Latest news with #ZacKewDenniss
Android Authority
3 days ago
- Android Authority
Samsung DeX is taking a step back with One UI 8, and I don't like it (yet)
Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority Samsung DeX has been around for eight years, and for many, it's become a core part of the Samsung experience. DeX gives us the ability to turn our Samsung phones and tablets into ultra-portable laptop replacements, provided all you need is Android apps and a browser. While DeX has gained plenty of features since its introduction, it's still fundamentally the same as it was in 2017. That's changing with One UI 8, though, as Samsung has rebuilt DeX upon Android 16's desktop mode. There's potential for greatness here, but Samsung has had to take a significant step backwards to prepare for a leap forward, and the DeX experience is lacking features and stability. Are you looking forward to the new DeX? 0 votes Yes NaN % No NaN % Performance Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority While One UI 8 is stable on the Z Fold and Flip 7, it's still a beta on my Galaxy S25, so that may contribute to some of the issues I'm experiencing. The first issue I'm facing is resolution. By default, DeX won't go higher than 1080p, with the MultiStar Good Lock module enabling higher resolutions. One UI 8 and the new DeX remove the 'I <3 Samsung DeX' menu from MultiStar and add the 'high resolution for external display' toggle to the main MultiStar menu. Unfortunately, it doesn't work when toggled, and my S25 won't let me go above a very fuzzy-looking 1080p. I double checked my HDMI cable and adapter with my S24 Ultra, in case they were at fault, but that phone, on One UI 7, worked in 1440p without issue. Performance in general is a problem. This shouldn't be surprising; Android 16's desktop mode, which this is based on, is nowhere close to finished and often crashes and freezes. This new version of DeX is better than the experience on Pixels, but not by much, and it's a far cry from the polished and smooth DeX we're used to. At one point, simply opening the display settings menu crashed my S25 and forced it to reboot. Missing features Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority As I mentioned in the last section, the 'I <3 Samsung DeX' menu was removed from MultiStar in One UI 8, and while the resolution toggle is available elsewhere, everything else in this menu is gone. The two missing Good Lock features I miss most are 'run many apps at same time' and the ability to change the delay for when the taskbar and header bar reappear when the mouse moves to the top or bottom. By default, DeX will only allow you to run five apps at a time on your external display. That isn't enough for me, and losing the toggle that removes that restriction severely limits how useful DeX can be. Likewise, I always found that the taskbar and header bar would come back too quickly if my mouse moved near those areas, so I always used the slider in One UI 7 and older (pictured above) to adjust that. Then again, that slider wouldn't be much use in the new version of DeX. Opening an app, game, or video in full-screen doesn't hide the taskbar or header bar at the moment. I'm hoping that's a bug rather than a deliberate choice, so we'll see if that changes in future updates. There's potential The bugginess and missing features are a necessary evil. Google's implementation of a desktop mode holds a lot of promise. Google already worked with Samsung to get it working, and a partnership between these two companies has often worked well in the past, especially the newer versions of WearOS, which borrowed heavily from Tizen. Samsung often makes great features that struggle to gain traction because convincing developers to adapt their apps to one group of phones is difficult. With Android 16 and beyond bringing desktop mode to the masses, there's more of an incentive for developers to get on board. We can't overstate how beneficial it is for Samsung to have Google, the company behind Android, on its side. Instead of doing all the work on its own and strapping DeX on top of Android, Samsung can now rely on Google to bake it in and contribute. With Google set to merge Chrome OS and Android into a single platform, a DeX built atop that could become the computer replacement we've dreamed of since 2017. Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority This new version of DeX is Samsung taking two steps back to set up a leap forward. But it could, and should, have been handled better. Samsung tablets already have two versions of DeX. Classic, which is being replaced by the One UI 8 version we're discussing here, and a 'New' DeX. The 'New' DeX on the Galaxy Tab series is a pared-down version that uses the regular Android launcher instead of a desktop and opens all apps in a window by default. Samsung should have taken this approach in One UI 8. Sure, the existence of 'New' Dex on the Tab series would have made naming complicated, but it would be better than the situation we find ourselves in. There are people out there who regularly use DeX for everything from media consumption on TVs to a work laptop replacement. There's a chance Samsung will work quickly and restore functionality before One UI 8 rolls out widely, but if that doesn't happen, the new version of DeX should've been an option, not a choice we've been denied. What do you think of the future of Samsung DeX? Does it look bright, or could this be the beginning of the end? Let us know in the comments.
Android Authority
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Android Authority
YouTube Music is finally syncing your playback progress across devices
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR YouTube Music tracks listening history across devices, but so far hasn't offered a way to resume playback directly. With YouTube Music version 8.26.51, we're now seeing the app sync playback progress across devices. Listeners are able to continue a playlist where they left off by tapping 'Resume.' It's a fair question: How many of us are big YouTube Music fans, and how many use it because we want YouTube Premium, signed up before Premium Lite was an option, and now can't be bothered to change things? For whatever reason you're using it, Google has been giving subscribers plenty of reasons to be happy lately, with the arrival of new features like lyric sharing and offline lyrics for your downloaded tracks. Now we've got a new one to share with you — and this time, unrelated to lyrics at all! Your Google account makes it easy to access YouTube Music across all your devices, but that doesn't necessarily mean that moving between them has been super smooth. While we've been able to keep track of what we've been listening to as we move from phones, to tablets, to computers and back, so far YouTube Music hasn't offered an easy way to stop mid-listen and pick things up from that same point on another device. Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority Upon upgrading to YouTube Music version 8.26.51 (which started heading out to devices earlier this month), we're suddenly see the presence of progress bars representing our listening activity on other devices connected to the same account, as you can see in a couple of those Speed dial entries above. Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority When you tap on one of those, you'll now find a new 'Resume' option that lets you pick up playback where you left off earlier. This has been a long time coming, and while we we can't imagine this is going to convince anyone to switch over to YouTube Music — it still doesn't look like the feature holds a candle to Spotify Connect — maybe it will at least convince you to reconsider leaving YouTube Music for the competition. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
17-07-2025
- Android Authority
Samsung's eye-catching Theme Park update teaches Apple how to do a glass UI right
Joe Hindy / Android Authority TL;DR Samsung has rolled out a new update for the Theme Park Good Lock module. The update tweaks the UI, adds a new 'Effects' menu, and fixes minor bugs. The Effects menu offers five options to customize the look of your icons. If you're a fan of customization, the Theme Park module in Good Lock can help get your Galaxy phone looking just the way you want it. From changing the colors of keycaps to adjusting the shape of icons, there is no shortage of ways to give your UI a unique look. If that wasn't enough, users are now getting one more way to customize their screen. Samsung has rolled out an update for Theme Park (version 1.1.01.23), which it details on the Galaxy Store page. According to the changelog, this update tweaks the UI, applies minor bug fixes, improves app stability, and fixes a few issues. Most notably, it also adds an 'Effects' menu to the icon pack. In this Effects menu, you get five options that allow you to apply certain effects to your icons. These effects include Basic, Film Grain, Duotone, Glass, and Gradient. While this would be nice all by itself, Samsung took it a step further by giving users the freedom to adjust aspects of the effects. For example, you can change how opaque or transparent you want the very Apple-like Glass effect to be. However, this extra level of customization is only available for the Glass, Film Grain, and Gradient effects. Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority This additional customization option works pretty well, with certain styles working better depending on your background. However, we have found that it's not perfect. As you can see in the image above, the effects don't appear to work for the Play Store icon. But that can be fixed with another update. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
14-07-2025
- Android Authority
5 Android phones you should buy instead of the Galaxy Z Flip 7
Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority As a big fan of flip phone foldables, the new Galaxy Z Flip 7 looks like a phone I've been wanting from Samsung for years. Samsung's Z Flip handsets have always been a safe choice in the flip phone market, but the Flip 7 looks like a truly exciting one. Between the vastly improved cover screen, larger main display, and slimmer design, it's an impressive piece of kit. But for everything Samsung seems to have gotten right with the Z Flip 7, I do have some concerns. The switch to an Exynos chip instead of a Qualcomm one is a puzzling change, and the total lack of camera, charging, and other upgrades is disappointing, too — especially since the Flip 7 is still quite expensive at $1,100. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 deserves a spot on your shopping list, but before you rush out and pre-order it, here are five other Android phones you may be better off buying instead. Which Galaxy Z Flip 7 alternative would you buy? 0 votes Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 NaN % Motorola Razr (2025) NaN % Motorola Razr Ultra NaN % Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus NaN % OnePlus 13 NaN % Other (let us know in the comments) NaN % Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Ryan Haines / Android Authority If you know you want a Samsung flip phone but can't stomach the price of the Galaxy Z Flip 7, last year's Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a fantastic phone to pick up instead. The biggest downside of getting the Flip 6 is that it has Samsung's smaller 3.4-inch cover screen (compared to 4.1 inches on the Flip 7), and it has a much less impressive 60Hz refresh rate. However, for triaging notifications, checking the weather, or replying to text messages, it still gets the job done. Beyond that, the Flip 6 holds its own against the Flip 7 quite well. The Flip 6's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, while over a year old now, is still an excellent performer. The phone's 4,000mAh battery isn't that much smaller than the 4,300mAh battery in the Flip 7, and the inner display specs are largely unchanged between both models. While the Galaxy Z Flip 6 launched at the same $1,100 retail price that the Flip 7 has, it's not uncommon to now find the Flip 6 significantly discounted (during Prime Day, the 512GB storage model was on sale for $800). Deals like that make the Galaxy Z Flip 6 an excellent low-cost alternative to the Flip 7, even better than Samsung's new 'affordable' Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Solid dual-camera setup • Excellent build quality • Class-leading update commitment MSRP: $1,099.99 The Flip gets refreshed. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 introduces several exciting updates over previous Flip phones. It is equipped with a larger battery, improved cooling, and a next-gen chipset. 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage mean you do not need to compromise on performance. The 3.4-inch front display offers info at a glance, while the 6.7-inch 22:9 main AMOLED display offers a 120Hz refresh rate. See price at Samsung See price at Amazon Motorola Razr (2025) Ryan Haines / Android Authority If you like the idea of a cheaper flip phone and are OK looking beyond Samsung's walls, the Motorola Razr (2025) would be my next recommendation. While it's not as technically impressive as the Z Flip 7, it still delivers a robust flip phone experience at a fantastic price. Funny enough, the Razr actually has a better cover screen than the Flip 6, featuring a 3.6-inch panel with better brightness and a smoother 90Hz refresh rate. The Razr's 6.9-inch inner display is the same size as the Flip 7's, and it has a similar camera setup, too (a 50MP primary camera and 13MP ultrawide sensor). I also prefer Motorola's Hello UX software compared to Samsung's One UI, especially since Motorola makes it much easier to run Android apps on the cover screen. There are some downsides to the Razr (2025) compared to the Z Flip 7. Motorola's phone uses slower UFS 2.2 storage instead of UFS 4.0, the MediaTek Dimensity 7400X chipset isn't quite as powerful, and the Razr (2025) is only promised three years of major OS updates compared to seven years on the Flip 7. The Motorola Razr (2025) isn't the most technically impressive flip phone around, but it's still a darn good one, especially when you consider its $700 starting price. For $400 less than the Z Flip 7, the Razr (2025) is my personal favorite choice for a flip phone that won't break the bank. Motorola Razr (2025) Motorola Razr (2025) Improved hinge • Flexible cameras • Excellent price MSRP: $699.99 The most affordable 2025 Razr A good looking 6.9-inch folding display is paired with a 3.6-inch external display to make up a compact folded phone, with few compromises at full-size. The Motorola Razr 2025 is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7300X and 8GB of RAM, a 50MP camera, and a 4,500mAh battery. See price at Amazon Motorola Razr Ultra Ryan Haines / Android Authority Razr Ultra in Mountain Trail The Flip 6 and Razr (2025) are both great, cheaper Flip 7 alternatives, but let's say you want to go in the opposite direction. If the Galaxy Z Flip 7 doesn't quite do it for you, and you're OK spending more money to get the best flip phone possible, there's no better option than the Motorola Razr Ultra. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is an undeniable strong showing for Samsung, but in almost every way, the Razr Ultra has it beat. Design-wise, Motorola's phone comes in some of the most unique colors/finishes available on a phone this year, including Alcantara and wood grain. The Razr Ultra's cover screen is about the same size as the Flip 7, though it's brighter, sharper, and has an even faster 165Hz refresh rate. Those upgrades are also true of the Razr Ultra's 7-inch inner display. Both the Razr and the Flip have a 50MP primary camera, but the Razr Ultra again has the upper hand with a much more capable 50MP ultrawide camera (compared to the Flip 7's 12MP sensor). Motorola's phone also has a larger 4,700mAh battery, 68W wired charging, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. All of this comes at a cost, though. The Razr Ultra retails for $1,300, making it the most expensive phone on this list and $200 pricier than the Galaxy Z Flip 7. The Motorola Razr Ultra won't be for everyone, but if you want a flip phone that can do it all — and you have adequate room in your budget — it's well worth every penny. Motorola Razr Ultra Motorola Razr Ultra Blisteringly fast charging and excellent battery life • Ultra-flagship-tier performance • Top-notch materials and eye-catching Pantone colors MSRP: $1,299.99 High-end processing power in a folding shell Adding Ultra to the name, the Motorola Razr Ultra is the first folding phone from Moto with a top-tier processor. The 7-inch folding display is paired with a half-size front display to give you both a premium experience, and a compact and portable communication device. See price at Amazon Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus Ryan Haines / Android Authority Those are my top flip phone alternatives to the Galaxy Z Flip 7, though it's also worth considering what your money can get you in a non-folding slab phone. If you know you want a Samsung phone but aren't dead set on getting a foldable, the Galaxy S25 Plus is a pretty compelling option. With a 6.7-inch display, the Galaxy S25 Plus is about the same size as the Z Flip 7 when it's open, just a touch thicker and heavier. You obviously don't have the benefit of a foldable phone, but the upside is that other aspects of the S25 Plus are better than the Flip. Instead of an IP48 rating on the Flip 7, the S25 Plus has a more durable IP68 one. It also has a sharper display, a faster Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, a 10MP telephoto camera, a larger 4,500mAh battery, and faster charging. Is the Galaxy S25 Plus as exciting or interesting a phone as the Galaxy Z Flip 7? Not at all. But if you're OK with a more generic form factor in favor of significantly better specs across the board, the S25 Plus is a fantastic choice. It also runs the same One UI software as the Flip 7 and has the same seven-year update guarantee, all for a slightly lower price tag of $1,000. OnePlus 13 Joe Maring / Android Authority My fifth and final recommendation is another slab phone, and it's the non-folding phone on this list I'd personally go with. The OnePlus 13 doesn't run Samsung's One UI software and is limited to just four years of major OS updates. If you're OK with both of those things, it's a better phone than the Galaxy S25 Plus in virtually every way. How so? The OnePlus 13 has a far better camera setup, including 50MP primary, ultrawide, and telephoto cameras. Its 6,000mAh battery is the largest out of all the phones mentioned here, just like its 80W wired charge speeds are the fastest. It has a nicer design, too, especially with the leather back on the Midnight Ocean color. Combine all of that with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, a fantastic 6.8-inch display, and a lovely Oxygen OS software experience, and the OnePlus 13 is about as complete a package as you can get for a flagship Android phone in 2025. And priced at $900, it's a great deal, too. Does it fold? No. But it's damn-near perfect at everything else it does and is absolutely worth your consideration before settling on the Galaxy Z Flip 7. OnePlus 13 OnePlus 13 Gorgeous design • Clever AI features • Flexible cameras MSRP: $899.99 The OG flagship killer's killer flagship. The OnePlus 13 is the company's most killer flagship to date, offering a massive battery, speedy charging, and powerful cameras that give Google and Samsung something to worry about. See price at OnePlus
Android Authority
10-07-2025
- Android Authority
I wanted to hate Samsung's proprietary Galaxy Watch 8 bands, but I can't
I didn't expect to care this much about a watch band system, but here we are. With the launch of its newest smartwatches, Samsung has officially streamlined its wearable portfolio, bringing its questionable squircle shape to every model. This also means that all the Galaxy Watch 8 models now feature the brand's Dynamic Lug system. This particular facet of the redesign might seem minor at first glance, and for anyone who's ever struggled to swap a watch strap, it's a meaningful improvement that's worth all the backward incompatibility it's creating. Easy does it Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority If, like me, you keep your nails short and consequently can never get the pins to cooperate, the Galaxy Watch 8 and 8 Classic will be a welcome change. I've always liked customizing my watch depending on the day or activity. While I'm most often sporting a workout-friendly band, I also love leather and metal options for more formal occasions. I prefer woven options for sleep tracking, but when I inevitably get my wrists wet while wearing nylon, I immediately have to swap bands. The new system is significantly easier to use with a button and click-to-lock design. The new lugs, first seen on the Galaxy Watch Ultra, ditch the traditional spring-pin mechanism in favor of a slide-in, click-to-lock system. It's intuitive, secure, and most importantly, it takes seconds to change bands, no nails needed. Samsung says the new fit also improves health-tracking accuracy by keeping sensors more stable on users' wrists. I haven't gotten my hands on a device yet to test this claim, but it's a nice bonus when I was sold on the usability upgrade alone. With that said, the change doesn't come without compromise. Because of the new lug shape, neither the Galaxy Watch 8 nor the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is compatible with generic 20mm watch bands. If you've spent the last few years collecting straps, including official ones, third-party picks from Amazon, or niche designs from small makers, those are now effectively obsolete — unless you go the ugly adapter route. C. Scott Brown / Android Authority The only bands that should work out of the box with the new devices are Galaxy Watch Ultra bands, but they're also a little wider, as Samsung has confirmed to us. So even if you've bought extra straps for your Ultra, you'll need to buy new, narrower Dynamic Lug-compatible bands for the Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic. Unfortunately, existing Galaxy Watch bands and third-party, 20mm pin-style watch bands will not be compatible. It's a frustrating bit of forced redundancy, especially considering the relatively high cost of Samsung's new compatible straps. At launch, the selection of bands is also a bit thin. The official options look great, but the variety isn't there yet. Fortunately, there are already plenty of third-party options available and even adapters if you are intent on making your old collection work. If I'm honest, I hate when brands create waste or walk away from universal compatibility. (I've been screaming into the void about proprietary watch chargers for years.) In this case, I'm just choosing to focus on the positive side of the change: the new attachment system is absolutely easier to use. So while I understand why some longtime users are frustrated, for me, this is one of those times where the practical benefits outweigh the annoyance. I am significantly more disappointed in the squircle shape than the idea of replacing my bands for a more effortless system.
