What’s new on Disney Plus in January 2022? You can watch the first Disney-produced Ice Age movie, plus the streaming debut of a Marvel Studios film and more.
Read: All the best Disney Plus movies and shows
You might think that the first weekend of 2022 might be a slow one for new streaming movies and shows. You would be wrong. Not only are we getting a new Star Wars live-action series, but the fourth season of a major Netflix TV show. Oh, and there’s a reunion of many of the stars of the Harry Potter film franchise.
Here’s a look at five new streaming movies and shows you can binge-watch this weekend.
What’s new on Netflix in January 2022? The streaming service is bringing us the first part of the final season of Ozark, plus a new parody series from Kristen Bell and much more.
Check out: The best Netflix Originals
Cricket Wireless is the no-contract subsidiary of AT&T, offering customers a way to get affordable smartphones with cheap prepaid plans. While many of Cricket’s smartphones are already priced pretty reasonably, some special Cricket deals stand out right now. We’ve compiled the best Cricket deals in this post, but please note that various terms and conditions apply.
Cricket mainly offers savings on phones when you join the carrier, although they have occasional price drops on plans. To learn more about what Cricket offers in terms of plans, check out our Cricket Wireless buyer’s guide.
What’s new on Amazon Prime Video in January 2022? The streaming service will have the world premiere of the fourth movie in the hit Hotel Transylvania animation series, plus the latest film from director George Clooney, and a new drama series about young people on the autism spectrum.
Read: The best Amazon Prime originals
Looking back, Samsung had a pretty rough 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic made things difficult for pretty much everyone, but Samsung watched as its two star products — the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines — saw dismal sales. Meanwhile, its foldable phones were selling better, but the disaster of the original Galaxy Fold was still fresh in our thoughts.
In 2021, though, Samsung made some real progress. All evidence suggests the Galaxy S21 line outperformed the Galaxy S20 line, and Samsung’s foldable sales skyrocketed.
What’s new on HBO Max in January 2022? Well, we’ll get a show called Peacemaker, which is a new DC Comics-based spin-off of The Suicide Squad, a Harry Potter reunion special, and new series from the HBO mothership.
Read more: Best HBO Max movies
Every year we see a slew of new Android apps, and 2021 was no exception. We saw a variety of apps hit the metaphorical shelves this year across various genres. Of course, some years are better than others, and 2021 was comparatively a bit of a slow year. We only saw a handful of apps make a real impact, but we did see an increase in niche apps that improved selections in less exciting genres.
Let’s take a look at the best Android apps released in 2021. Check the bottom of the article for some extra honorable mentions as well.
Smartwatches have cemented themselves as staples of any tech collection, but they’re not all created equal. Some, like Fitbit, excel at health tracking while others, like Fossil watches, are focused more on fashion. But one thing we love about any smartwatch is saving money with a great deal.
Related: The best smartwatches you can buy
Believe it or not, Sony had a pretty decent 2021. The company’s smartphone division turned a profit for the first time since 2017, despite selling far fewer phones than it did back in its prime. The Xperia lineup’s premium-only approach to hardware seems to be working out for Sony.
Sony’s flagship smartphones reviewed reasonably well throughout 2021 too, particularly its high-end Sony Xperia 1 III. The more affordable Xperia 5 III and ultra-expensive photography-focused Xperia Pro I were a little less well-received but still stood out from the crowd this year. Overall, it’s been a good but certainly not flawless year for the company.
Metro by T-Mobile is the no-contract subsidiary of T-Mobile that was previously known as MetroPCS. Whatever name it uses, it has some excellent deals on both plans and phones. We have the best current Metro by T-Mobile deals you can get right now. Many of the deals are in-store only, so you’ll need to check your location carefully.
See also: Metro by T-Mobile buyer’s guide
Welcome to the OnePlus 9 series update hub. Here you’ll find the latest information on updates to the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, and OnePlus 9R. We’ll detail the current software versions for each device and alert you if there’s a new update rolling out. OnePlus usually pushes out Oxygen OS updates to the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, with the 9R receiving separate updates.
December 30, 2021: After the start-and-stop-and-restart of the original Oxygen OS 12 rollout for the OnePlus 9 series, there’s a new update rolling out now. Known as Oxygen OS 12 C.40, the update focuses on fixing even more issues the previous update didn’t fix.
Everyone likes to personalize their online presence, and this is especially true with user profiles. Being able to put a face to the name makes someone feel more real if you’ve never met them in real life before. Since WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform in the world by far, let’s look at how to add, change, and remove a profile picture on WhatsApp.
Read more: How to use WhatsApp — a step-by-step beginner’s guide
Roku is making some announcements ahead of next week’s CES 2022. The smart TV company revealed it has signed up several new partners for its Roku TV-ready program. They include Element, JVC, Pheanoo, and Philips. In addition, two more companies — Polk Audio and Westinghouse — will join the same program sometime in 2022.
Read more: Best Roku streaming players
A shiny new printer is rarely exciting, but it’s a necessary investment for any home office. Plenty of people are still working from home, which can require printing daily. Upgrading your printer might be cheaper than you think, and we’ve found some of the best printer deals available right now.
See also: Home office setup: How to separate your workspace so you stay productive
Tablets haven’t replaced laptops like some predicted they would, but they’re still popular gadgets for work and play on the go. Apple keeps improving the iPad line, and Amazon’s Fire tablets are as affordable as ever. We’ve tracked down some of the best tablet deals available right now to help you choose.
See also: Best tablet guide
In the early smartphone years, devices used to have multiple buttons both below the display and around the sides. Modern minimalistic designs have done away with most of these physical buttons, thus reducing the opportunities to set up hardware-based shortcuts. The latest Pixels, though, have figured out a way to include a shortcut without adding any extra physical buttons. This hidden but awesome customizable shortcut isn’t enabled by default. The official name of the feature is Quick Tap and it’s a double-tap on the back of the phone.
Google started testing the double-tap gesture on Pixels early in 2020, then made it officially available with the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G on Android 11. Since then, the feature has also made its way to the Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, and 6XL with Android 12.
US Cellular is the fourth-largest carrier in the States, and it excels at offering creative discounts. You can usually save a pretty nice chunk of change if you’re willing to make the switch. We’ve picked out a handful of the best US Cellular deals currently available.
If you’re serious about making the switch, you might want to check out the best US Cellular plans and phones as well. In the meantime, take a look at these potential savings.
Welcome to Wallpaper Wednesday! In this weekly roundup, we’ll give you a handful of Android wallpapers you can download and use on your phone, tablet, or even your laptop/PC. The images will come from folks here at Android Authority as well as our readers. All are free to use and come without watermarks. File formats are JPG and PNG, and we’ll provide images in both landscape and portrait modes, so they’ll be optimized for various screens.
For the newest walls as well as all the ones from previous weeks, check out this Drive link. Want to submit your own? Head to the bottom of this article.
The discussion of square vs. circular smartwatches isn’t new, but it’s yet to reach a definitive answer. It’s certainly easier to pull off an angular device than it used to be, but many users still swear by the circular aesthetic.
This year, we saw the debut of an exciting new Wear OS on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, an effortlessly classy flagship device featuring a round profile. We also saw the unveiling of the Apple Watch Series 7, boasting a bigger display than ever before, in the same shape we’ve come to expect.
Despite promising beginnings, in many ways 2021 didn’t deliver on much of its gaming potential. Next-gen hardware is still impossible to find, highly-anticipated games were delayed even further into the future, and many of the big-name titles that did launch were disappointing or buggy (or both). But we have high hopes for next year. It could be the year where we finally break out of the pandemic lull and into a bright new next-gen future. With that in mind, here’s a short wishlist of what we want to see from gaming in 2022.
If you send someone a message on WhatsApp, you would obviously like to know if the message was looked at. One way to tell if the recipient is online and checking their messages is by viewing their WhatsApp last seen status. But what does ‘last seen’ mean and how can you hide it if you want to conceal your online presence?
Read more: How to use WhatsApp — a step-by-step beginner’s guide
Welcome to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 update hub. Here you’ll find the latest information on updates to Samsung’s flagship foldable phone. We’ll detail the current software versions for the device and alert you if there’s a new update rolling out. Samsung usually pushes out One UI updates regularly, but availability may be affected by variant, carrier, and region.
December 28, 2021: Samsung has officially started rolling out One UI 4 to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. So far, we’ve only seen the update in Europe (via SamMobile), but it should make its way to other countries soon enough. The software version is F916BXXS2FULE and it includes the December 2021 security patch. To learn more about what to expect with Android 12 and One UI 4, check out our hands-on here.
Welcome to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 update hub. Here you’ll find the latest information on updates to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. We’ll detail the current software versions for each device and alert you if there’s a new update rolling out. Samsung usually pushes out updates to the entire series, but this may vary per variant and carrier.
December 28, 2021: After a beta program lasting only a few weeks, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series is now receiving a stable version of One UI 4, based on Android 12. According to XDA-Developers, the rollout is happening now in Switzerland. It’s only a matter of time before it makes its way to other countries. The software version is N98xxXXS3EULF. To learn more about what to expect with One UI 4, check out our hands-on here.
Welcome to the Samsung Galaxy S20 update hub. Here you’ll find the latest information on updates to the Samsung Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus, and Galaxy S20 Ultra. We’ll detail the current software versions for each device and alert you if there’s a new update rolling out. Samsung usually pushes out updates to the entire series, but this may vary per variant and carrier.
December 28, 2021: Samsung has started the official stable rollout of Android 12 to the Samsung Galaxy S20 family. Starting in Switzerland (via XDA-Developers), the software comes as One UI 4 with version number G98xxXXSCEUL7. For all the info on what to expect with One UI 4, check out our hands-on here.
Whenever I get a new phone, my first mission is to get rid of that pesky software manufacturers and carriers force into our devices. Yes, I am talking about bloatware, apps which come pre-installed on your new handset, that you will likely never use and often can’t uninstall.
Common bloatware apps include carrier services, cloud storage, sports apps, and games. But don’t worry, you may not always be able to uninstall Android bloatware, but there are ways to get unwanted apps out of your way. You don’t even need to tinker with the phone or gain root access. We’ll show you how to disable bloatware apps on Android, but we also want to discuss some alternatives that might be better solutions.
While Spotify is home to over 70 million tracks, some songs here and there aren’t on the platform. For example, there’s a remix of a song I like from a small producer on YouTube. This producer doesn’t have a Spotify artist profile, and therefore the song isn’t available. It can be useful to know how to upload music to Spotify in cases like these.
Read more: How to change your Spotify profile picture
Earlier this week, a patent detailing Samsung‘s double-folding phone ambitions broke cover. Now, it’s Microsoft’s turn. The Redmond-based company was recently awarded a patent for its vision of a double-folding triple-screen device.
Initially spotted by Patently Apple, the patent was filed in June 2020 but was awarded to Microsoft on December 23, 2021. It describes a “multi-panel display device” that utilizes two hinges and three distinct sections, each with its own display portion.
Released last Christmas, Netflix‘s Bridgerton was a massive social phenomenon, watched across North America by huge numbers of people and discussed at length on social media and in the press. With a second season on the way, what other shows like Bridgerton are worth checking out?
The first season followed various families in Regency-era London in the 1800s. The well-to-do Bridgerton family is looking to marry off their daughters to maintain their social standing. This leads to a great deal of conflict and scandal. The series is narrated by Lady Whistledown, a mystery socialite who comments on the gossip of the day in her widely-read newsletter, entertaining her readers with the implicit threat that they could be her next target.
Three years after the launch of its original wireless charger, Google has returned to the market with 2021’s Pixel Stand (2nd gen). Just like its predecessor, the latest Pixel Stand pairs with your Pixel smartphone, imbuing it with functional Google Assistant and other features while charging. It’s much more than your standard wireless charger.
While primarily built for fast charging the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Google’s second-generation cradle aims to power a wide range of wireless charging smartphones too. Let’s see if that’s the case in Android Authority’s Pixel Stand (2nd gen) review.
2021 was a pretty good year for the smartphone industry, as we saw more brands offer longer update pledges (in some capacity), great premium and affordable flagships alike, top-notch budget phones, and improved camera capabilities.
There’s always room for improvement, though, and 2021 definitely saw a few trends that we’d rather not see in 2022. So here’s what we want to see from smartphones next year.
We’ve known for a while now that Xiaomi will launch some new smartphones on December 28. We expect that launch to include the Xiaomi 12 and its variants, including the Xiaomi 12 Ultra.
However, it seems we can look forward to another device launching as well: the Xiaomi Watch S1. In a series of official teaser images on Telegram (h/t XDA-Developers), Xiaomi shows off the design of the watch.
It’s only taken a couple of years for true wireless earbuds to flood the market, as audio companies and smartphone brands alike all jumped on the wire-free bandwagon and ditched the cable running between earbuds.
But as unobtrusive as these gadgets are, I simply find myself unwilling to switch to them. Sure, the lack of wires makes for a truly snag-free experience, but they have major downsides too. And, for me, it all boils down to battery life and charging.
