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Team AA: Here are our favorite phone wallpapers
Team AA: Here are our favorite phone wallpapers

Android Authority

time4 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • Android Authority

Team AA: Here are our favorite phone wallpapers

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority Whether it's our weekly Wallpaper Wednesday series or backgrounds from specific devices, we're all about sharing wallpapers with you folks. But what are our favorite wallpapers that we use on our own Android phones? Well, I asked the Android Authority team for their favorite backgrounds. Some team members used wallpapers showing their loved ones and were thus unable to share their backgrounds. Fortunately, we still had more than a few cool submissions from other members, as you can see below! Found a wallpaper you like? Then you can visit our Google Drive folder to grab full-resolution images. Hadlee Simons There are quite a few photos I like using as wallpapers on my Android phone, but here are three picks. The first photo was taken in Barcelona, looking down a road and into the city. Meanwhile, the second snap was taken in Maui, Hawaii, at sunset during the Snapdragon Summit 2023. You can never go wrong with sunsets. Finally, the third photo was taken with the Pixel 4's astrophotography mode in Sutherland, South Africa, back in 2019. This is generally considered the darkest place in the country, and I had to stand still for a few minutes while a friend took the photo. It's not the sharpest or most detailed snap, but how cool is that? The starry sky also gets a parallax effect if you enable the cinematic wallpaper option on Pixel phones, although it's quite wonky on my Pixel 7 Pro. Jonathan Feist Say what you will about AI-generated imagery, but image generators are a quick and easy way to create a wallpaper of your choosing. That's what Jonathan Feist did with these two wallpapers showing a blue dragon. These aren't the exact wallpapers he's currently using, but ones generated with a similar prompt via Gemini. Jonathan also kindly included the prompt if you like the look of these images: Please generate a realistic looking 8K image of a dragon at night. It should be a blue dragon standing on a small island that is surrounded by other small islands scattered around a really foggy lake. The lake is surrounded by Japanese bonsai type trees. There is a mountain range in the background and a full moon in the sky. The dragon should be breathing blue fire in a menacing stance. Give the dragon very realistic looking scales and skin from a lizard. Matt Horne 'These wallpapers are shots I've taken and a sample of things I like about living in Mexico,' said Deals Editor Matt Horne. 'I tend to keep each one and similar types as my wallpaper for a couple of months at a time or so.' The first photo is from a remote beach spot 'not too far from La Paz,' as Matt enjoys visiting the coast. 'Not unrelated to my beach obsession is a love of traveling to new places, and the shot of colorful houses at night was from a trip to Puebla earlier in the year,' he says of the second shot. 'I visited with my parents, and it's a nice memory.' Meanwhile, the beautiful third shot was taken from the rooftop of his apartment building in Guadalajara. Matt says the city can look 'spectacular' at sunset and that his camera roll is full of shots like this. Mishaal Rahman Is it any surprise that Mishaal shared three bugdroid-themed wallpapers as his favorite backgrounds? Either way, these are some lovely backgrounds if you want to show off your love for the Android platform. 'Two of the wallpapers (the photos of the Bot statues on pedestals) were photos that I took, edited using Xiaomi's AI photo editing features,' he explains. The third image was actually taken by Google at their MWC 2025 booth and shared with Mishaal. Very cosy! Rita El-Khoury Features Editor Rita says her three picks come from the Backdrops app, which she's been using for over a decade. In fact, she's also a paid member. 'I love the creator's sense of style, humor (as seen in the Weather Frog wallpaper), and all their unique designs. Most Backdrops wallpapers are simple but beautiful, which works really well for my default homescreen setup,' she says, adding that she usually avoids wallpapers with a busy design near the top or bottom. 'On average, I find a nice new wallpaper in Backdrops that works for me every week, and that's why I keep coming back to it. It helps that there's a lot of color (and dark if you like that), which works super well for phone photography, which I need to do a lot of.' Zac Kew-Denniss Android Authority contributor Zac Kew-Denniss comes in clutch with some real-world photos he's using as wallpapers. He says the tree photo is a favorite snap. It was taken in 2023 with a Sony Alpha 6300 camera and edited with a LUT in Pixelmator. 'The metalwork tower was taken on my S20 Ultra at the top of Blackpool Tower,' he says of the second image, while also proclaiming his love for geometric patterns in wallpapers. 'It was taken the first time I'd seen my fiance in months due to COVID restrictions.' The third image shows a leaf in the sun with a faint spiderweb, and Zac explained his decision: Took it on an iPhone 16 Pro last year on my first trip out with it, and I love the pop of colour and the way the sunlight filters through.

Pre-order Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and get a free $50 gift card!
Pre-order Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and get a free $50 gift card!

Android Authority

time6 days ago

  • Business
  • Android Authority

Pre-order Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and get a free $50 gift card!

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority Galaxy Watch 8 The new Samsung foldables are all the hype right now, but not everyone is looking to get a new phone. If you're in the market for a new smartwatch, we already love the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8. It's not even out yet, so there are no discounts on it, but Samsung is offering some nice incentives if you decide to pre-order one. You can get a free $50 gift card! Pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and get a free $50 gift card ($50 off) This offer is available from Amazon. The free $50 gift card can be used exclusively with Amazon. We're specifically referring to the 40mm version, but the 44mm model gets the same freebie. It just costs a bit more. Also, the offer applies to all available color versions. Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 40mm + $50 gift card Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 40mm + $50 gift card Brighter display, better battery life The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 offers a new 'squircle' look, with new band attachments, backed by new software, a 50% brighter display over last year's model, and a slightly larger battery. The watch is available in four configurations: a 40mm display in Wi-Fi or LTE and a 44mm display in Wi-Fi or LTE. See price at Amazon Save $50.00 Limited Time Deal! The Samsung Galaxy Watch has never looked nicer. The square bezel and circular screen (also known as' squircle') look much more like the Ultra series. Love it or hate it, it certainly looks unique, and you can tell Samsung has really polished the design here. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is 11% thinner than its predecessor. It's also built to withstand most of the dangers of life. It is IP68-rated, so water and dust have nothing on it. Additionally, it has a 50 ATM rating, so you can submerge it to 50 meters. On top of that, it gets a MIL-STD-810H certification. C. Scott Brown / Android Authority The 1.47-inch Super AMOLED display is also very bright, at 3,000 nits, which is comparable to the brightness of the highest-end smartwatches. It has a 480 x 480 resolution. This may not sound like much, but it is a small screen, so this makes for a 327 ppi pixel density, which isn't bad at all. The battery life is also pretty nice. It should last 30 hours with the always-on display enabled or about 40 hours with the feature turned off. We don't expect any actual discounts for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 to show up soon, so this is the best deal you can get right now. Go sign up for it and secure your watch! Extra deal: You get a $100 gift card with the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic! Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic + $100 Amazon Gift Card Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic + $100 Amazon Gift Card Going squircle, still Classic The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic continues the Classic lineage but with a squircle redesign. Available in Wi-Fi and LTE, with a 3,000 nit display and big 445mAh battery, enjoy all of the best Samsung smartwatch software experiences in style. See price at Amazon Save $100.00 If you want the nicer Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, this one comes with a $100 gift card. Of course, it is also pricier, starting at $499.99. What are the benefits of going with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic iteration? Well, the looks are certainly much nicer. It features a more traditional aesthetic that more closely resembles traditional watches. Additionally, the frame is made of stainless steel, instead of aluminum. It also gets twice the storage at 64GB. Hadlee Simons / Android Authority If you care for fancy features, what I like most about the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is the rotating bezel, which lets you interact with One UI 8 more intuitively. It's a nice upgrade, if you don't mind the $150 price bump. The $100 Amazon gift card reduces the difference, too.

Android's redesigned QR code scanner is finally here with one-handed improvements
Android's redesigned QR code scanner is finally here with one-handed improvements

Android Authority

time6 days ago

  • Android Authority

Android's redesigned QR code scanner is finally here with one-handed improvements

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority TL;DR Google has finally started rolling out the design refresh for Android's built-in QR code scanner, which we first spotted a year ago. The new interface brings all the buttons close to the bottom of the screen for easier one-handed use. The updated QR code scanner is not available widely, but should reach all users in the coming days. Android's built-in QR code scanner is finally getting its long-overdue design refresh, a year after we first spotted it in a teardown of a Google Play Services beta release. The updated scanner is optimized for one-handed use and has a slick new launch animation. Previously, Android's QR code scanner featured three buttons at the top, allowing users to close the scanner, enable the flashlight, and send feedback to Google. It also featured a pill-shaped button close to the bottom of the screen to help users scan QR codes from a photo. In the updated design, Google has relocated the flashlight and feedback buttons close to the bottom of the screen. AssembleDebug / Android Authority The flashlight, feedback, and 'Scan from photo' buttons are now close to where your thumb rests naturally, making them easier to access while using the phone one-handed. The revamped QR code scanner also has a cool new launch animation for the square viewfinder. Although Google included the QR code scanner redesign in the Google Play Services update changelog for May 2025, we can confirm it's only just starting to reach users. Even with the latest Google Play Services update installed, it's still not available on all of our devices, suggesting a gradual rollout. Have you received the redesigned QR code scanner on your device? Let us know in the comments, and don't forget to include your device model and Google Play Services build number. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.

I got my hands on the foldable phone rival that fixes the Galaxy Z Fold 7's biggest issues
I got my hands on the foldable phone rival that fixes the Galaxy Z Fold 7's biggest issues

Android Authority

time6 days ago

  • Android Authority

I got my hands on the foldable phone rival that fixes the Galaxy Z Fold 7's biggest issues

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is finally here, and it looks like Samsung actually tried to deliver a competitive foldable phone. The device offers a super-slim and light design, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a 200MP main camera. It's not the only book-style foldable phone to launch in July, though, as the vivo X Fold 5 has now launched in (some) global markets. And my brief time with the phone shows that this is a compelling Z Fold 7 alternative offering a few features Samsung skimped on, save for one major caveat. More durable than the Z Fold 7 Hadlee Simons / Android Authority Unbox the X Fold 5 and you'll find an extremely thin and light foldable phone that really doesn't feel much different than a conventional smartphone. It's not quite as slim and light as the Samsung foldable, coming in at 9.2mm and 217 grams (versus 8.9mm and 215 grams), but it's a negligible difference. Plus, the tapered edges make it seem thinner than it really is. However, one area where vivo has Samsung beat is durability. The X Fold 5 ships with IP5X, IPX8, and IPX9 ratings, which means it can withstand dust, water immersion, and high-pressure jets of hot water. Even the Galaxy Z Fold 7 only offers an IP48 rating, which means it can withstand water but not dust. vivo's foldable phone offers an 8.03-inch folding OLED screen (2,480 x 2,200, ultra-thin glass) with 4,500 nits of peak brightness. Peak brightness is basically a marketing gimmick, but I had no issues with viewing the display under the sun. However, I did find that the screen was a fingerprint magnet, while the crease is still noticeable. The cover display has a 21:9 aspect ratio, as seen on previous vivo foldables. This is still a little narrow for my liking, and I did fat-finger the keyboard at times. Check the rear cover and you'll find an Oreo cookie camera housing. I'd rather take this over the Z Fold 7's camera bumps, which cause Samsung's phone to rock back and forth when you tap the folded screen on a flat surface. Battery life champion? Hadlee Simons / Android Authority The X Fold 5 has a 6,000mAh battery, which is much larger than the Fold 7's 4,400mAh battery and larger than other foldable phone batteries. I haven't spent enough time with the phone to definitively ascertain endurance, but this should significantly outpace the Z Fold 7, particularly when using the folding screen. I achieved almost eight hours of screen-on time and still had 33% juice remaining when primarily using the cover screen. The phone has 80W wired charging and 40W wireless charging, and it took just 58 minutes for me to go from zero to 100% via the included charger. Not bad for a 6,000mAh battery. The vivo X Fold 5 has the largest battery we've ever seen in a foldable phone, and it takes just under an hour to fill up. vivo has settled on using last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset instead of the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip seen in the Z Fold 7. That means the Samsung phone should handily beat it in benchmarks and in some demanding apps. However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is still a powerful chip that should easily support advanced games several years from now. I haven't experienced any general performance issues, while titles like GRID Legends and War Thunder Mobile also ran smoothly. The X Fold 5 is also equipped with a pretty versatile rear camera system, consisting of a 50MP main camera (IMX921, 1/1.56-inch), a 50MP ultrawide camera, and a 50MP 3X periscope camera (IMX882). The main camera took good-quality shots in most conditions. The default image processing still leans a little too heavily on sharpening, but at least you can turn this down with a slider. Meanwhile, the ultrawide shooter is easily the weakest rear shooter, owing to color fringing and image softness. 1x 3x 6x 10x 3x 10x Selfie Ultrawide That high-resolution 3x sensor means you can generally capture good-quality 6x shots thanks to cropping. You can also get good-looking 10x shots in ideal scenarios, but I sometimes noticed blown highlights. I don't have faith that the Z Fold 7 will be able to match vivo in this regard, though. A 20MP selfie camera is available on each display. These cameras generally get the job done, but you should expect heavy noise reduction and reduced detail in mixed lighting. Some neat software tricks, but Samsung still rules the roost Hadlee Simons / Android Authority The global version of the X Fold 5 swaps out the China-only Origin OS software for Fun Touch OS 15 (Android 15). Thankfully, one of the coolest features seen in the Chinese phone is coming to global models, namely the Origin Workbench feature. Origin Workbench is a new take on app multitasking, which is accessible by swiping inward from the bottom-right corner. This reduces your app to a slightly smaller app window, and gives you space for up to four more active apps in much smaller windows on the left. A simple tap on these small app windows will let you quickly swap apps. I'm not a big fan of multitasking on smartphones, but I liked this approach. Perhaps the only downside is that the main window can feel slightly cramped with some content. Nevertheless, I wouldn't mind if Samsung brought a similar feature to its foldables. vivo's Chinese foldable also offers Apple Watch support with an update, AirPods support, and more. However, the company hasn't made these same promises for the global software. Otherwise, vivo still lags behind Samsung's foldable software in several ways. Perhaps my biggest bugbear is that per-screen customization (e.g. wallpapers, home screen layouts) is severely lacking. I'm also waiting for vivo to confirm the phone's update policy, but I doubt the company will copy Samsung and offer seven years of OS and security patches. The biggest issue is availability Hadlee Simons / Android Authority vivo says the X Fold 5 will only be available in Asian markets like India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan. That's a real disappointment as it means the Pixel 9 Pro Fold ($1799 at Amazon) and HONOR Magic V3 (£1699.99 at Honor) are among your only viable Galaxy Z Fold alternatives in Europe. Meanwhile, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is your only Fold 7 alternative in the US. This can be particularly annoying if you want a foldable phone with long battery life, dust resistance, and good camera zoom. Indian users can expect to pay Rs 149,999 (~$1,745) for the sole 16GB/512GB vivo X Fold 5. By contrast, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is notably more expensive at ~$2,036 for the base 12GB/256GB model. That's a decent chunk of change you're saving on a foldable. Nevertheless, if the X Fold 5 is available in your country, you should definitely consider it. It addresses some key Galaxy Z Fold 7 weaknesses while being notably cheaper (for a foldable). Not in a supported market? Then you should get the Z Fold 7 or wait for the HONOR Magic V5. vivo X Fold 5 vivo X Fold 5 MSRP: $1,744.00 The vivo X Fold 5 is a thin, light foldable, with amazing cameras. See price at Giztop

Never mind the Galaxy Z Fold 7, I wish Samsung copied this foldable alternative
Never mind the Galaxy Z Fold 7, I wish Samsung copied this foldable alternative

Android Authority

time7 days ago

  • Android Authority

Never mind the Galaxy Z Fold 7, I wish Samsung copied this foldable alternative

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has just launched, and it's one of the thinnest foldables yet, while offering a larger folding screen than previous models. As cool as Samsung's latest Fold is, though, I've been spending time with an old alternative to foldable phones, and I'd love Samsung to copy this trick. Yep, I'm talking about LG's Dual Screen Case. The LG Dual Screen Case was first launched in 2019 for the LG V50, and most subsequent LG flagship phones supported this accessory. The case plugged into your phone's USB-C port and gave you an FHD+ OLED screen to go with your phone's display. This enabled a foldable-style experience in some ways for just $200 at the time. That was a fair chunk of change for an accessory, but a far cry from the $1,500+ you'd pay for a brand-new foldable phone back then. So what's the benefit of this combination? Why do I love the LG Dual Screen Case? Hadlee Simons / Android Authority I often find myself using my LG V60 and the dual-screen add-on to watch YouTube on one of the screens while doing chores. Sure, I can do the same with cheap folio cases on a regular phone, but I still find it a handy feature, and it's broadly in line with the way I use Flex Mode on proper foldable phones. It also doesn't hurt that the case has a free-stop hinge, allowing the second screen to stay open at virtually any angle. My favorite use case is reading, though. I use an app called AI Reader X, as well as the Wide Mode app, which allows you to span any app across both screens to read locally downloaded ebooks across both displays like a physical book. I've spent quite a few evenings over the past six months or so reading books like this. The Kindle app for Android supports this book-style layout, but this only applies to landscape orientation or on foldable phones with squat displays (e.g. Pixel Fold, OPPO Find N2). Would you buy a Samsung phone with a dual screen case? 0 votes Yes, absolutely NaN % Maybe, it depends on price/features NaN % No, I wouldn't NaN % LG also promoted the Dual Screen Case as ideal for multitasking, as you can run an app on each panel. I don't care too much for phone-based multitasking in general, but it did come in handy recently when I ran a cooking timer on one screen while watching videos on the other display. However, I can envision this setup being very handy for people who love split-screen multitasking on foldable phones. Some LG owners use their phones and the Dual Screen Case to emulate Nintendo DS and 3DS games, too. I haven't extensively tested this scenario yet, but it's certainly worth considering if you're an emulation addict. Pros and cons of a Dual Screen Case C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Obviously, the biggest pro to using this combination is the cost. The LG V60 launched at $800, or you could buy a bundle with the case for $900 — and you can still grab this setup today for under $500 if you want to try it out. Meanwhile, the brand new Galaxy Z Fold 7 costs an eye-watering $2,000. If Samsung, or anyone else, made a $200 dual-case accessory for their regular flagships instead, we could save $100s over the cost of the latest booklet foldables while still enjoying many of the form factor's benefits. Another point in favor of the Dual Screen Case is its durability. My LG V60 case seems to have a plastic screen. However, this plastic is pretty hardy compared to the soft plastic used on foldable phones. I don't feel like I'm going to damage this screen with my fingernail. The case isn't water resistant, though, so that's something to be aware of compared to most other proper foldables. The display on the LG Dual Screen Case isn't as fragile as foldable screens. I also thought multitasking was pretty powerful here, owing to the aforementioned ability to run an app on each screen. Again, I'm not a big multitasker, but I thought the physical divide between the screens made for a more natural experience. LG also offers app pair functionality so I can launch two specific apps at once. Nice. Finally, I'm glad to see a couple of great third-party apps, like the aforementioned Wide Mode. There's also the old G8X BrowserHelper app, which opens any web links on the opposite screen (although this only seems to work with the Whale Browser app). Hadlee Simons / Android Authority There are several areas where I thought foldable phones reigned supreme, though. For one, video playback wasn't great when using both screens. You'll notice the gap between screens when playing a video across the displays. It also doesn't help that apps like VLC and YouTube don't seem to recognize Flex Mode and only play on one screen by default. I can use Wide Mode to span YouTube across both screens, but things look pretty goofy unless I use landscape orientation. You can also scroll through comments while watching a video, but the comments window runs down the right side of both screens instead of being restricted to the lower screen. And no, you won't see playback controls on the lower screen, either. Check out the image above for a better idea of what I mean. In fact, I found that virtually no third-party apps or even first-party apps are optimized to run across both screens. The Wide Mode app can only take you so far, as apps need to offer enhancements that take advantage of both displays. Otherwise, they just look stretched out. Furthermore, I had to re-activate Wide Mode every time I switched apps or unlocked my V60. I'm guessing that's a system limitation, but it can still make for a tedious experience. Finally, one other downside to this accessory is that it attaches to my V60's USB-C port. That ordinarily means I can't charge my phone, but thankfully, LG bundled a magnetic dongle for this purpose. However, the dongle is tiny, and I'll need to buy a new one if I lose it. Otherwise, I'll need to remove the case every time I want to charge my phone. At least I can still use the headphone jack while the case is attached. How Samsung could make a better Dual Screen Case Hadlee Simons / Android Authority I highly doubt Samsung would actually make a Dual Screen Case for its devices, as this would likely cannibalize its relatively meager foldable phone sales. But there are so many ways the Galaxy maker could improve upon the concept. For starters, it has a wider geographical footprint than most other smartphone brands. That means there's a good chance I'd be able to easily buy this accessory if it ever saw the light of day. Samsung also has a lot of influence and sells plenty of Android phones, so the company could push third-party developers to optimize their screens for a second-screen add-on. This includes existing partners like Google and Microsoft. I could totally see apps like Chrome, Gmail, Google Photos, and Maps being updated for a second-screen experience. In fact, Microsoft previously adapted some of its apps for the ill-fated Surface Duo phones, which featured two screens. Samsung has the market to make dual screen cases great, if it wanted to. There's even great potential for Samsung's own apps to take advantage of these screens. How about the Gallery app offering editing controls on one screen and the photo on another? Or what about Samsung Internet Browser letting you run different browser tabs on each screen? Samsung's Good Lock modules are also fantastic tools for people who want to deeply customize their phones. So a Good Lock module for customizing dual-screen behavior would be a match made in heaven for me. In any event, a Samsung-made Dual Screen Case is likely a pipe dream as the company continues its bid to make foldable phones a mainstream proposition. But LG's old accessory shows that I don't have to spend a ton of cash if I want a taste of the foldable life.

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