Chinese readers are about to lose some choice in e-books. Reutersreports Amazon is pulling Kindle products from China over the course of the next two years. The company will stop offering Kindle e-readers to local retailers as of today, and plans to shutter its digital bookstore in the country on June 30th, 2023. The Kindle app will leave Chinese online stores on June 30th, 2024, and customers will have until then to download any books they've already purchased.

Amazon will still provide warranty service and other help for Kindle e-readers, and will accept returns for "non-quality issues" for any device bought after January 1st, 2022. Hardware, apps and books will still be usable after the 2024 cutoff.

In its notice, Amazon stressed that this didn't represent a withdrawal from China. The company had a "long-term commitment" that included online shopping and smart home devices. Amazon also told Reuters that this wasn't due to censorship or other government pressure, and that it occasionally "make[s] adjustments" following reviews.

Poor sales might play a role. While Amazon is a frontrunner in the e-reader and e-book markets for numerous countries, it has struggled in China as of late. The country was once the Kindle's largest market, with internal data (obtained by Reuters) showing that it represented over 40 percent of e-reader sales in 2017. The rise of Chinese competitors like Xiaomi andTikTok parent ByteDance eroded Amazon's share, however, and iiMedia Research analyst Zhang Yi told Nikkei that the Kindle brand is now "relatively niche" in the region. The Chinese are more likely to read with their phones, and domestic e-book services like Tencent's China Literature dominate where the Kindle app isn't even in the top 10.

Amazon isn't the only American company scaling back its Chinese presence. Airbnb, LinkedIn and Yahoo (Engadget's parent company) have either limited services or withdrawn entirely. Amazon's exit from e-reading is one of the more prominent examples, though, and illustrates how difficult it can be for US firms to court Chinese audiences.

A couple of years ago, Motorola introduced its first phone with a built-in stylus, which quickly became one of the company’s best-selling handsets. And now TCL is jumping on the trend with its first attempt at making a budget Galaxy Note alternative with the $258 TCL Stylus 5G.

Featuring a large 6.81-inch FHD+ display, the TCL Stylus 5G provides ample room for things like drawing, taking notes or simply watching videos. And similar to other TCL handsets, the phone features a blue light filter and support for the company’s NXTVISION tech, which can upscale SDR content to HDR to improve things like contrast and color saturation in both movies and games.

Other specs include a 4,000 mAh battery, an octa-core Mediatek Dimensity 700 chip, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Thankfully, unlike a lot of premium smartphones, the Stylus 5G still comes with a microSD card slot for expandable storage and a 3.5mm jack for wired audio. Cameras include a 50MP main sensor in back, along with a 5MP ultrawide lens, a 2MP depth sensor and even a 2MP macro cam. Meanwhile in front, there’s a 13MP selfie shooter.

TCL

As for the stylus, just like on a Galaxy Note (or more recently, the Galaxy S22 Ultra) the TCL Stylus 5G has a built-in storage slot for its pen along with a number of pre-installed stylus apps. There’s a feature similar to Samsung’s Screen Off memo that lets you start taking notes without needing to unlock your phone first. There are also dedicated shortcuts for grabbing screenshots and creating custom GIFs. And thanks to a partnership with MyScript, the phone also comes with free subscriptions for the Nebo and MyScript Calculator apps, which allow you to convert handwritten notes or formulas into text.

Unfortunately, the Stylus 5G lacks some of the advanced functions you get on more expensive alternatives. The phone’s pen is a passive stylus, so it can’t be used as a remote camera shutter or presentation tool, and despite having 5G in its name, the phone only supports sub-6Ghz 5G. That said, TCL claims the Stylus 5G has 30 percent less latency than similarly priced rivals like the Moto Stylus 5G. So in the end, perhaps the biggest concern about the phone is limited software support, as TCL is only promising one major Android OS update and just two years of security patches.

However, if you’re looking for a super affordable phone with a built-in pen, it’s nice to see a company other than Motorola test the market with the TCL Stylus 5G. The phone is available today on T-Mobile and Metro.

If you watch YouTube on your TV, there's a good chance you're tracking down that video on your phone to leave a comment or drop a like. Now, though, you won't have to go to such great lengths. The company is rolling out a feature that lets you use your Android phone or iPhone as a second screen for YouTube's TV app. Tap "connect" in the mobile app and the video will be synced between the two devices — you can comment, donate, shop or otherwise interact with a video playing on the larger display.

You'll need to sign into the same YouTube account on both devices. The second screen feature isn't tied to specific TV platforms, though, so you shouldn't have to worry about using the 'wrong' set or media box.

The upgrade is a recognition that you often want to do more with a video than just watch it, and that you probably have your phone in hand while you're sitting on the couch. About 88 percent of people use a phone or tablet while they're watching TV, according to Nielsen data. YouTube is relatively late in that regard, but this is still a useful upgrade.

If you use Amazon’s Kindle app on Android, you may have noticed the software doesn't offer the option to buy and rent ebooks or subscribe to the company’s Kindle Unlimited service anymore. Amazon announced the change last month and more recently began notifying customers of the move via email.

If you’re curious about what’s going on, the change puts Amazon in compliance with a policy Google will begin enforcing on June 1st. Starting next month, the company will require all developers to process payments involving “digital goods and services” through the Play Store billing system. Previously, Amazon was among a handful of developers Google allowed to use third-party alternatives to collect in-app payments. Rather than give Google a commission for every ebook it sells on Android, Amazon has decided to remove purchases altogether. It has done the same in its Audible and Music apps. In the US, Amazon doesn't offer Kindle in-app purchasing on iOS either.  

It’s worth noting Amazon isn’t the only company that has stopped sales on Android. In April, for instance, Barnes and Noble removed direct purchasing from the Android version of its Nook app. Some companies have legally challenged Google on the matter, with Tinder parent company Match Group filing a suit against the search giant in May.

There’s the possibility that direct purchasing could return to Amazon’s Android Kindle, Audible and Music apps at some point in the future. In March, Google partnered with Spotify to test third-party billing systems. However, how soon that pilot could expand to include other companies is unclear.

For iPhone users looking for extra power plus wireless charging who want to stay in the Apple ecosystem, the MagSafe battery pack is the best (and only) way to go. It's pretty expensive at $99, but Amazon now has it on sale for $80 ($19 off the regular price), the cheapest we've seen it this year. 

The MagSafe battery pack snaps magnetically onto the back of all iPhone 12 or 13 models and starts charging the handset once attached with about 5 watts of power. It fits onto the back of even the iPhone 13 mini, so you can continue to use your phone with one hand while powering up. If you plug in the battery pack while charging your iPhone, you'll get up to 15W of power and you can keep track of your phone's and the battery pack's recharge on your iPhone's lock screen.

The main downside to the MagSafe battery pack is the 1,460 mAh battery that can't fully charge any of the supported iPhones, and charging speed limited to 5 watts — lower than some third-party models. If you need more juice, take a look at Anker's $60 5,000 mAh MagGo model or the bulky but powerful $60 Belkin 10,000 mAh magnetic charger and portable power bank. Apple's MagSafe model is certainly more elegant and portable than those options, so if you've been looking to buy one, it'd be best to act soon. 

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IKEA continues its foray into smart home devices with the launch of a Google Matter-ready hub called DIRIGERA and a new IKEA Home smart app. With the new device and app, the Swedish company is promising to handle more smart device segments while making device integration easier. It says the app will be "convenient, easy to navigate and user-friendly" for anyone just getting into smart home tech. 

"With the new DIRIGERA hub for smart products, users will be able to onboard all IKEA smart products to the system and steer them individually, in sets or in groups in the new IKEA Home smart app. This enables users to create different scenes with pre-set functions of the smart products and increases the personalisation options for the smart home," according to the company.

IKEA's first smart home hub/gateway TRADFRI and app launched way back in 2014, so it was long overdue for a refresh. The company said that you'll still be able to use that device, and current "products from IKEA can be connected to and work equally well with the DIRIGERA hub."

IKEA's smart home and device family continues to grow at a fairly rapid pace. Earlier this year it launched the VAPPEBY LED lamp that doubles as a Spotify-enabled Bluetooth speaker. It also recently refreshed the SYMFONISK bookshelf speaker, built in partnership with Sonos, along with smart blinds, a smart air purifier and other devices. 

The DIRIGERA hub and new IKEA smart home app will launch in October 2022, the company said. It will also unveil remote "away from home" functionality in the first half of 2023. 

If you're keeping an eye out for discounted gaming and streaming accessories, you may want to check out Amazon's deal of the day for Logitech devices. The brand's headsets, mice and streaming gadgets, such as cameras and microphones, are currently on sale for up 52 percent off — and there's less than 20 hours left as of this writing. You can get the Logitech G535 Lightspeed wireless headset for $80, which is $50 less its usual price of $130. The device comes with a USB connector and is compatible with PC, the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5. It will stay connected up to 12 meters away from the source and can last for up to 33 hours on a single charge. 

If you're looking for an even cheaper headset, Logitech's G435 Wireless over-ear headset is also currently on sale for $50, or $30 less its retail price. The Bluetooth device is compatible with PCs and smartphones, as well as PlayStation and Nintendo Switch gaming devices. It supports Dolby Atmos and Windows Sonic to deliver surround sound, and it can last for up 18 hours on a single charge.

In case ordinary wireless mice are too slow and aren't able to keep up with your games, you can pick up the Logitech G Pro wireless gaming mouse from the sale, as well. It typically costs $130, but it's currently on sale for $90. The device boasts pro-grade performance that Logitech says "overcomes the traditional limitations of wireless latency" and has a report rate connection of one millisecond.

Logitech's G920 Driving Force racing wheel and floor pedals are also currently on sale, in case you take your racing games seriously. At $70 off, you can grab a set for $230 instead of $300. It has dual-motor force feedback designed to simulate the real feel of your car and tires, and it's compatible with the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC and Mac.

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While I wasn't all that impressed with its most recent pseudo flagship phone, it appears Motorola has much bigger ambitions for its next handset thanks to the addition of a super high resolution 200-MP camera.

In a post on Weibo (via 9to5Google), the general manager of Lenovo (Moto's parent company) teased an upcoming device by showing a picture of a massive lens alongside a message about entering a new era of mobile photography. While the post doesn't shed a lot of light on potential specs, it does mention a 200-MP sensor, suggesting the use of Samsung's ISOCELL HP1 which was initially announced last fall.

That said, while putting a huge sensor on a phone is certainly intriguing, it's important to remember that there's a lot more to snapping a nice photo than packing in as many megapixels as possible. Recently, I've noticed that a lot of Moto phones including the $1,000 Edge+ have struggled with low-light photography, routinely capturing blurrier or more underexposed images than rival handsets. And while the ISOCELL HP1 supports an impressive 16x pixel binning technique that allows a 200-MP sensor to capture a 12.5-MP image with improved light sensitivity, it will still fall upon Motorola's processing to produce a sharp and well-lit final pic.

Current rumors claim Moto's upcoming 200-MP phone could be the Frontier, which was spotted back in January by TechnikNews. The phone is expected to feature a triple rear camera module with a huge main lens, along with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, 125-watt fast charging and a 6.67-inch OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate. Sadly, while all of this is speculation for now, we should know more real soon as Moto teased an announcement date for the phone sometime in July. 

Speaking of phones with new Qualcomm chips, in a separate post on Weibo, Motorola teased another upcoming device — this time a foldable — that will feature a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip. While it's too early to say for sure, all signs point to this device being the long-awaited Razr 3, which is welcome news for flippy phone fans as the previous Razr has been somewhat neglected since its last refresh back in late 2020.

But for me, the biggest takeaway is that it finally looks like Motorola may be ready to take a break from pushing out the countless rehashes that have clogged up its device portfolio in recent years. And if all this results in a true new flagship phone and a proper update to the Razr, that's something worth paying attention to. 

WhatsApp plans to end support for iOS 10 and 11. A new notification spotted by WABetaInfo prompts iPhone users to install the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system supported by their device to continue using the app after October 24th. A support article from WhatsApp notes the company recommends iOS 12 as a baseline for iPhone owners. If you’re still holding on to an iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6s, you’ll be able to continue using WhatsApp on your device, but iPhone 5 and 5c owners will need to consider upgrading to a new handset.

With the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c nearly a decade old at this point, chances are the move won’t affect too many people. When you do see an iPhone 5 out in the wild, it’s usually a hand-me-down. Still, millions of people around the world depend on WhatsApp to communicate with their friends and family, and there are bound to be at least a few iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c owners among that group.

Amazon’s new Fire 7 tablets — due to arrive this summer — will be equipped with improved software. According to a report on AFTV News. tablets will come with Fire OS 8, an entirely new version of the Fire operating system that is based on Android 11. Given that Google no longer releases security patches or updates for Android 9, this will be welcome news for Fire tablet owners.

As Liliputing points out, most of what Fire OS 8 changes bring to the table seem to be under-the-hood security updates. But users can expect a new system-wide dark mode, which might make browsing your tablet late at night a bit easier on the eyes. The new OS will also support HEIF or (High Efficiency Image File) format images, an update to JPEGs that most Apple and Android smartphones have supported since 2018. 

Fire apps will also now be able access your device’s location while running in the background, but you'll need to give permission first. The update also includes a new set of privacy controls, including one-time permissions on location tracking. For a more nuanced breakdown of what to expect in Fire OS 8, check out Amazon’s updated developer guide.