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Perhaps more than any major smartphone maker, OnePlus is pretty proud of how community-centric it is. In fact, there have been times when it was the community's voice that was heard over the company's own decisions, at least in places where the two could meet halfway. That happened when OnePlus put the much-requested Always-On Display or AOD feature to a community vote and the company is again heeding its users' request for a theme store that may be coming in the next major upgrade for Android and OxygenOS.

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Chromebooks have been recorded to have had a growth spurt since last year, perhaps brought about by work from home and remote schooling arrangements. Of course, using laptops at home isn't new for Windows and Mac users but Chrome OS is relatively still new to this use case. That use case often involves tethering the notebook down with external displays and peripherals, something that a new generation of docking stations that Work with Chromebooks will be attempting to address.

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Manufacturers and network operators have been pushing 5G technology hard, even throughout a pandemic that forced some industries to stall for a while. Now it seems, however, that one of the most critical pieces of hardware that enables that technology for users might be putting them at risk as well. Qualcomm's 5G modem reportedly has a very severe flaw that can be exploited through Android, putting potentially hundreds of thousands of users at risk.

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Just like the iPad Pro that was announced last month, this year's iPhone generation is expected to also get some massive changes. No, it won't be getting a Mini LED screen, which would be a step back from its OLED. Instead, the iPhone 13 has consistently been tipped to have a smaller notch, which means more room for the screen itself. That has been "confirmed" by what is perhaps the closest thing to a finished iPhone 13 Pro Max and it shows one other literally big change to the design.

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Apple has very strict app store policies that it credits as the reason that it is able to offer high-quality and safe experiences on iOS. Those policies, however, have also been criticized by developers are self-serving, inconsistent, and monopolistic, traits that Epic Games is using against the iPhone maker in its high-profile lawsuit. The game developer, however, isn't the only big company that had problems with Apple's App Store rules but, in an almost odd turn of events, Microsoft inadvertently got a competing game streaming app banned when it was making its case for Project xCloud on iOS.

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Although it wasn't its first wearable, OnePlus' first smartwatch wasn't as warmly received as its smart fitness band. Perhaps it was partly due to high expectations for a wearable that was hoped to be launched nearly half a decade ago. While the OnePlus Watch has been panned for its lackluster experience, the good news is that the company is quick to push out updates. The latest, in fact, brings one much-requested feature that puts it on par with most smartwatches, but the cost of battery life.

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Twitter is used for many things and despite not being as image-centric as Instagram, some artists and photographers still use the platform to show off their stuff. That's despite how Twitter's image processing has long been a gripe among artists, from its low-res requirements to its unpredictable cropping. In the past few weeks, Twitter has addressed both those and its latest gift is to no longer crop most images, though abusers won't be able to get away with gaming that new system.

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With a company as large as Google, people come and go often. Sometimes that even involves people in high-ranking positions or high-profile roles. But when an exec of an already controversial division leaves, it's hard not to take notice. That might be the kind of publicity that John Justice is now getting after Google confirmed his departure. After all, not only is Justice a VP at one of the world's biggest tech companies, he is also the Product Head of Stadia, the game streaming service that many will now doubt will survive for long.

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Samsung was traditionally the poster child of how not to do Android updates but that seems to be really a thing of the past. It is, of course, trivial to promise updates beyond the customary two-year period but Samsung's actions speak louder than words. Not only has it been pushing out monthly updates more regularly, it has also extended that software support coverage for up to four years. Proving that the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge last year weren't just flukes, Samsung ends support for the Galaxy S8 today, four years after the phone first launched.

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The iPad mini was noticeably absent during Apple's big event last month. That's not exactly surprising as the company seemed to focus more on its more powerful products, particularly the iPad Pros with Apple M1 silicon. That doesn't exactly mean that the iPad mini that has been appearing in rumors since the start of the year will be a no-show. Instead, Ming-Chi Kuo says that the smaller slate has just been delayed to sometime later this year.

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The onslaught against Clubhouse's probably short-lived dominance continues as more and more social networks start rolling out their own take on social audio spaces. This time it's Twitter's turn to join the fray by making Spaces available for all. That, however, does come with a caveat that does still limit who can use the audio-only feature to those that have hundreds of followers that would supposedly justify having a Space in the first place.

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Our houses are being filled with smart devices but there are still some household tasks that can't simply be solved by those. Sure, a robot vacuum cleaner can handle most floors without breaking a sweat or a circuit board but beds, couches, and cars still require more specialized equipment. It doesn't have to be connected to the Internet to actually be great at what it does and the Proscenic S1 3-in-1 cordless vacuum cleaner is perhaps the testament of how a simple appliance can still be "smart" with just the right combination of features.

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