Sunday 31 December 2017

Samsung and LG Say They Don't Slow Phones With Old Batteries Like Apple

"We do not reduce CPU performance through software updates over the lifecycles of the phone,” Samsung said.

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OnePlus 5T Likely to Get Sandstone Finish Version, Teaser Video Hints

OnePlus has teased a new version of the OnePlus 5T that would feature a Sandstone finish similar to the OnePlus One and OnePlus 2.

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Google's High Altitude Internet Balloon Crashes in Kenya

The balloon, a part of a 10-balloon batch, was deployed for testing in Nakuru, Nanyuki, Nyeri, and Marsabit in July 2017.

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Italian Grandmother's Reaction to 'Goo Goo' Google Home Goes Viral

The 85-year-old woman was taken aback by the tiny smart assistant and her reactions have taken the Internet by storm.

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Xiaomi Mi A1 Android 8.0 Oreo Update Now Rolling Out

Xiaomi Mi A1 has started receiving an update to Android 8.0 Oreo. The update is rolling out in batches and includes the December Android security patch.

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New Year's Day 2018: WhatsApp Services Restored After Brief Outage

In India, WhatsApp's biggest market with about 200 million of its billion-plus users, the app was down just a few minutes into New Year's Day 2018.

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Germany starts enforcing hate speech law

Social media firms face huge fines if they let hate speech linger on their networks, warn German authorities.

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How to watch every Marvel property in the perfect order - CNET

Every Marvel movie and TV show currently airing or announced -- and the absolute ideal order for watching them -- so you can check out the next Marvel movie super-prepared.

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What were your best nine Instagram photos from 2017?

 You might have noticed a new end-of-year trend on Instagram the past few days. If so, you can thank 2017bestnine.com, a website that lets you automatically collect and collage your most-liked photos of 2017. Best Nine has been around for a while, so many of you may be familiar with the tool already. But for those of you who are new to that Best Nine game, here’s how it works. First of… Read More


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HQ Trivia is now available in beta from the Play Store

Earlier this month, HQ Trivia announced that the app would finally be available for Android users, allowing them to pre-register to download it. The app is now available in the Google Play Store’s Early Access section.

The game launched this past fall on iOS. The Android app is still in beta, and the product page notes that the app is potentially unstable. Recode reported earlier this month that the company is working to raise money from venture capitalists for a potential $100 million valuation. The addition of an Android app will likely help boost its user base.

Created by Vine co-founders Rus Yusupov and fellow co-founder Colin Kroll, the game is a live trivia contest that has become extremely popular in recent months. Players...

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7 handy ways to improve your home in 2018 - CNET

Your resolution for 2018: Make home improvement a priority with these handy how-to ideas as inspiration.

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David Bowie’s son is launching an online book club devoted to his father’s favorite reads

Before his death in January 2016, David Bowie was a noted musician, actor, and was a prolific reader. On Twitter, Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones recently said that he has been “feeling a building sense of duty to go on the same literary marathon in tribute” to his late father, and will be holding an online book club based on his father’s favorite books.

Bowie’s website provides a list of his 100 favorite books, and Jones, the director of Moon, Warcraft, and the forthcoming film Mute, said on Twitter that he’ll be starting off with Peter Ackroyd’s 1985 novel Hawksmoor. The novel follows two parallel storylines: one follows an 18th century church builder in London who performs human sacrifices, while the other is about a detective who is...

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WhatsApp messaging service returns after global outage

(Reuters) - WhatsApp, a popular messaging service owned by Facebook Inc, suffered a global outage for about an hour on Sunday before the problem was fixed.


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You can help teach a snake-spotting AI to spot snakes better

A team of reptile and amphibian enthusiasts is asking for the public’s help training artificial intelligence to spot snakes, frogs, and more from photos. The team wants to eventually create an app that can help people identify these creatures in their backyards — and prevent people from killing them. But first, their AI has to get better at making those photo IDs.

The AI, named Fitch after the late, renowned herpetologist Henry S. Fitch, is part of a new platform called What the Herp? Right now, it’s a webpage and a Twitter bot (@WhatTheHerp) where people can submit photos for Fitch to try and identify.

“The biggest issue with conservation of herps is that we work with one of the most detested groups on the planet — you’re up there...

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Voice interfaces beginning to find their way into business

 Imagine attending a business meeting with an Amazon Echo (or any voice-driven device) sitting on the conference table. A question arises about the month’s sales numbers in the Southeast region. Instead of opening a laptop, opening a program like Excel and finding the numbers, you simply ask the device and get the answer instantly. That kind of scenario is increasingly becoming a… Read More


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Amazon ordered to stop luring customers based on misspelled searches for Birkenstock

A court in Germany has told Amazon.com that it can no longer use search terms to lure in customers who misspell “Birkenstock,” according to Reuters.

The German sandal maker filed an injunction, complaining that the online retailer had been using variations on its brand name, such as “Brikenstock”, “Birkenstok”, and “Bierkenstock” on Google’s Adwords. Birkenstock alleges that by luring in customers with keywords, it’s potentially selling counterfeit sandals, potentially damaging the company’s reputation. Amazon told Reuters that it works “diligently with vendors, sellers and rights owners to detect and prevent fraudulent products reaching our marketplace.”

Reuters notes that the company has severed ties with amazon in Europe and in the...

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Google Doodle celebrates New Year's Eve with feathered friends - CNET

Google's penguin siblings are back to ring in the new year with "sparklers in hand" and "fireworks overhead."

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Best iPhone and Android apps to help you keep your New Year’s resolutions

Keeping those New Year’s resolutions could be tricky with all the distractions 2018 is set to bring, but what if you could use your phone to help you keep on track?

There are lots of apps on the market that can help you keep your head in the game and make it much more likely you'll reach your goal, whatever it is.

Below we've listed our top choices to help you stay on track with the new goals you're setting for yourself for 2018.

Todoist: the app to help you get organized

To sort your life out, you need to get a good to-do list app up and running on your phone. One of our favorites is Todoist, which you can have on either your Android or iPhone.

It's a great way to organize your lists so you can keep up with everything you need to do. Todoist looks great, allows you to organize yourself and you can also integrate it with an Amazon Echo so you can make notes whenever you want by just using your voice.

Bookout: the app to encourage you to read more

Lots of people want to read more every year, and if you want to keep track of the books you want to get into in 2018 this may be the best choice for you.

It's exclusive to iPhone, but Bookout allows you to make lists of titles you want to read as well as tick off the ones you've already got to. There are even further options that allow you to make notes or quotes from each book you're reading.

LastPass: the app to help you change all your passwords

It's one of the most boring tasks, but if you plan to update and keep track of all your passwords this year we'd recommend trying out LastPass.

It can generate secure passwords for all your accounts and keep them stored safely away behind encryption, so you'll never lose them and are less likely to get hacked.

You Need A Budget: the app to help you save money

The name of this app basically sums up what you can expect from it and it may even be what you've written down as your New Year's resolution for 2018.

This app will help you lay out all of your expenses at the same time and you'll be able to work out where you can save money and why you're spending so much every year. You will need to pay after a full month of using the service, but if you find it's saving you money it's likely worth your investment.

Strava: the best app to get out running with

Have you decided you want to get fit in the new year? If you plan to do that by running or cycling we'd recommend using Strava to get your feet moving.

It features challenges you can get started with or you can just start jogging and use it to track your stats as you're out and about. There are also leaderboards, so if you're motivated by competition then Strava could help even more.

Nike Training Club: the best app to kick start your fitness regime

If running isn't your thing, we recommend the Nike Training Club app to get yourself fit in 2018. It offers a bunch of free workouts - over 160 at the last count - and allows you to work out at home in a variety of ways.

You can choose how much equipment you have, how hard you want to go and how often you want to work out and then it'll create a schedule for you.



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The Verge 2017 tech report card: Apps

The biggest story about apps in 2017 was, well, stories. Snapchat still deserves the credit for coming up with the concept, and Instagram shamelessly ripped it off back in 2016, but this year, everyone got on board. WhatsApp added stories (and then later made them less prominent after users complained). Facebook added stories (and tried to guilt users into using them with digital ghosts of friends.) Medium — a largely text based app — added stories! YouTube added stories! It’s stories all the way down as far as the eye can see.

Of course, there’s a very good reason for all this — stories are popular, and popular places on the internet are ripe for that sweet advertising money.

Aside from stories, though, the past year saw Instagram’s...

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Crypto-mining site NiceHash has a new CEO following hack

Earlier this month, hackers stole $63 million from crypto-currency mining site NiceHash, prompting the company’s founders to apologize on Facebook Live and to shut down operations for 24 hours. Now, the company’s co-founder, Marko Kobal, has stepped down as CEO.

The company allows users to offer up their computer’s processing power to help with the calculations needed to create new bitcoins. In a statement on LinkedIn, Kobal says that the company has been working to recover from the hack, and that he will step aside to “allow new management to lead the organization through its next, exciting period of growth.” He will be replaced by Zdravko PoljaÅ¡ević, according to Slovenian newspaper Delo (via Business Insider). Kobal founded the...

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Iran reportedly blocks Telegram, Instagram amid protests - CNET

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov says it's unclear if the ban on the messaging app is permanent or temporary.

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The best PC games of 2017

With every year it seems we’ve finally arrived in the best 12 months for gaming ever, only for the next one to roll around with yet another slew of contenders ready to take that title. So here we are again, at the end of 2017, with a quite staggering calendar of gaming behind us on PC.

Whether you’re a RPG diehard, a shooter purist, an indie devotee or a collector of curios, 2017 has served up dish after tasty dish of must-have interactive experiences. And it’s been tough to whittle all these gems down to a powerful ten, so sit back and prepare to been amazed all over again.

Do you really think we could put together a top ten PC game of the year list and not include Bluehole Inc’s battle royale masterstroke? No other game has come close to catching the hype train that is PUBG, brushing aside claims of blatant infringement and laughing in the face of similar BR-esque titles that have followed in its wake. It also put the painfully buggy H1Z1 mercifully to the sword.

The game’s success has helped put top Twitch streamers on the map (such as the tache-toting swagger of Dr Disrespect) and seemingly burned the words ‘Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner’ into the subconsciousness of every gamer on the planet.

While the issue surrounding Bungie’s control of XP (and how it feeds into the ongoing issue of microtransactions in full-priced games) has taken off at least some of Destiny 2’s sheen, there’s no denying the shooter sequel improves on the first game in almost every way. 

A substantial story campaign addressed plot concerns, improved matchmaking made teaming up far easier and a move towards a more Overwatch-style setup in the Crucible all proved Bungie was listening to its fans.

With some exciting new DLC already incoming, and plans to support the title with new updates and events, Destiny 2 looks likely to remain in GOTY lists long after 2017 has drawn to a close.

Originally revealed in 2014, it took many a delay to get Cuphead out into the wilds, but the way proved more than worth it with one of the most challenging run and gun platformers we’ve ever played. 

Even its gorgeous art style - which nails the aesthetic of the 1930s golden era of animation - continues to wow critics and players alike.

Sure, it’s a tough little cookie that rewards the bold and mercilessly punishes those that make the slightest mistake, but every level and each boss offers such a font of unique personality that you’ll instantly jump back in for another run.

Mental health and suicide have always proved difficult subjects to cover, especially in a medium like videogames where interaction and involvement are key, but somehow What Remains Of Edith Finch tackles both with an unrivalled grace and poignancy. 

From the same studio that produced The Unfinished Swan, WROEF follows the story of a family whose members have all died an untimely death.

While it falls into the ‘walking simulator’ subgenre, it’s a game of many facets that’s absolutely worth experiencing blind. It’ll surprise you, make you shed a tear and almost certainly remain with you long after its story comes to a close.

The Creative Assembly had quite the challenge on its hand when it set about following up 2016’s Total War: Warhammer and yet a year later the British studio did just that - and then some. Okay, it’s still not called Total Warhammer (even though it really should by now), but it innovates and improves on practically every element from the first game.

It’s real-time strategy is much improved with four distinct armies to choose from, a genuinely engrossing story and a streamlined approach to battle management that made its turn-based and real-time DNA sing mid-skirmish. With plenty more updates and expansions to come, RTS games don’t come much better.

Yes, the reanimated corpse that is Resident Evil 7 really did shuffle into our lives and onto our PCs in 2017 - but only just, with its release date back in January. And what a return it’s been. Wisely acknowledging the renaissance for horror games and pioneering work of Amnesia, Outlast and the like, Capcom took its premier series first-person and created one of the most terrifying games in years.

With legendary jump scares (because bosses burst through walls now, apparently), PT-esque freakout moments and the usual creature features you’d expect from a Resi game it all coalesces to create an interactive horror that drips with menace both in VR and on traditional screens.

Much like predecessor, Divinity: Original Sin II does something very special. It harks back to the days when isometric RPGs such as Baldur’s Gate infused the genre with both personality and deep mechanics, while taking the genre forward and cementing itself as one of the new cornerstones in PC gaming.

While the ability to build a party of full-playable companions is hardly anything new, it’s the charisma of the world you’re exploring and ability to unlock new story threads and quests at any moment, weaving your very own fantastical tale that grows in depth without becoming convoluted. It looks incredible, has a standout soundtrack and offers all the hallmarks of truly great RPG.

Long gestating as Prey 2, the game that eventually reemerged had very little in common with the original Prey from 2006. 

Instead, its ‘alien catastrophe aboard a space station’ storyline headed in a direction more akin to the open-ended, choice-driven creativity of the Bioshock series. Part System Shock, part Dead Space, Prey may look like a first-person shooter but it holds far more depth than simply firing off some guns.

Myriad powers can turn your character into a hybrid god, but each one comes at a cost that will make the game that bit more difficult. There are secrets to uncover, puzzles to solve and a wave of monstrous aliens trying to kill you.

No one quite expected the Wolfstein: The New Order to be the brutal, bombastic hit it turned out to be, but that placed a tidal of wave of expectation on its inevitable sequel. 

That second outing, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, does something remarkable - it manages to not only better its predecessor in both level design and the agency of its violence, but how it builds a story with moments that will shock and surprise you with equal measure.

Its gunplay mechanics might not be perfect, and its difficulty curve might still be steeper than a cliff face, but The New Colossus offers a new landmark in single-player driven shooters.

There’s nothing quite like NieR: Automata, which is quite the feat considering it’s a spin-off from a spin-off and a product of hyperactive Japanese studio, PlatinumGames. On the surface it looks like a generic action-RPG with a big emphasis on combat, but beneath there’s so much more.

The combat model has the depth and nuance of the early Devil May Cry games, its story fits perfectly with the bizarre plot threads of the original NieR, and its score is deliciously easy on the ears it’s almost a crime. It’s a game as strange and charismatic as its director, and there’s no denying Yoko Taro has produced another classic that walks to the beat of its own drum.



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Twitter ended the year on a fascinating run

 It’s been pretty easy to point at Twitter and, with each quarterly moment when it discloses its financial guts, let out a long exasperated sigh. But then something interesting happened in the back half of 2017: it went on a rather spectacular run, and though ending on a bit of a slump, it looks like it could finish the year up more than 25 percent — which, by Twitter terms, is… Read More


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The newest DJ at this Prague nightclub is a KUKA arm robot

A club in Prague named Karlovy Lazne has recently introduced a robot DJ that alternates with a human to program music for the dance floor throughout the night, as reported by Reuters. Now in rotation for a few weeks, the robot has software that allows it to choose songs, select CDs from a rack, insert them into CDJs, and then play the songs. It also has some pretty sweet dance moves.

The club employed a robotics firm to have the robot specifically made for DJing. It’s an adaptation of a KUKA arm primarily used in the automotive industry. Rigged with software that helps it choose songs, the robot’s pincers grab CDs, and then show off some moves before placing them in one of the two CDJs in front of it. It’s unclear from the article if the...

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Up close with the Smarter Coffee 2nd Generation grinder brewer - CNET

See the Smarter Coffee 2nd Generation connected drip brewer up close and personal.

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Smarter Coffee 2nd Generation review - CNET

Neither coffee fans nor smart home pioneers with like this connected brewer.

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The Verge 2017 tech report card: Streaming music

If 2016 was the year that streaming music became a necessity, 2017 is the year streaming music showed its clout. This couldn’t have been showcased any more clearly than at the Grammys, where Chance the Rapper won best new artist, best rap album, and best rap performance — an honor only made possible because nomination rules changed, allowing for streaming-only albums to be eligible for nomination. In his acceptance speech, Chance gave a shout out to SoundCloud.

Streaming music consumption continues to ramp up, not slow down. Mid-way through the year, the RIAA (the Recording Industry Association of America) released statistics on the US music industry, and during the first half of 2017, revenues from streaming services accounted for 62...

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Google is testing the mysterious Fuchsia OS on the Pixelbook

Remember Fuchsia OS? It's the mysterious operating system about which we know very little, except that Google is actively developing it and has described it as an "experimental project" that isn't replacing Chrome OS or Android... at least for the time being.

Well, we just learned a something new about it – it's being tested on the Google Pixelbook, the standard bearer for Google's Chromebooks. As Android Police spotted, the laptop has been added to Fuchsia's official documentation on the web, which shows that at least some developers are playing around with it on the Pixelbook.

Chromebooks in general are flexible devices, and it makes sense for Google's flagship computer to be used as a testbed for its next-generation operating system, even if it's not exactly clear what the whole purpose of Fuchsia is at this point.

The future is Fuchsia

Google is keeping its cards close to its chest for the time being as far as Fuchsia is concerned, but from what we've been able to put together it sounds like the OS is being written from the ground up with modern-day hardware in mind.

That means it doesn't have to deal with older, legacy devices and software code in the same way that Android and Chrome OS might have to – and that in turn should result in a leaner, more efficient operating system. We've already seen some indication of what the finished product might look like.

As for whether Google will stick with Fuchsia, nobody knows: the company might decide that the combination of Chrome OS with Android apps, just like on the Pixelbook currently, is enough for users in the future.



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It’s the Jons 2017!

 Happy New Year! It’s been a transformational year in tech. The golden era of startups ended. Sorry about that. The tech industry finally rolled over a big rock it had ignored and/or leaned on for years, and exposed the squirming morass of sexual harassment beneath. We witnessed major AI breakthroughs, a cryptocurrency megaboom, really truly self-driving cars, and 18 SpaceX launches. But… Read More


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2017: A year in photographs on The Verge

It’s been emotional. Again.

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The best cheap tablets and deals 2018: the top budget options

You don't have to pay hundreds of pounds for a tablet these days, and there are a number of top cheap tablets available.

[Update: A new year, and perhaps a new dawn for cheap tablets? 2018 will likely bring us an updated fleet of Amazon's low-cost slates, alongside a handful of budget Android tablets from some of the main players. Anyone hoping for a low-cost iPad, well you'll need to keep your fingers crossed Apple launches a new iPad Mini and as a result slashes the price of the iPad Mini 4 (currently £419).]

It's a strange time for cheap tablets, and even tablets in general. Exciting releases are few and far between these days, and the most fascinating tech is restricted to the top end of the market. 

The best tablet in the world is the new iPad Pro, and that will set you back an awful lot of cash. Best budget tablet it is not. 

In fact, none of Apple's current fleet of slates manage to break the £250, but if it's iPads you desire you'll want to check out our best iPad roundup.

All hope is not lost though, and we've got the list of the best cheap tablets you can buy right now below - but let's make one thing clear. There aren't many to choose from.

It's slim pickings for anyone looking to pick up a cheap tablet these days as the market for low-cost slates has somewhat fallen away, but the ones below offer excellent value for money.

The Huawei MediaPad M3 8.0 is the best cheap tablet right now, combining an excellent screen, a whole heap of power and slick Android interface in a slate that offers great value for money.

One of the best things about the MediaPad M3 is its slim, light aluminium frame that looks and feels good while being seriously practical.

The screen is sharp, and has colour modes that provide both more natural and saturated tones, while the speakers are another high point, delivering impressive volume for a tablet this slim.

Read the full review: Huawei MediaPad M3 8.0

In a sea of slates and smartphones, crafting a device that has enough personality to stand out and enough quality to be worth caring about is a difficult proposition.

With the Tab 4 8 Plus, Lenovo has succeeded in producing something with a flavor of its own, and something that makes the mid-range Android tablet market worth attention once again.

If you already have an Android device, commute regularly and want something a little nicer than an Amazon tablet, this is the obvious next step.

Read the full review: Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus

When the Galaxy Tab S2 launched, it was Samsung's thinnest and lightest tablet. While that's no longer the case, it remains a highly portable option in its 8-inch form factor.

There is a larger (and more expensive) 9.7-inch option, but the only really difference is screen and battery size - the 8-inch version still boasts top notch power and a high definition display. 

The metal frame adds a premium touch, there's a comfortable, soft touch plastic back and a microSD slot to expand on the internal storage.

Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy Tab S2

If you have an Amazon Prime membership and you want a big screen tablet for watching movies and TV, reading, and a spot of gaming, the Fire HD 10 is a great option. If you also have a limited budget, then it’s your best option.

It's a great value package for a 10-inch screen tablet. It does have obvious weaknesses, like the plastic design and useless cameras, but they’re understandable in a tablet at this price.

Read the full review: Amazon Fire HD 10 (2017)

The Amazon HD 6 may be showing its age, but it's still a top-notch tablet for the money, which is why it features so highly in our best budget tablet list. 

It's no tablet king, but it does what it sets out to well. Its crazy low price tag means it's perfect to hand off to the kids without the fear that they're wielding an expensive bit of kit around.

It may be too small for some, and the cameras aren't up to much, but the Fire HD 6 gives you the core tablet experience for not very much outlay, making it a budget tablet worth buying.

Read the full review: Amazon Fire HD 8

If you're in the market for a low cost tablet with up to date specs then the new Amazon Fire HD 8 and HD 10 deliver.

They won't bless you with a stunning display, sultry design or slick performance - but they will give you enough grunt under the hood to play even the most demanding of games.

The heavily modified Android interface (known as Fire OS) may not be to everyone's liking, but for less tech savvy users it's arguably less cluttered and easier to use.

Read the full review: Amazon Fire 7 (2017)



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