protected against the most sophisticated threats.'
While Samsung users need to wait for One UI 8 to get Google's new lockdown, they can get almost all the benefits now. Samsung upgraded Maximum Restrictions with One UI 7 and you can enable it now. Like Advanced Protection Mode, it now blocks risky network connections — including 2G and insecure WiFi, as well as USB data cables.
More importantly, Samsung says One UI 7's Safe Install system 'sends a warning when a user attempts to download from an unauthorized source, alerting them of security risks and preventing unintentional sideloading on Galaxy devices worldwide.'
That's not as complete as Google's lock — and unlike Google's Advanced Protection, Maximum Restrictions let's you choose what to enable. But it does prevent inadvertent installs. Maximum Restrictions also 'removes location data in shared photos, prevents automatic attachment downloads and blocks hyperlinks, previews and shared albums.'
Enable Google's Advanced Protection Mode when you get One UI 8. But in the meantime, Galaxy users should turn on Maximum Restrictions now. It's no surprise this is now the default for all new Galaxy users and will keep you and your phone safer.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
35 minutes ago
- Forbes
Apple's Disappointing MacBook Pro Delay
New MacBook Pro laptops are displayed during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2023 (Photo by ... More JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images) Apple is on course to release the new iPhone 17 family in September, but the outlook for MacBook Air and MacBook Pro fans is not as rosy. Apple looks to have delayed the release of the new macOS hardware into 2026. MacBook Pro Launch Date Details The new date comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Reporting on Apple's upcoming portfolio (including the long-suspected iPhone 17e), he notes that the upgraded MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops may not arrive until 2026. Until now, the expectation has been that Apple would introduce the M5 —the next desktop classic Apple Silicon chipset—before the end of the year with new versions of the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro. This would be a similar path to the release of the Apple Silicon M4 last year, but not identical. The M4 was launched ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in May 2024 and debuted inside the seventh generation of the iPad Pro almost immediately. That was followed in the fall with the M4 MacBook Pro, MacBook Pro Max and MacBook Pro Max. Delaying The MacBook Pro The Apple Silicon M5 has yet to show up in 2025. The Worldwide Developer Conference came and went with nary a sight of the new silicon. Neither has the next iPad Pro or the MacBook Pro. Many have been looking at the traditional October dates for the release of the MacBook M5 family, potentially with the iPad Pro arriving at the same time. Gurman's report pushes back this launch date into 2026. Apple has taken this route before, with the MacBook Pro M2 pushed back into January 2023. Unlike the iPhone, which has an almost mythical need to launch in the second week in September. Arguably, that's linked to the one-year contracts provided by networks, and there's no such historical support for buying laptops and desktops. Keeping The MacBook Pro On An Annual Schedule That gives Apple a little bit more of a cushion ot get things right rather than follow a strict schedule, at least for hardware. The annual updates across the operating systems does refresh the ecosystem every twelve months. With the increased demand for artificial intelligence and Apple's push to process as much data locally, the demands on computing power are climbing ever upwards. In part, that demand is driving the update. It may not be as traditional as the locked-in September date, but with the operating system on an annual update cycle, and the Apple Silicon chipsets on a similar schedule, annual updates of the Mac hardware are inevitable. Now read the latest MacBook Pro, iPhone, and Apple news in Forbes' weekly news digest...
Tom's Guide
39 minutes ago
- Tom's Guide
Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs. Honor Magic V5: Which foldable will win?
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung's thinnest foldable phone yet, but the landscape is only getting more and more competitive. Case in point, Samsung's flagship no longer holds the No. 1 spot on our best foldable phone list, and now a new contender may leave it in the dust once again. And no, we're not talking about Apple's rumored iPhone Fold on the horizon. No, this foldable is already out (in certain markets at least), and it deletes any hope Samsung had of delivering the thinnest foldable of 2025. Earlier this month, Honor launched the Magic V5 in Chinese markets with a powerful new chipset, huge AI integration, and a super-thin build measuring just 8.8mm when folded and 4.1mm when opened fully. That's just a hair thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which measures 8.9mm folded and 4.2mm unfolded. Granted, we're talking literal millimeters here. In everyday use, you probably won't notice much difference between these phones unless you're comparing them side by side. But it certainly gives Honor bragging rights to beat out both Samsung's latest foldable flagship and last year's winner, Oppo's Find N5, which measures 8.93mm thick, for slimmest profile. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Honor Magic V5 Dimensions Folded: 158.4×72.8×8.9 mmUnfolded: 143.2×158.4×4.2 mm Folded: 156.8×74.3×8.8 mmUnfolded: 156.8×145.9×4.1 mm Weight 215 g 217g or 222g Inner screen 8″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 2184×1968, 120 Hz 7.95″ LTPO OLED, 2352×2172, 120 Hz Cover screen 6.5″ FHD+ AMOLED 2X, 2520×1080, 120 Hz 6.43″ OLED, 2376×1060, 120 Hz, 5 000 nits Chipset Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy Snapdragon 8 Elite RAM 12 GB/16GB 12GB/16GB Storage 256/512 GB/1 TB 256/512 GB/1 TB Battery 4,400mAh 6,100mAh Size isn't the only place where Honor has Samsung beat. The Magic V5 has a colossal 6,100mAh battery compared to the Z Fold 7's 4,400mAh one. That large internal screen is a huge battery drain, which makes it genuinely remarkable that Honor managed to eke out a two-day battery life in such a slim design. While Samsung offers a slightly larger internal screen, Honor packs a brighter display capable of up 5,000 nits vs. the Z Fold 7's 2,600 nits. That being said, both share the same Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, so you can expect similar performance capabilities. On paper, the Honor Magic V5 has the Galaxy Z Fold 7 beat, but its biggest drawback is availability. It won't be available in Europe until later this year, after Samsung's foldable has hit stores. Plus, Honor devices aren't officially sold in the U.S., cutting off a huge swatch of the smartphone market. It took Samsung several generations to finally start getting the hang of foldables, and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is undeniably its most impressive iteration yet. But its $2,000 price tag was already hard to swallow when the series first debuted in 2019, and things have only gotten more expensive in the years since. Knowing that phonemakers have the technology to build better foldables, but they're limited to markets outside the U.S., makes Samsung's flagship an even tougher sell. It's clear Samsung will have to step up its game if it wants to continue to be competitive in the foldable landscape. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Google shuts down free feature that made using apps easier
One of the biggest challenges for any app developer has been getting people to make the commitment to download an app. Stores like the Google play store and Apple's App Store at least guarantee, for the most part, that what you download won't be completely a scam. Their definition of that, however, sometimes differs from what the average person would think. Related: Amazon pulls the plug on a free service for customers Yes, in both cases, developers are supposed to tell you when there are additional costs in a so-called free app. Exactly how you find that can vary quite a bit. Some apps are purely functional and you can pay extra for things you may want, but don't need. In other cases, the free version is essentially useless. That's a situation that has made people wary of what they download. There are just so many cases where downloading. Something means having to delete something else and then whatever we downloaded turns out to be a waste. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter When it comes to games, nobody knows whether a game will be fun. Some people have a pretty high bar for a download and won't download something unless they get it recommended by a lot of people or play it somewhere else. Alphabet's Google had a product that solved that problem. But, that solution is going away. "With Google Play Instant, people can use an app or game without installing it first. Increase engagement with your Android app or gain more installs by surfacing your instant app across the Play Store and Google Play Games app," the company shared. The tools were meant to make games and other experiences easier for users to access with less of a commitment. "Android's new app publishing format, the Android App Bundle, makes it easier than ever to offer a Google Play Instant experience. Starting from the Android Studio 3.3 beta release, you can build and publish one app bundle artifact to Google Play containing both instant and feature modules. Build instant games easily with Cocos and Unity plug-ins," it added. Google Play Instant was open to all app and game developers. It seemed like a good idea that allowed consumers to play games without committing to a download, but it apparently did not work. More media and entertainment: Disney makes major theme park announcement after startling lossComcast raises red flag about unexpected customer behaviorDisney CEO offers unexpected response to tariff concerns The company shared its decision to shut down the service. "Google Play Instant will no longer be available. Starting December 2025, Instant Apps cannot be published through Google Play, and all Google Play services Instant APIs will no longer work. Users will no longer be served Instant Apps by Play using any mechanism," it posted on its website. Google appears to have made this decision based on usage patterns and what it heard from developers. "We're making this change based on developer feedback and our continuous investments to improve the ecosystem since the introduction of Google Play Instant," it added. While Google Instant Play appears to have failed, the company has been growing overall. That's something CFO Anat Ashkenazi talked about during the company's first-quarter earnings call. "We had another strong quarter in Q1, Consolidated revenues of $90.2 billion increased by 12% or 14% in constant currency. Search and YouTube advertising, subscription platforms and devices, and Google Cloud, each had double-digit revenue growth this quarter reflecting strong momentum across the business," she shared. Profits were up for Alphabet (GOOGL) as well. "Net income increased 46% to $34.5 billion and earnings per share increased 49% to $2.81. We delivered free cash flow of $19 billion in the first quarter and $74.9 billion for the trailing 12 months. We ended the quarter with $95 billion in cash and marketable securities," she added. Related: Amazon Prime Day sales for customers aren't going as planned And, despite the failure of Instant Play, the Services division saw big growth as well. "Turning to segment results. Google services revenues increased 10% to $77.3 billion reflecting strength in Google Search and YouTube advertising as subscription. Google Search and other advertising revenues increased by 10% to $50.7 billion. The robust performance of Search was once again broad-based across verticals led by financial services due primarily to strength in insurance, followed by retail," the CFO shared. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
