It's Friday, which means today we put together the best deals in tech we saw this week. It's also St. Patrick's day and we could make a dumb joke about "saving some green" — but we won't. Instead, we'll just note that the Apple Watch SE dropped to its lowest price yet and the Beats Fit Pro are getting a steep $55 discount at Woot. Wellbots is also taking $55 off of a pair of earbuds, dropping Google's Pixel Buds Pro down to $145 when you use the Engadget coupon. And speaking of vouchers, the 2022 iPad Air is $99 off at Amazon when you add click on the extra discount at checkout. Meanwhile, the very excellent (and previously tough to find) Steam Deck got its first discount ever, taking 10 percent off the portable gaming system. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. 

Apple Watch SE

You can snag Apple's most affordable smartwatch, the Apple Watch SE, for its lowest price yet. It's on sale for $219, after a 12 percent discount, which matches the steepest discount we've seen since its debut. We gave it a review score of 89, calling it the best smartwatch $250 can buy. There's no always-on display and it doesn't have blood oxygen sensors, skin temperature readings or ECG monitoring like the Series 8. The screen isn't quite as robust either. But for $219 you'll get a fully featured smartwatch with excellent app integration and plenty of health-tracking features.

Beats Fit Pro

Beats Fit Pro are premium earbuds that usually come at a premium price, but right now Woot has them for 28 percent off. That brings them to $145, which is the lowest we've ever seen them go for. We gave them an 87 in our review, praising the excellent active noise cancellation, powerful sound and punchy bass. They also happen to fit a wide range of ear shapes thanks to the "fit wing" that's comfortable while keeping the buds securely in place. 

The Beats audio brand is owned by Apple, so they take on some of the more helpful iOS compatibility features like good Siri integration and support for spatial audio. Despite that, they'll also pair up with Android devices. Though if you're an Android person, you might check out the deal on Pixel Buds Pro, below.  

Google Pixel Buds Pro

If you use an Android phone, the Pixel Buds Pro are what we recommend. Right now, a discount code at Wellbots will knock $55 off the list price, bringing them down to just $145. Enter ENGTGOOGLE at checkout to get the deal. In our review of the Pixel Buds Pro, we appreciated the responsive touch controls, excellent bass and solid noise cancellation. They've got an excellent 11-hour battery life if you're not using active noise cancellation. Turn the feature off — and drop the buds in the charging case — and you'll get a full 20 hours on a charge. One of our complaints was a lack of quality in handling phone calls, but if you're more of a texter anyway, perhaps that won't matter as much. Our other concern was the price. But with $55 off, that's less of an issue.

The same code will also give you $55 off on the Google Pixel Watch. You can read our review of Google's latest wearable here.

Apple Watch Series 8

The Apple Watch 8 with GPS connectivity in the 41mm size usually goes for $399, but Amazon is selling it for $329 right now, which matches the lowest price we've seen it drop to a few times before. The sale only covers the Product Red and Midnight colorways, and doesn't extend to the larger 45mm case size. Still, it's a nice, $70 savings on a wearable we think is one of best smartwatches on the market right now.

It's got tons of health integrations including blood oxygen sensors, ECG abilities, temperature monitoring, crash detection and of course all of Apple's fitness tracking and coaching. It's only designed to work for iPhone users, so if you're an Android person, you might want to check out our other recommended smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 5, which is on sale for 21 percent off, or just $220.

Steam Deck

To celebrate a the one-year birthday of their very excellent Steam Deck, Valve is knocking ten percent off the list price of all there configurations of the gaming handheld. The sale brings the 64GB model to $359.10, and the 256GB variant to $476.10. The 512GB version, which includes premium anti-glare glass and a carrying case, is selling for $584.10. 

Delivery is expected to take one to two weeks, and in the meantime, you can stock up on games to play on your system once it arrives. Hundreds of titles are discounted, including many of the top 100 most-played. Discounts range from 10 to 75 percent off, making it a very good time to get started with a more portable way of accessing many of the best games in your Steam library.  

SAMSUNG T7 1TB SSD

Can you have too much storage? Probably not. Right now you can get a terabyte of portable SSD storage in Samsung's T7 drive for 20 percent off. That makes the SSD $80 instead of $100, which is its lowest price to date. It's our current pick for best portable SSD thanks to the fast reads speeds of up to 1,050MB/s. For those who need to store even more, the 2TB size is 53 percent off, but only in grey. If you need a red one, you'll save a little less, as that colorway is only 47 percent off.  

Smaller Samsung drives are on sale too, including the 128GB EVO Select card. It's going for the lowest price we've seen yet of just $12.49. 

Blink Video Doorbell

If you want to keep tabs on your front door, here's a chance to do it for an extremely low price. Amazon-owned Blink is already one of the most competitively priced brands in the smart home market, but a sale on some of their more popular devices are making them even more affordable. The Blink Video Doorbell is 30 percent off, or $35 dollars, which matches the product's all-time low price. Of course, you'll have to weigh the benefits of keeping an eye on your doorstep against privacy concerns surrounding these types of products from Amazon. 

You can add cameras to your exterior video coverage with a 43 percent discount on at two-pack of Blink Outdoor cams. If you'd rather go with a smart home brand that's not Amazon, Arlo's Essential Video Doorbell is our pick for best smart doorbell in our guide and it's 51 percent off right now, bringing the usually pricy device down to a more affordable $99. 

Apple 2022 iPad Air

The iPad we recommend for most people is currently $99 off at Amazon — after you apply the coupon at checkout. That makes 2022's M1 iPad Air in the 64GB configuration $500 instead of $599 and the 256GB model $650 instead of $749. The deal applies to the purple, pink and starlight colors — the space gray variants are only getting a standard seven or nine percent discount, depending on the size, and aren't currently offering the coupon.  

We gave the tablet a top-notch score of 90 in our review, calling it a future-proof iPad. The M1 chip makes it speedy enough for content creation and gaming while easily handling more intensive workflows. The battery life is great and the front camera is far improved over the previous model — though it's still on the top of the portrait edge, which can make you seem off-centered in video calls if you have it in landscape orientation. It also doesn't use that great camera to take advantage of Face ID, you'll still need to use a fingerprint on the button or tap in your unlock code. 

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd gen)

We keep a close eye on the price for Apple's AirPods Pro. They're undoubtedly great earbuds (I'm wearing some now as I type this) but they're not cheap (I'm indefinitely borrowing my set from my mother). They've once again dropped back to their lowest price, making them $250 instead of $200. We saw the same sale back in February, so if you missed that, now's your chance. 

They're our current favorite option for iPhone users, according to our guide to wireless earbuds. They've got Apple's new H2 chip to deliver better noise cancellation and an impressive transparency mode. The battery life isn't as long as some competitors — you'll only get about six hours on a charge, though the case delivers an extra three charges before you need to plug in again. Check out our full review here. 

JBL Flip 6

A few of our favorite Bluetooth speakers from JBL are up to 38 percent off at Amazon right now. That includes the Flip 6, which $30 off, bringing the waterproof speaker down to $100. We named the Flip 6 one of our favorite portable wireless speakers in our guide. It's got great sound quality for its relatively small size (just over a pound, and only seven inches long) and it's plenty durable. 

The biggest discount goes to the JBL GO2 with a 38 percent discount making it just $25. It's got five hours of battery life, a waterproof rating and is just three inches tall. That one didn't make it into our top picks, but a similarly diminutive speaker that did, the Tribit StormBox Micro 2, is also on sale with a 21 percent discount.  

The Charge 5, which we also recommend in our Bluetooth speaker guide is on sale for 22 percent off. That's not an all-time low, but takes $40 off the usual list price. JBL's Charge 4 is a little cheaper to begin with and has roughly the same specs, including a two-pound size and 20 hour battery life. It's on sale for 25 percent off, bringing it down to $113. And if you'd rather buy direct from JBL, many of the same deals can be found on their site as well. 

Echo Show 15

Falling between a home hub and a smart TV, Amazon's Echo Show 15 can control your smart home and play your favorite shows. It's seeing a $55 discount this week, bringing it down to $195. If you want to include a remote for a more TV-like experience, that bundle is $55 off too, or $225. After we reviewed the 15 when it first came out, Amazon added the Fire TV component, giving a little more utility to what could be seen as a niche display. It's wall-mountable so you could use it in the kitchen as a family bulletin board, one that's also capable of implementing all of your Alexa-based requests and playing a cooking show while you heat up leftovers.  

Fire TV Stick 4K

As part of a larger sale, Amazon is discounting the Fire TV Stick 4K to $30. That's a 40 percent discount and only $5 more than the all-time low it dropped to for the holidays last November. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which supports WiFi 6 and comes with a little more RAM, is 36 percent off, making it $35 instead of $55. If you don't have a TV that'll support 4K images anyway, you may as well save a little money and go with the standard Fire TV Stick. It's down to $27 after taking 33 percent off. All three will turn any set into a smart TV, letting you add and organize apps through Amazon's Fire TV OS, while also giving you control over your Alexa-enabled smart home devices. 

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If you’ve owned your iPhone or iPad for a while, there’s a good chance there are apps, contacts and settings that you either don’t use anymore or aren’t serving you as well as they could. This guide will take you through how to reclaim your notifications and your device’s storage.

Delete your unused apps

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

You don’t need me to tell you to delete apps you don’t use to free up space on your iPhone, but you might not know that iOS has a dedicated tool to help you do this. You can access it by opening the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, then tapping “General,” followed by “iPhone Storage” or “iPad Storage.” It may take a few moments for the interface to populate, but once it does, you’ll see a handy visual representation of how much of your device’s storage you’ve given over to apps, photos and other types of files. You will also see a list of every app installed on your device, as well as how much space it takes up and when you last used it – all helpful information you can use to decide what to delete.

Depending on the app, iOS will present you with at least two options when you tap on it. You can delete the app and all its related data or “offload” it. In the latter case, iOS will delete the app from your iPhone or iPad but leave your data untouched. As such, when you reinstall the app, you can pick up right where you left off. It will also remain in your App Library for easy access. From the iPhone Storage menu, you can also set your device to automatically offload unused apps when you’re running low on storage, which is useful for all, but especially those with older, low-storage devices.

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

If you use Apple Music and Messages frequently, tap on them since they offer a few additional options for managing their footprint. The interface for Apple Music includes a list of every download on your iPhone or iPad sorted by artist and album, offering a much better way of culling your library than from within the app itself.

Messages, meanwhile, has a few handy options for serial texters. At the bottom of the interface, you will see a breakdown of all the different attachments you may have received in messaging with your friends and family. Seeing how much storage those old photos, videos and GIFs take up may be eye opening; in fact, iOS will prompt you to review large attachments. That’s a good place to start since the interface does a good job of highlighting the biggest space hogs right at the top. You can also set iOS to automatically delete messages and attachments that are more than a year old. Unless space is at an absolute premium on your device, I would recommend against turning on this option, if only because it might delete a photo or video that has sentimental value to you.

Trim your contacts list

If you’ve had an iPhone for a while, there’s a good chance your contacts list could use an edit. Unless you plan to one day call everyone on that list, why not delete contacts you don’t speak to anymore? Your iPhone will give you a head start by identifying suspected duplicate contacts. Outside of that, there’s not much to this process other than going through each contact and ensuring the information you have is up to date.

Review your notification settings

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

Something everyone should do every so often is review their notification settings since alerts can be a drain on your device’s battery (not to mention frequently take your attention away from more important things, too). To get started, open your device’s Settings app and tap on “Notifications.” If you haven’t already, I would recommend taking advantage of iOS 15’s scheduled summary feature. Let’s be honest, most notifications don’t require your immediate attention, and you’re better off addressing them all at once instead piecemeal. The schedule feature will help you do that by allowing you to set a few times per day when your device displays some notifications all at once.

For most people, that should make their notifications more manageable, but if you want to take things a step further, you can adjust individual settings for each app. For some of the worst offenders (Instagram and Twitter come to mind), it’s worthwhile to jump into their in-app settings to limit or disable the notifications they send you.

Focus Modes

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

Another tool you can use to get a handle on your notification is Apple’s Focus feature, which allows you to configure custom do not disturb settings for different activities. By default, your device will come with a few preconfigured ones, and it’s worth reviewing the settings for each to optimize them for your needs.

To create a new custom Focus Mode, open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and tap “Focus,” which is located in the same subcategory as notifications. You can also create a new Focus mode directly from your device’s Control Center by long pressing on the “Do Not Disturb” icon and tapping “New Focus.”

Once you create a new Focus, customizing it is straightforward. You can specify contacts you want iOS to either silence or allow notifications from. You can do the same for apps as well. After you customize those lists to your liking, tap the “Options” prompt below your contacts and apps lists to see a few additional settings. Specifically, there’s an option to allow silenced notifications to display on your lock screen that you might find helpful.

The last thing I want to draw your attention to are the options around customizing your Home Screen for different Focus modes. By limiting the apps I can easily access, I find I’m less likely to get distracted. For instance, I’ve set my Reading Focus to limit my Home Screen to apps like Libby, Pocket and Apple Music.

Satellite-to-phone service is only just getting started, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants to give a boost. The regulator is proposing rules that would make it easier for phone carriers and satellite operators to provide coverage in remote and underserved areas. Under the plan, satellite companies teaming with cellular providers could get FCC permission to operate on some licensed, flexible wireless spectrum normally reserved for ground-based service.

Operators would have to meet certain requirements. They'd have to use non-geostationary orbit satellites, and get leases from terrestrial spectrum owners in a given area. After that, though, they could provide outdoor service even in areas where cellphones are completely non-functional.

Few devices support satellite connections so far. Apple's iPhone 14 family can use satellites to send emergency messages. Qualcomm's Snapdragon Satellite enables texting off the grid, but only for Android phones using Snapdragon systems-on-chip and the X70 modem. It won't arrive until the second half of 2023, however. Carrier partnerships also won't kick off in earnest until T-Mobile and SpaceX roll out their Starlink-based collaboration. Testing for that begins later this year, although it should work with both standard texting as well as some messaging apps.

The technology usually depends on line of sight to a satellite, and the limited bandwidth of existing solutions makes them impractical for significant data transfers. However, they can help you reach first responders during a hike or confirm your arrival at a camp site in the wilderness. Eventually, the hope is to use satellites for general data.

The FCC is looking for public input on how the satellite-to-cell rules would bolster access to 911 and Wireless Emergency Alerts. The agency is also exploring whether or not it can apply the framework to other purposes, regions and wireless bands. If the proposal moves ahead, though, carriers beyond T-Mobile may have a relatively easy time filling (some) gaps in their networks.

It’s that quiet moment between Samsung launching its Galaxy S flagships and its, well, other flagships that just happen to fold. The perfect time, then, to update its midrange A series and add to the chaos. We’re going to focus on the Galaxy A54, but Samsung will also launch a similar, cheaper device, the Galaxy A34, in other regions like the UK.

While no major shakeups are coming from the Galaxy A53 to the A54, there are some notable changes, including a redesign more closely aligned to the premium Galaxy S family, with metal detail on the cameras, which now jut out from the back independently of each other. 

Mat Smith / Engadget

The display is now slightly smaller at 6.4 inches (the predecessor had a 6.5-inch screen), but it keeps the same 2,400 x 1,080 resolution. This year, however, Samsung has boosted the maximum brightness to 1,000 nits. That should be noticeable in sunlight and the company is going further, adding Vision Booster to enhance visibility when your environment is a little too bright. The screen also reaches up to 120Hz, though the variable refresh rate helps to keep battery life in check. It’s another gorgeous screen from Samsung, which continues to shrink the gap between flagship and mid-range. It’s only the bezels that kinda give the game away here.

Samsung has also upgraded the A54’s processor, running on the 5nm octa-core Exynos 1380 – the company’s latest in-house chip. Samsung claims that this should offer 20 percent performance improvement on CPU tasks, and 26 percent improvement when it comes to GPU tasks. While it was hard to push the phone to its limits during hands-on time, we’re hoping the A54 is a little more capable than last year’s A53. Samsung has kept the battery the same size as last year, which is a good sign: two-day battery life was one of the stronger points when we reviewed the device.

Mat Smith / Engadget

When it comes to imaging, It’s another triple-camera array for this year’s A-series. There’s a 50-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization and an f/1.8 lens, which is flanked by a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a 5MP macro camera. Samsung has also kept the 32-megapixel selfie camera for the 2023 refresh. The company says the changes to the camera system include larger pixels (more detail, less noise) and enhanced optical stabilization, from 0.95 degrees of stability up to 1.5 degrees – that’s a notable improvement, especially if you’re capturing a lot of video. Samsung has also embedded Snapchat filters into the native camera app, which you can see in the main image at the top of this story. It'll sync with your Snapchat account, giving you easy access to filters across all the cameras.

In the US, the Galaxy A54 arrives in two glossy color options: black and violet. Elsewhere, you’ll be able to choose white and lime colorways. A few of our images include the Galaxy A34, which has a notch selfie camera, a slightly larger screen and a hypnotic, familiar, pearlescent finish, which I think is actually nicer than the more expensive A54. However, only the A54 is heading to the US, which will be available to preorder on March 30th before launching on April 6th for $450 – the same price as last year’s model.

Now is a good time to go shopping if you're pining for Apple's most affordable tablet. Amazon is once again selling the 10.2-inch iPad with WiFi and 64GB of storage for $250, or $79 off. The discount makes it easier to justify if you're looking for a no-frills model for reading, video chats or TV marathons.

The 10.2-inch model remains our pick for the best budget iPad for a good reason: even at its normal price, it still delivers a lot of value for the money. It's still quick for everyday tasks, and very portable. It's also particularly appealing if you prefer wired audio — it's the only remaining iPad with a 3.5mm headphone jack. It can be a better deal than the 10th-generation iPad if you're unwilling to pay for an updated design.

There are reasons you may want to pay more, of course. The 10.2-inch iPad isn't as fast as other models, and doesn't have a USB-C port, the largest screen, cutting-edge cameras or the Smart Connector for advanced keyboards. Consider the iPad Air (including refurbished units) if you want a tablet that can handle some serious productivity. For casual uses, however, there's no need to splurge.

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So this is apparently what the Google Pixel 7a will look like. Vietnamese website Zing News (via The Verge) has shared photos of what it says is a prototype of the upcoming midrange phone that programmers were using as a test device. After its owner leaked photos of it online, Google reportedly locked the phone remotely, but not before they were able to check that it was running Android 13 and had a 90 Hz screen option in the Settings app. They were also able to confirm that the device has 8 GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

As you can see, the phone comes with a camera bar like its predecessors, but it's metal with a matte finish unlike the Pixel 6a's glass bar and the Pixel 7's polished aluminum one. It seems to have two 12-megapixel cameras — one standard and one super wide angle — like the Pixel 6a, as well.

The case itself is composed of two glass sides with a metal frame that has cutouts for the speakers and the USB-C charging port at the bottom. Along its edges, there's a slot for the SIM tray that can accommodate a single physical SIM card. The owner, who reportedly purchased the device from an acquaintance, wasn't able to confirm whether it has eSIM support. On the front with with its screen switched on, it's easy to see that it still has the 6a's thick bezel and a rather large front cam cutout. 

These new images and details confirm information from previous leaks, which included renders that showed a phone that looks similar to the Pixel 6a. Older photos also showed a device with a "Smooth Display" capability, allowing users to adjust its refresh rate from 60Hz to 90Hz, which is a first for the A-series line.

Google has yet to announce the Pixel 7a, but it has historically introduced its Pixel A devices at its annual I/O event. This year, the keynote for the developer conference will take place on May 10th. 

Activision is attempting to quell anxious Call of Duty: Mobile fans after a legal filing last week suggested the studio is already planning the game's demise. In a tweet today, the Call of Duty: Mobile team said it planned to continue supporting game "for the long haul," calling it an important part of the franchise. 

The long-term future of Call of Duty: Mobile came into question on March 8th, as part of ongoing legal negotiations in the UK over Microsoft's proposal to purchase Activision-Blizzard for just under $69 billion. Microsoft has been repeatedly downplaying Activision's power in the video game industry in an attempt to thwart anti-trust concerns from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, and the studio applied the same treatment to Activision-Blizzard mobile games in a legal filing last week. 

Specifically, Microsoft's response said, "CoD: Mobile is expected to be phased out over time (outside of China) with the launch of Warzone Mobile."

Warzone Mobile is scheduled to come out this year, bringing the Call of Duty battle royale experience to Android and iOS devices. Warzone Mobile represents Activision's attempt to unify the Call of Duty franchise, sharing technology, progression, socialization and payments among the annual mainline games, Warzone and Warzone Mobile. Meanwhile, Call of Duty: Mobile has its own battle pass and seasons.

The tweet from the Mobile team is intended to keep existing players invested. It doesn't delve into specifics about how long the game's lifespan will be, and it doesn't directly address Microsoft's suggestion that the game will eventually be shut down everywhere except China. But, it promises Call of Duty: Mobile will be sticking around for a while longer.

"We ... intend to continue supporting the game with a robust roadmap of fresh new CODM content, activities and updates for the long haul," the statement said.

Unlike the iOS ecosystem, where Apple is the only game in town, one of the best things about the Android phone market is the wide range of different devices and manufacturers to choose from. That said, when it actually comes time to upgrade, that wealth of options can make it a bit more difficult to choose the right handset for you. If you’re looking for a new phone and don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered with a selection of the best Android phones for every budget.

What to look for in a new Android phone

Performance

When it comes to picking our favorite Android phones, the main things we look for are pretty straightforward: good performance (both compute and AI), a nice display, solid design, sharp cameras, long battery life and a significant commitment to ongoing software support. For performance, not only do we look at benchmarks and other metrics, but we also evaluate phones based on responsiveness. Regardless of whether you’re reading, browsing social media or playing a game, no one wants a device that feels sluggish.

Display

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

When it comes to displays, we generally prefer OLED panels that can produce rich, saturated colors with at least 600 nits of brightness, though many of our top mid-range and high-end phones can hit 1,000 nits or more. And more recently, most of our favorite devices also support screens with fast refresh rates of 90Hz or 120Hz, which adds an extra level of smoothness and fluidity.

Design

Now we will admit there is a bit of subjectivity when deciding which phones look the best, but there are other design aspects like dust and water resistance or screen durability that can make a big difference to long-term survival. It’s also important to consider things like support for wireless charging, power sharing (aka reverse wireless charging) and UWB connectivity, which can have an impact on how your phone interacts with your other devices.

Cameras

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Obviously, for photos we’re looking for sharp, colorful shots in both bright and low-light conditions. And we want video clips with high dynamic range, rich audio and smooth image stabilization. Extra cameras for ultra-wide and zoom lenses are a plus. It’s also important to consider features like dedicated night modes, support for various video recording resolutions, and additional photo modes like timelapse, slow motion and more.

Battery and software

Finally, in terms of battery life, we’re looking for all-day longevity on devices that also delivered great results on our local video rundown test (at least 16 hours on a charge, but more is obviously better). And with people holding onto their phones longer than ever, we like to see companies commit to at least three years of software support and regular security patches.

Best Android phone overall: Google Pixel 7 Pro

The Pixel 7 Pro and the standard Pixel 7 might not be the absolute fastest phones on the market, but what they lack in pure performance they make up for with thoughtful software. Thanks to Google’s Tensor G2 chip, the Pixel 7 series features powerful AI and machine learning capabilities that support things like on-device language recognition and real-time translation. You also get gorgeous OLED displays and the best overall camera quality of any smartphone available today. And with the standard Pixel 7 starting at just $600, Google’s latest flagship is an incredible value too. The main differences between the two are that the Pixel 7 Pro has a larger 6.7-inch screen and features a third rear camera with a 5x optical zoom. But regardless of whether you prefer a smaller or larger device, you can’t really go wrong with either the Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro.

Best mid-range Android phone: OnePlus 11

For those who want a phone with a big screen, solid cameras and great performance, but for less than a traditional flagship, the OnePlus 11 strikes a good balance between budget phones and more premium devices. In a lot of ways, the OnePlus 11 is like a more affordable Galaxy S23+. Not only do you get a similar 6.7-inch 120Hz display, it also features a speedy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and a big 5,000 mAh battery. Meanwhile, thanks to OnePlus’ blazing 100-watt wired charging, it juices up faster than any phone from Google or Samsung. And on the camera side, the company’s ongoing partnership with Hasselblad has resulted in notable improvements in image quality.

The main shortcomings of the OP11 are that its IP64 rating for dust and water resistance falls short of what you get from competing devices, and the camera’s 2x optical zoom lens feels a bit on the short side. But with OnePlus adding wider carrier compatibility and committing four years of OS upgrades and five years of security patches, the OP11 is a well-equipped option that costs significantly less than its rivals.

Best budget Android phone: Google Pixel 6a

If you just want a simple phone for a good price, the Pixel 6a can’t be beat. Starting at just $449, you get a vibrant 6.1-inch OLED and Google’s Tensor chip along with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. But the thing that separates the Pixel 6a from other budget phones are its cameras which, thanks to Google’s superior image processing, produce pictures that are sharper and more accurate than competitors twice its price. Meanwhile, Google’s commitment to software updates means you should get at least three years of OS support and five years of security patches. And thanks to all of the Pixel-specific software features like Call Screener, Hold For Me and the Pixel Recorder app, you can get a very affordable device with a ton of smarts.

Best premium Android phone: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Starting at $1,200, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is very expensive, but it has practically everything you could ever want or need in a smartphone. It has a huge 6.8-inch OLED display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, a total of five cameras (main, ultra-wide, 3x zoom, 10x zoom and a selfie shooter) and a built-in S Pen for drawing and note-taking. It also features a huge 5,000 mAh battery that delivers some of the longest runtime we’ve seen on any phone. And with Samsung’s renewed commitment to software support, you can expect a minimum of four major OS upgrades and five years of regular security patches.

Best foldable Android phone: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

While the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is arguably the most stylish and compact phone on the market, the bigger and more expensive Z Fold 4 is like three devices in one, which makes it a unicorn among mobile devices. When you just need to respond to a text or look up an address quickly, its 6.2-inch exterior cover screen makes that a cinch. But when you want to sit down to watch a movie or play a game, you can open up the Fold to reveal a stunning 7.8-inch flexible display. It’s compact when you need it to be, while providing an immersive viewing experience when you don’t. And thanks to support for stylus input, you even can use one of Samsung’s S Pens designed specifically for the Fold to quickly draw or jot down a note. On top of all that, its OLED display makes the Z Fold 4 great for reading books and comics. And unlike practically any other non-Samsung foldable, the Fold also has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. In a lot of ways, this thing is the Swiss Army knife of phones. Sure, it’s a bit bulky, and at $1,800 it’s not what anyone would call affordable. But its ability to serve as a phone, a tablet, an e-reader and more depending on the situation puts the Z Fold 4 in a category of its own.

Apple said it was building a standalone app for classical music when it purchased, and subsequently shut down, the Primephonic streaming service. That was 2021, and until now, we haven't known when the new software would be available. The company announced today that Apple Music Classical will be available on March 28th as part of an existing Apple Music subscription. Users on the individual, student, family or Apple One plans will get access, but customers on the Apple Music Voice Plan won't be able to use the new app. 

At launch, Apple Music Classical will be available on all iPhones that run iOS 15.4 or later. Apple says a version of the app for Android is "coming soon." The catalog includes over five million tracks spanning new releases to "celebrated masterpieces." Apple says you'll be able to stream up to192 kHz/24 bit high-resolution lossless audio quality and "thousands" of recordings are available in spatial audio. The company also explains that a portion of its classical library is "thousands" of exclusive albums. 

In addition to the music, you can expect to browse written content like composer biographies, descriptions of key works and "deep-dive guides." Apple also says it rebuilt the app's search feature specifically for classical music queries and the app will serve up over 700 curated playlists. Overall, the app carries much of the same design as the main Apple Music software, although one key change is the company has swapped out the modern sans serif font for a serif for the main titles and section headings. The navigation bar is just four buttons in Apple Music Classical — Listen Now, Browse, Library and Search — as the Radio shortcut has been removed. Lastly, the music note on the app icon has been replaced with a treble clef.

Apple is letting eager listeners "pre-order" the app starting today in the App Store. Once you do, Apple Music Classical will automatically download on launch day as long as you have Auto Update selected in iOS settings. 

Google has released Android 14 Developer Preview 2, and it's good news if you're worried someone might snoop on your data. DP2 adds a screenshot detection framework to help developers thwart hackers and spies that use screenshots to capture sensitive data. An intruder may have a harder time snooping on private chats or banking details, in other words.

The Android 14 test release also offers an iOS-like ability to limit the photos an app can use. You can restrict access to a temporary set of specific photos. You don't have to worry that a social media app will see the family photos you'd rather keep private. DP2 also refines a programming kit that lets apps use passkey sign-ins instead of less secure (and more hassle-prone) passwords.

Other upgrades are subtler. There are more efforts to boost performance by limiting the resources apps can take while running in the background. And if you've ever been irritated by notifications that refuse to go away, you'll be glad to here there are fewer non-dismissable alerts.

Android 14 is already known to include a number of other improves at this stage. It offers broader support for foldable phones and tablets, greater accessibility and per-app regional personalization. The new OS can also block the installation of 'old' apps, such as malware that targets an ancient Android version to avoid modern security checks.

The software is still very early. The first beta meant for public consumption isn't due until April, and you won't see release candidates until June. You'll need to manually download this for your Pixel (4a or later) or PC-based emulator. Google also isn't likely showing everything you can expect when the finished Android 14 arrives — we'd expect to hear more at Google I/O on May 10th. Like other developer previews, DP2 is aimed at coders who want to get an early start and are willing to live with bugs and compatibility issues. For now, you'll want to stick with Android 13 on a primary phone where reliability and app support are critical.