A complete guide to Apple Subscription Services: Pricing, Availability, and more

Apple has a long history when it comes to online services — both free and paid ones. Over time, some were discontinued, while others have evolved into upgraded versions that better serve the modern world and suit users’ needs. One of the most known services today is iCloud. It allows users to store up to 5GB of data in the cloud for free. However, there are plenty of other ones to discover and know about. Whether you have an iPhone 13 or a MacBook Pro 2021, here’s a complete guide to Apple Subscription Services.

Navigate this guide

• Separate Services
  • iCloud+
  • Music
  • TV+
  • TV Channels
  • Podcasts
  • Arcade
  • News+
  • Fitness+
• Apple One Bundles
  • Individual
  • Family
  • Premier

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Separate Services

iCloud+

Apple launched iCloud back in June 2011. It came as a polished service that bundles some of MobileMe’s features with new ones. MobileMe was first introduced in June 2008 as a push-focused service. So users wouldn’t have to initiate a connection to get new emails and keep their contacts up to date on all devices. MobileMe was then discontinued by the end of July 2012, as iCloud offered a stabler, more feature-rich experience.

iCloud offers all users 5GB of free cloud storage. It’s also behind the data sync mechanism between Apple devices, when enabled. You can store data including:

• Documents
• Photos and videos
• Messages
• Mail
• App data
• Health records
• iDevice full backups
• Calendars
• Notes
• Contacts
• Safari bookmarks and configurations
• Siri personal knowledge

iCloud is one of the notable services that powers up the Apple ecosystem. The sync between devices is instant and automatic. While many users take advantage of it for free, a lot find themselves facing the “iCloud Storage Is Full” alert. Apple allows users to expand their cloud storages to 50GB, 200GB, or 2TB for a monthly fee of $0.99, $2.99, or $9.99 respectively.

iCloud+ is the rebranded iCloud paid storage expansion feature that brings more features to the table. When users upgrade to an iCloud+ plan, they can take advantage of Private Relay, Hide My Email, and HomeKit Secure Video, in addition to the extra storage. Once a user upgrades, all iCloud Family members can optionally take advantage of them. It’s worth mentioning that some features are unavailable in some regions. If you’re not sure what this is all about, we have prepared for you a guide on iCloud+.

Music

Apple’s music streaming service launched back in June 2015. To compete with Spotify, the company initially offered new subscribers 6 months for free. Apple eventually dropped it to 3 months instead. However, users can still claim the 6-month free trial with select AirPods and Beats purchases.

The service is available in over 150 regions, but the catalog varies by country. In the US, there are over 90 million songs and 30 thousand curated playlists. Once you subscribe, you can play any of the available content, add them to your library or playlists, or download them for offline listening.

Some songs on Apple Music come with lyrics view, Dolby Atmos, and Lossless Audio support. So if you’re playing a supported song, you can sing along, listen in Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, and make sure the quality matches that recorded at the studio.

Apple Music is Siri-enabled, so you can control your queue using just your voice. Whether you’re on your iPhone, Apple Watch, or HomePod, you can ask the virtual assistant to play whatever you feel like listening to. The service also offers live radio stations, so you can listen to random music, interviews, and other radio programs.

There are four plans to choose from when subscribing to this service:

• Voice — $4.99/month: This plan allows users to access Apple Music by asking or typing to Siri. It includes the entire music catalog but has some limitations, such as accessing your music and the number of downloads you’re allowed to have. It’s perfect for someone who depends more on playlists and radio stations, rather than building their own libraries and wants an ad-free experience. It’s worth mentioning that this plan only works on Apple devices and doesn’t support lyrics view, Dolby Atmos, and Lossless Audio.
• Student — $4.99/month: This plan allows users to access the same privileges of the Voice plan and more for the same price. Students have to verify their education emails to redeem the offer. However, they can only take advantage of it for up to 48 months in total. A Student plan shares the same features as the Individual plan but for a discounted price. This includes better library management, access on non-Apple devices, lyrics view, Dolby Atmos, Lossless Audio, downloading up to 100,000 songs, and more. This plan also includes free Apple TV+ access, as an exclusive perk when it comes to Apple Music plans.
• Individual — $9.99/month: This plan includes all Apple Music features with no restrictions. It’s essentially the same as the Student plan but for double the cost and without free Apple TV+ access.
• Family — $14.99/month: This plan allows up to six iCloud Family members to share an Apple Music subscription. Each member will get their own private, independent user library and personal recommendations. Just like the Student and Individual plans, there are no restrictions in this plan.

You can use the service on Apple devices, web browsers, Windows computers, Android phones and tablets, certain smart speakers and TVs, and consoles.

TV+

This service was first announced back in March 2019. It was made available to users in November of that year. At first, the catalog was limited and had very few shows and movies. However, it has slowly grown, and Apple promises new original content every month. Initially, Apple offered 1-year free trials to those who buy eligible devices, but now it has switched to 3-month trials. This change makes sense, considering not many TV series were available when the service first debuted. Now TV+ is mature and has more to offer.

Apple TV+ is available for free when you subscribe to Music’s Student plan. Otherwise, you will have to pay $4.99 per month in the US, following a 7-day trial. Apple only offers one TV+ plan, so for the $4.99 monthly fee, you can share the subscription with your entire iCloud Family. Of course, individual watch histories and recommendations are private and not shared across the family.

This service can be accessed on Apple devices, web browsers, certain smart TVs and sticks, consoles, and through AirPlay-enabled screens. Unlike Apple Music, a dedicated app isn’t available on Windows and Android.

TV Channels

Apple TV Channels allow users to further subscribe to various channels and streaming services directly from within the Apple TV app. Each channel offers different content, features, free trials, and price tags. Some support live TV and on-demand titles, while other ones are exclusively on-demand. Channels usually include free trials, with the most common ones being 1 week or 1 month.

You can access channels from the TV app on Apple devices. Once you add series and movies to the Up Next queue, the watch history will sync across all of your Apple devices. And when a user subscribes to a channel, all iCloud Family members can watch for free on their respective devices.

Channels include popular services, such as Paramount+, AMC+, Epix, Starz, and Showtime. These subscriptions make it easier to access all of the content you watch from one place — the Apple TV app. This way you have a universal queue for everything you’re keeping up with, and you don’t have to switch to a different streaming app when you’re done with a certain show. Additionally, this spares you the hassle of having to create an account for each individual service. You only need your Apple ID, and the billing is done to the card associated with it.

Podcasts

Apple announced Podcast Subscriptions earlier this year. They allow users to subscribe to a certain channel or podcast for exclusive content. Just like Apple TV Channels, the content, free trial length, and price tags differ, depending on the channel or podcast.

If you’re an avid podcast listener, these subscriptions will give you further access to your favorite creators’ releases. From news, to informative and entertaining podcasts, there’s something for everyone. The best part? Once you subscribe, your entire iCloud Family will get to listen for no additional charges.

Arcade

Apple launched Apple Arcade in over 150 countries back in 2019. It’s available for $4.99 per month in the US and supports iCloud Family sharing. When buying an eligible Apple device, you get a 3-month free trial. The service currently offers over 200 ad-free games that you can play offline and have no in-app purchases. iCloud will also sync your progress across your Apple devices.

This subscription service offers both old, remastered games, such as Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition and new releases such as Creaks from Amanita Design. Game developers aren’t allowed to release any of the Arcade titles on Android. So you will find them either exclusively on Arcade or on PC and consoles as well. Apple continues to add new games to the catalog every month.

Most games offered through the service are available on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, with some titles also available on tvOS. Once you subscribe, you can play for as many hours as you’d like. However, if you cancel your subscription, you will lose access to them all, until you start paying again. So you’re basically renting the games for as long as you want to pay. None of the games on Arcade are available as a one-time purchase on the App Store. So if you like a particular game, you’re locked into paying until you’re bored of it. Alternatively, you can check if it’s available on PC or console to avoid the subscription business model.

News+

News+ is an upgrade to the free News service that Apple offers. It’s available in four regions only — US, Canada, UK, and Australia. With this $9.99/month subscription, you and your family members can access over 300 titles, both online or off. The newspapers catalog includes The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and The Times of London. While available magazines include People, Vanity Fair, and National Geographic.

Apple News allows you to follow topics and channels for free, but if you’d like to access the content ad-free, in addition to the popular newspapers and magazines, then you will have to pay the monthly fee. You can read from iPhone, iPad, or Mac, so your reads follow you wherever you go. The subscription also includes News+ Audio, which allows you to listen to the latest stories when you can’t read.

Fitness+

Apple Fitness+ was released at the very end of 2020. It’s a guided fitness solution powered by the Apple Watch. The service is currently available in over 20 countries, and it costs $9.99/month in the US. Alternatively, you can pay $79.99/year if you believe you will stay committed. Those who buy an eligible Apple Watch will get a 3-month free trial instead of a 1-month one. You can share the subscription across your entire iCloud Family.

This service includes over 11 workout types, including HIIT, Yoga, Strength, Core, and more. Apple adds over 25 new workouts every week, and their durations vary between 5 and 45 minutes. So there’s a workout for everyone! You can also watch or listen to guided meditation sessions that help you wind down.

Fitness+ is available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, and it requires an Apple Watch to work. A native app isn’t available on macOS, but you can AirPlay your iDevice’s screen to your Mac. However, when you mirror the screen, only the video playback will be reflected. Metrics such as your Activity Rings and heart rate will unfortunately disappear.

The service offers filters and smart suggestions so you can spend your time and energy working out — rather than looking for the perfect workout. With about two dozen coaches, you can also stick to the ones you vibe with the most. It’s worth mentioning that workouts include three coaches each — the main one, in addition to two others for those looking for easier and harder variations of the same exercise.

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Apple One Bundles

Apple One bundles include several Apple subscription services for a discounted price. It launched at the end of 2020, and there are 3 different plans to choose from. These bundles are available in over 100 regions, but service availability and prices differ.

Individual

For $14.95 a month in the US, this plan bundles Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+ (50GB). If you already subscribe to these services individually, switching to Apple One Individual saves you $6 per month. However, you won’t be able to share any of the services with your iCloud Family, as its name suggests.

Family

Apple One Family bundle includes the same services offered in the individual plan, but iCloud+ gets an upgrade to 200GB instead of 50GB. You can obviously share this plan with your iCloud Family members. It costs $19.95 per month in the US, so by subscribing to it, you’re saving $8 monthly.

Premier

This plan bundles all of the services offered through the other plans and more. iCloud+ gets an upgrade to 2TB, and users get access to Apple News+ and Apple Fitness+ as well. For $29.95/month in the US, users can save $25 monthly by avoiding individual service subscriptions. And of course, you can share this bundle with your entire iCloud Family.

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If you subscribe to all Apple services, I would recommend switching to the Apple One Premier bundle. For less than $30 per month, you get access to everything from Apple and save $25 a month from the otherwise cumulative total of individual subscriptions. However, that excludes channels on the TV and Podcasts apps, since they’re offered by third parties. You will always have to subscribe to those individually, if you’re interested.

Which Apple services are you subscribed to? Let us know in the comments section below.

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The New motorola edge has a 108MP Camera, 144Hz Display, and it’s $100 off

motorola has a second-generation edge phone that comes equipped with some of the latest flagship features, at a serious bargain. This Nebula Blue phone has a strong focus on photography, with a 108MP camera that captures amazing detail. The other key aspect of this device is the display which has a 144Hz refresh rate. Your media will look ultra-smooth on this phone, making it a great option for mobile gamers.

Save $100 on the new motorola edge

With the current discount, you can save $100 on this phone when you order it from the motorola website. The total, when combined with the discount, comes to $599.99. This makes it a very competitive price for phones with similar specs. This phone presents a great opportunity for people to get their hands on some of the latest smartphone features, without paying those $1,000+ flagship price tags.

 

motorola edge

Specification	motorola edge (2021)
Display	6.8-inch “Max Vision” LCD Full HD+ resolution Up to 144Hz refresh rate
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
RAM & Storage	6/8GB RAM 128/256GB storage
Battery & Charging	5000mAh 30W wired charging
Rear Camera(s)	Sensors 108MP Ultra Pixel camera 8MP ultra wide-angle camera 2MP depth sensor; f/2.4 aperture; 1.75μm pixel size Video Up to 4K resolution at 30fps Up to 720p resolution at 960fps Super Slow Motion
Front Camera(s)	32MP with Quad Pixel technology HDR in portrait mode
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.2 NFC
Software	Android 11 out of the box

Jaw-dropping Photos & Videos

The main camera on the motorola edge 2021 edition, is a 108MP sensor. Capture true-to-life images with incredible detail and clarity. Get 4x more content in your shot when you use the ultrawide lens, or take advantage of the macro feature to get close-up shots on small objects. The depth sensor is able to give you adjustable background blur on your photos, resulting in some fantastic-looking bokeh.

A total of three sensors make up the main camera setup, but the selfie camera is also very impressive. The front 32MP camera uses Quad Pixel technology to give you the ability to capture detailed photos in low light. A built-in Face Beauty mode will help you capture the perfect selfie, and smooth out wrinkles or blemishes that can often be amplified by smartphone cameras.

Video can be captured in 4K while using plenty of different camera modes to get the perfect shot. The Super Slow Mo feature will let you capture footage at 960FPS, creating amazing video. Check out the video below to see it in action.

Ultra-smooth Display

The motorola edge has a large 6.8″ display with a resolution of 1080×2460. While the resolution is pretty standard on phones in this price range, the refresh rate is what takes this display to another level. 144Hz of buttery smooth visuals bring the Android operating system to you in a way you might not have experienced before. Scrolling through apps, playing games, and watching videos look amazing on the Motorola edge. Combine the 144Hz refresh rate with the HDR10 compatibility, and you’ve got yourself one of the best smartphone displays you can have in 2021.

Built for Speed

In order for you to get the most out of the impressive display on this phone, motorola has equipped this device with the specs you’ll need for the best performance. The Snapdragon 778G 5G is paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. You’ll be able to store plenty of media and apps on your device while getting amazing performance out of your system.

“Enjoy elite gaming and up to 55% faster graphics and processing with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Mobile Platform. Connect with 5G1 networks for superfast downloading and streaming, plus enjoy 3x faster speeds with Wi-Fi 6.”

motorola

Take advantage of the $100 discount on the 2021 motorola edge, and order one today from the official website here.

We thank motorola for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.

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Android 12 Review: My favorite iteration of Android yet

Android 12 has been here for about a month, and I’ve been using it as my daily driver on the Google Pixel 6 Pro since its launch. Android 12 represents API level 31, and it arrived in the form of an AOSP source code drop a few weeks before rolling out to Pixel smartphones.

In previous years, the new Android version would roll out to previous Pixel phones ahead of the launch of whatever new device is coming, but Google held back this time around. The cynic in me feels that it was for marketing purposes — after all, the entire tagline for the Pixel 6 series was that it was “For All You Are” with a heavy focus on personalization. Given that Android 12 is all about personalization, I don’t really think it’s controversial to think that Google intentionally held back the Android 12 Pixel rollout in order to reveal it alongside a new smartphone with a completely new look and feel when compared to its predecessors.

There’s a lot to delve into when it comes to Android 12, and while I’m comfortable in saying it’s my favorite Android version from an aesthetic point of view, I’m unsure if it’s my favorite overall. Google continues to blur the lines of what’s a Pixel-exclusive feature and what’s an Android 12 feature, but everything that I’ve identified as a Pixel exclusive feature will be identified as such.

Navigate this review:

• Material You and other UI changes
  • Quick Settings
  • Widgets
  • Pixel Launcher (Pixel-exclusive)
  • Recents URL sharing (Pixel-exclusive)
  • Other changes
• Performance class
• Privacy
  • Privacy Dashboard
  • Reduced location access
  • Clipboard access notification
  • Camera and microphone access
  • Private Compute Core (Pixel-exclusive)
• Under-the-hood changes in Android 12
  • The introduction of the Generic Kernel Image
  • Phantom processes

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Material You and other UI changes

By far the biggest change in Android 12 is Material You

By far the biggest change in Android 12 is Material You, the latest version of Google’s Material design language. Material You, as Google describes, “seeks to create designs that are personal for every style, accessible for every need, alive and adaptive for every screen.” When developing Android 12, Google created a new theme engine code-named “monet” that generates a rich palette of pastel colors derived from the user’s wallpaper. These colors are then applied to various parts of the system and their values are made available through an API that the user’s applications can call, thus letting apps decide whether they want to recolor their UI. Google has been going all-in on Material You, and the company has updated most of its apps to incorporate dynamic colors.

If you want to learn more about it, you can check out our explainer of how Material You works.

Quick Settings

Android 12’s quick settings seem to be extremely polarising. There are some pretty big buttons, a whole new opening animation, and everything is very rounded. I love the new pull-down animation, though I miss the gaussian blur behind the notifications. The solid color doesn’t do it for me, even if it is also Material You inspired. Still, this new pull-down animation is one of my favorite animations in all of Android.

I think that Android 12's notifications and quick settings look a whole lot nicer

When compared to Android 11, I think that Android 12’s notifications and quick settings look a whole lot nicer. I know that there are a lot of arguments saying that you lose out on useful space (it does drop from six easily accessible settings to four), but you also gain additional space in the pull-down menu. There are now eight options as opposed to six, and the six that were previously shown were just the same six that were quickly accessed anyway. In other words, to access the next two settings, on Android 11 you needed to pull down, pull down again, and then swipe across. On Android 12, you just need to pull down, pull down, and then you already have access to two more toggles than you would have had previously.

To be honest, I also think it’s probably better if the buttons contain the name of the function, too. I’m a power user, so I know what the icons mean, but does everyone really? I’m sure some of the basic ones like Wi-Fi nearly everyone could hazard a guess at, but the do-not-disturb option, in particular, is one that I could see confusing people. There’s also a power button that brings you to a power menu, though the default behavior from Android 12L is that the power button in the quick settings will open up the Assistant first unless you long tap it.

I think that the most redundant addition to the quick settings has to be the Google Pay card. You don’t ever need to open Google Pay to pay with your card, as it works from any screen on your phone at any time. The only time you’ll really ever need to open it is to choose a specific card if you want to use one that isn’t your default, but how often do most people do that? I also don’t really ever use the smart home device controls option, as my lights are voice-activated. I access the device controls part of my phone maybe once a week at most.

Another controversial change made in Android 12 is how you switch off Wi-Fi on an Android 12 device. Tapping the internet quick settings tile will bring you to another menu where you can toggle your mobile data, your Wi-Fi, or select another Wi-Fi network.

If I’m honest, I personally do prefer this change over what it once was, but I can understand the frustration thanks to the introduction of an extra button tap. From my own experience, I feel that it makes sense for Wi-Fi and mobile data to be under the same umbrella. However, if you want to get back a dedicated button to toggle your Wi-Fi, Mishaal Rahman shared a command on Twitter that you can execute via adb to get it back.

adb shell settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles "$(settings get secure sysui_qs_tiles),wifi"

Overall, I think that the new notifications drawer and quick settings are well designed, and I do prefer both of them, even if I would have liked to see the apps behind my notifications akin to previous Android versions. I think that a lot of these changes make sense, and I don’t necessarily buy into the hatred of some of them.

Widgets

Google’s suite of apps has a ton of Android 12 Material You-compatible widgets, and they all take after whatever the dominant system theme is. They can be sometimes slow to change to fit the rest of the system theme, but they adjust based on where they’re located on the home menu, too. I still don’t really ever use Android’s widgets (I don’t spend a lot of time on my home screen or really care about making it look fancy anymore), but for people that do, you might like these changes.

Google announced an overhaul of widgets in Android 12, and the company definitely delivered. To align with the visual changes in Android 12, Google is encouraging developers to implement widgets with rounded corners with padding. The Widgets API was reworked entirely in order to enhance user experience across multiple platforms, Android variants, and launchers. Widgets got more dynamic controls that allow you to interact with checkboxes, radio buttons, and switches right from your home screen. The widget picker even offers responsive previews.

The new API also adds support dynamic coloring as part of the Material You theming engine, allowing widgets to adapt to the wallpaper, like other visual elements. Google has also removed the required configuration step when placing a widget on the home screen and has added a new API to construct backward-compatible widgets.

Interestingly, the information from widgets can now be accessed by Google Assistant to offer quick insights using the Capabilities API. In a blog post, Google noted that the Assistant would be able to provide users with “one shot answers, quick updates, and multi-step interactions” by glancing over the information available in widgets.

Pixel Launcher (Pixel exclusive)

The Pixel Launcher is obviously a Pixel exclusive feature, and it’s as barebones as ever. There’s a search bar permanently stuck at the bottom of the screen, an at-a-glance widget at the top, and the Google app sits to the left of the home screen. It’s simplistic and it works, but I know a lot of people would prefer to be able to remove the Google search bar.

The Pixel launcher comes with the ability to offer up suggestions of apps to launch, both in the dock at the bottom and in the full-length app drawer. App suggestions are powered by artificial intelligence and are based on your phone’s usage. I’ve noticed that the apps at the bottom often differ from the recommended apps in the app drawer, suggesting that the recommended apps in both of these places are calculated differently.

The Pixel Launcher also allows for changing the app grid size, enabling themed icons, and switching between a dark and a light theme. The themed icons are marked as “beta” which… is good because they don’t look great. I like the idea that Google is going for with them as they’re Material You themed, but they don’t look good, especially when unsupported apps are shown right beside them.

The Pixel Launcher is very much the iOS launcher of the Android world

The app drawer also has a Pixel-exclusive device-wide search that’s available for more than just searching in your apps. This is called “Universal Search”, and it’s built on the AppSearch service, meaning that other OEMs could easily build a feature like this into their variants of Android if they wanted. It can search through contacts, apps, app shortcuts, settings, and more. It’s great for finding your playlists on Spotify, for example. You can enable a feature so that every time you pull up your app drawer, your keyboard will also be raised and you can immediately start typing. I tried using this for a while but eventually turned it off.

The Pixel Launcher is very much the iOS launcher of the Android world. It lacks quite a lot of customization that we’ve come to expect from the likes of Nova Launcher or any of the other best Android launchers you can get. Some people like that simplicity, and while I don’t mind it, having options to play around with is cool.

Recents URL Sharing (Pixel exclusive)

Recents URL sharing is a Pixel-exclusive feature that allows users to share links to recently viewed web content straight from the recent screen. Any app can enable it, but it’s enabled by default in Google Chrome, and it’s a quick and easy way to share links across applications and adds even more functionality to the Recents menu.

Other changes

My biggest gripe with Android 12 is the change in how battery statistics are displayed. Particularly as a reviewer, these are extremely problematic for a number of reasons. Not only are the axes not labeled in any way, but the data is so much less usable than before. My app usage over the past 24 hours doesn’t reset after charging my phone, meaning that I can no longer show screenshots of battery statistics after a day of usage. I’ve resorted to using another app, GSam, just to collect data for battery statistics. It’s made even worse because each bar is a two-hour gap, which offers me practically nothing. It’s almost insulting that Google added that functionality as if it’s an improvement over older Android versions. That part is a Pixel exclusive by the way — you can’t tap those bars in Android 12 by default.

Another small gripe that I have is that the under-display fingerprint scanner doesn’t show up at the same time as the pattern keyguard. You can either input a pattern or put in your fingerprint, and if you swipe up to access your pattern, you then need to swipe back to access your fingerprint sensor. Why can’t both be enabled? It would make more sense and be more cohesive, especially because the keyguard itself doesn’t take up a lot of space. It feels like a weird decision, especially when other OEMs have figured this out already.

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Performance class

The Android Compatibility Definition Document is an important part of the Android ecosystem. In order to maintain consistency in APIs and platform behavior between Android devices, Google bundles the distribution of Google Mobile Services (which includes applications and frameworks like the Google Play Store and Google Play Services) with license agreements mandating that devices adhere to the rules under Google’s “Android Compatibility Program” (among other requirements). The Android Compatibility Program consists of multiple automated test suites and a set of rules enumerated in the CDD (CDD PDF for Android 12 available here).

In the case of Android 12, there are a couple of changes that the CDD outlines, but most are pretty small or really only have an impact on OEMs. One of the biggest changes we’ve seen was the introduction of a “performance class” that can be defined in the build properties of an Android smartphone. Google already announced this alongside the release of Android 12 Beta 1, and it’s an easy way for developers to check how fast an Android smartphone actually is. On the Android Developers page, Google says that each version of Android has its own corresponding performance class, which means there’s a performance class for Android 12 and there’ll be one for Android 13, 14, and so on.

Performance classes are forward-compatible. This means that a device can upgrade to a new Android version without changing its performance class, but it also means that devices can change their class if they meet the requirements of that new OS version. Some key requirements for performance class 12 are below.

Performance class 12 key requirements

• At least 6GB of RAM
• At least 400dpi and 1080p resolution
• At least 120MB/s sequential write, 250MB/s sequential read, 10MB/s random write, and 40MB/s random read speeds
• Must have (at minimum) a 12MP rear camera capable of 4K 30 FPS recording
• Must have (at minimum) a 4MP front-facing camera capable of 1080p 30 FPS recording

Performance classes may be useful for app developers to improve the overall experience on not just devices meeting the “performance class” spec, but also for lower-end phones. If an app detects a phone doesn’t meet the requirements for a “performance class” device, they can turn off certain, more demanding features or visual effects in order to improve the way that the app works on lower-end phones. Likewise, it can also detect if it’s running on one of the best Android phones, in which case, it can enable high-performance features.

In the past, we’ve seen Google attempt to define different types of minimum hardware for particular functions. Remember Google’s Daydream VR? The company set out a minimum compatibility requirement in the CDD for Daydream-compatible devices with the launch of Android 7.1 Nougat. Some of those requirements included a physical core requirement, Vulkan support, screen size minimum and maximum, HEVC and VP9 support, and more. This is clearly an evolution of that concept, though applied more broadly across the Android ecosystem.

Confusingly, performance classes seem to be released in tandem with Android versions but also operate independently of them. A device on Android 12 can launch with performance class 12, and then upgrade to Android 13 in the future but maintain its older performance class. A performance class for Android 11 was defined retroactively in the CDD.

The purpose is a confusing one, but it seems to just be a minimum specification that apps can check out and see if they’re running on a reasonably powerful device or not. I’m not sure what exact way an app developer would make use of these specifications, but I think that additional information about the device being made available to app developers is ultimately a good thing, even if it likely needs to be fleshed out and given a particular purpose. It seems that right now, it’s primarily aimed at “media performance”, which explains why a lot of the focus is on storage speed, screen resolution, and camera capabilities.

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Privacy

Privacy has increasingly been one of Google’s biggest focuses over the past few years. Over 2.5 billion devices are running Android around the world, and such a big install base means there’s a lot of unwanted interest from threat actors. That’s why each new version of Android adds features to ensure your sensitive information is available only to you. Android 12 introduces a ton of new privacy-related changes. Not only is there the new headlining Privacy Compute Core (currently a Pixel-exclusive), but there’s also the Privacy Dashboard, camera and microphone indicators, location controls, and more.

Over 2.5 billion devices are running Android around the world

Privacy Dashboard

This new privacy dashboard screen gives users information on how frequently components such as the camera, microphone, and location are accessed by apps, and it also lets users know which apps are accessing them, how often they’re accessing them, and lets users revoke those permissions if they think they’re accessing them too often. It’s a fantastic addition that makes it really easy to see how vital permissions are accessed by various different apps.

Reduced location access

Android 12 has introduced the ability to give apps an “approximate” location rather than a precise location. For example, think about your weather app. Does it really need to know your exact address? Generally not, and it makes more sense that all it might need is knowledge of your general locality. This concept has been implemented in Android 12 so that you can decide whether an app gets access to your precise location or an approximate location.

Clipboard access notification

Google added a toast message that appears when an app accesses your clipboard. We’ve all stored sensitive data on our clipboard before, generally because we need to copy that data from one place to another. However, previous to Android 12, apps could access the clipboard at will, and there was no way to know if and when they were doing it.  The toast does not show if the request to access the clipboard originates in the same app that it was copied in.

Camera and microphone access

You can cut-off camera and microphone access from your phone’s quick settings with ease, and the best part is that the system handles it for you. As a result, apps will gracefully handle the cutoff and won’t crash if you suddenly revoke access, so long as they follow best practices. For example, apps will just see a black viewfinder when camera access is disabled. These toggles are not in the quick settings by default and need to be dragged out manually. In my opinion, I feel that privacy-centric features such as these should be surfaced and made much more prominent to the end-user so that they know they exist.

Private Compute Core (Pixel-exclusive)

Private Compute Services is said to provide a privacy-preserving bridge between the Private Compute Core and the cloud, making it possible to deliver new AI models and other updates to sandboxed machine learning features over a secure path. Google says communication between features and Private Compute Services happens over a set of purposeful open-source APIs, which removes identifying information from data and applies privacy technologies like Federated Learning, Federated Analytics, and Private information retrieval. If you want to learn more about this, you can check out our explainer of everything we know about the private compute core in the Google Pixel 6 series.

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Under-the-hood changes in Android 12

The introduction of the Generic Kernel Image

Google has been working on reducing fragmentation on Android for years, though part of the cause of that is the inherent nature of Android. There are countless OEMs active in the space, and all of them want to make their own modifications for their own devices. The problem then is that it looks like Android OS updates are slow to roll out across the board, but there’s not a lot that Google can actually do to force OEMs to update their devices. As such, the next best thing that Google can do is make the update process as easy as possible.

In order to address this fragmentation, Google worked on the Android Generic Kernel Image (GKI). This is essentially a kernel compiled straight from an ACK branch. The GKI isolates SoC vendor and OEM customizations to plugin modules, eliminating out-of-tree code and allowing Google to push kernel updates directly to the end-user. For over a year, Google has been working on a way to deliver GKI updates via the Play Store, through the use of a Mainline module. Be sure to check out how the Generic Kernel Image is the next step towards solving Android’s fragmentation problem.

Phantom processes

Android 12 introduced a couple of restrictions on background processes; the first is that child processes of apps consuming too much CPU in the background will be killed if the parent process is also in the background. The second restriction introduced is a limit on the number of child processes that can be active at any given time. From the commit history, it would appear that Google was trying to clamp down on rogue background processes.

“Apps could use Runtime.exec() to spawn child process and framework will have no idea about its lifecycle. Now track those processes whenever we find them – currently during the cpu stats sampling they could be spotted. If it’s consuming too much CPU while its parent app process are also in the background, kill it. By default we allow up to 32 such processes; the process with the worst oom adj score of their parents will be killed if there are too many of them.”

Of course, Android smartphones are already notorious for background app killing. Pretty much all major OEMs engage in it in some way, shape, or form, and companies like OnePlus, Samsung, and Xiaomi are considered amongst the worst. While AOSP has some background app restrictions, it’s typical of manufacturers to build their own restrictions on top of AOSP. However, these are pretty strict limitations for power users and encourage behaviors that power users have been vocally against for a long time. Maybe it will increase battery life in the long run, but it’s a rather user-hostile approach.

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Android 12 is my favorite iteration of Android yet

Android 12 is the most polished and most complete version of Android yet

When it comes to Android versions, Android 12 is the most polished and most complete version of Android yet, in my eyes. Aside from some of Material You’s woes, color theming is fantastic, and I really enjoy how the phone tunes itself to fit me. Nearly all of these changes, from privacy and security to under-the-hood improvements, are good for the end-user, and ultimately go a long, long way into maturing the Android platform.

Is there a point wherein it’s change for the sake of change? Maybe, but I’m not quite sure that we’ve reached that yet. Android 11 looked good, but it also looked very barebones. Visual clutter is bad, and I feel that Android 12 manages to achieve a new, updated look without adding any additional clutter. Having said that, I understand the arguments regarding wasted space — I just don’t really care enough about it. My phone still works, it looks prettier, and I think it’s a more palatable look to the average (read: not enthusiast) user.

A lot of these changes will need to be improved upon in Android 13. I don’t necessarily feel like I’m using a beta, but it feels like Google can do more. It feels like there’s more that needs to be done, and there’s more that will be done.

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Shure’s priciest yet amazing IEMs are now available at significantly lower prices

Shure is a pretty well-known brand in the audio space, thanks to the company’s high-end offerings. While most of what they have for sale is considerably pricey, for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you can pick up a pair of some of their most expensive in-ear monitors for significantly less than usual. These are some of the best wired earphones that you can get.

The Shure SE215 earphones are down from $100 to $80, the SE425 are down from $270 to $200, the SE545 are down from $450 to $360, and the SE846 are down from an astonishingly high $1124 to “just” $800.

Shure SE215 PRO

The Shure SE215 Pro are the cheapest Shure earphones here, and they're still going to be a lot better than a lot of the competition. They pack great sound and not much else -- if you want any additional bells and whistles, you're going to have to spend more.

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Shure SE425

The Shure SE425 are a slightly more expensive pair of earphones than the SE215, and they come with a detachable cable. That means if it breaks, you can easily replace it and not need to shell out for the full price of a new set of earphones.

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If neither of these earphones are professional enough for you, then be prepared to splurge. The SE215 are likely more than most consumers need, and upgrading to the SE425 will net you support for a detachable cable, too. That means if they break, you can just replace the cable and keep using them as usual.

Shure SE535

The Shure SE535 are a step up from the previous two, and are aimed at major audio enthusiasts. Costing $360, though, these are pretty pricey offering. They also have a detachable cable

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Shure SE846

The Shure SE846 are aimed at the most enthusiastic of enthusiasts. These cost $800, and they have all the bells and whistles that you'd expect for that price. A detachable cable, industry-leading sound, and even a 1/8” to ¼” stereo adapter in the box.

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Both of the above earphones are for the most enthusiastic of audio consumers, and the prices aren’t for the faint of heart. Even still, if you’re looking to upgrade your audio, then you can’t go wrong with a pair of Shure earphones at pretty much any price.

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Get the Dynalink Android TV Box and make your TV Smart for just $30

If you missed out on buying something for Black Friday, fret not as brands and retailers will surely want you to spend your money on Cyber Monday! We’ve got a list of the best Cyber Monday deals on TVs and Home Audio, Smartphones and accessories, as well as the best PC and gaming deals. If you don’t want to buy a brand new TV since it can be quite expensive and you’re satisfied with your current one, it totally makes sense. However, it can be a smart move to upgrade your existing TV to a “Smart” TV by getting a streaming device. A good option to consider is the Dynalink 4K Android TV Box that not only lets you stream content but can also run apps on your TV.

Dynalink Android TV Box

The Dynalink Android TV Box and convert your existing TV into a smart TV by letting you stream content from your favorite platforms and run Android apps and games on it.

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If you have an older TV that doesn’t really have WiFi connectivity or it doesn’t allow you to run some streaming apps like Netflix or Prime Video, a streaming device like this is an easy and inexpensive fix. The Dyanlink Android TV Box runs on Android 10 so not only do you get the ability to install streaming apps like Netflix and Prime Video, but you also get the option to install several Android apps and games that you can play on your TV. Some smart TVs only come with Prime Video or Netflix and cannot run both services. For such TVs, a device like this can be a savior. It also outputs in 4K which is surely a bonus.

The TV box connects to your TV via the HDMI port and comes with a Bluetooth remote with the usual set of buttons like Google Assistant, YouTube, Netflix, etc. If you’re looking for a cheap way to integrate streaming services onto your TV, this can be a good product to purchase. If you’re looking to purchase other gadgets too, make sure you check out the best Cyber Monday deals and save a few extra bucks!

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Grab the Akracing Premium gaming chair for just $300 this Cyber Monday

Black Friday may be officially over, but there’s no shortage of deals across different retailers online. If you’re in the market for a new gaming chair, then we’ve got a solid recommendation for you as a part of the early Cyber Monday deal. You can now grab the Akracing premium gaming chair for just $300. This is a limited-time deal that saves you as much as $250. The Akracing gaming chair is rarely discounted from its usual price of around $550, making it an absolute no-brainer.

Akracing premium gaming chair

The Akracing premium gaming chair would be a solid addition to your gaming room. It's a reliable and comfortable option for those who spend a lot of time in front of the computer.

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The Akracing gaming chair supports up to 330lbs of weight and comes with an adjustable backrest. This is a great gaming chair with both head and lumbar support cushions for those who spend a lot of time in front of a computer. You can also remove the armrest on this chair if you want to go for a minimal approach. The Akracing gaming chair is also a strong and reliable option that’s highly popular in the community.

The Akracing gaming chair is available in a bunch of different colors, but only the ‘Arctica’ variant is available for $300. It’s a clean-looking white-colored chair with red and black color accents. You can also grab it in black, carbon black, and silver color options. We also recommend you check out the Razer Iskur gaming chair deal while you’re here. The Black Friday deal on the Razer gaming chair is still available and it’s currently going for just $350. Alternatively, you can also find deals on gaming chairs, desks, and more on our dedicated PC and gaming deals page.

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Save up to 46% on Amazon Eero WiFi 6 mesh routers

Black Friday is over, but Cyber Monday is upon us, and Amazon has some tempting deals right now! Its Eero WiFi 6 mesh routers are on sale, and you can save up to 46%. These routers and extenders can cover 2,000 and 1,500 sq. ft. respectively. And thanks to Amazon’s software updates, they get the latest features and security patches automatically. They’re minimalistic, plain, powerful, and they most likely support all of your devices.

Amazon Eero WiFi 6 mesh routers and extenders

These Amazon Eero WiFi 6 routers and extenders are on sale for a limited time, and you can save up to 46%. Grab one (or a few) while they're still in stock!

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This Eero collection includes routers and extenders.

Amazon Eero mesh WiFi 6 routers

These dual and tri-band routers come with a built-in Zigbee smart home hub. So you can use them with your Alexa-enabled devices in your smart home. They cover up to 2,000 sq. ft. with WiFi speeds up to a gigabit. The Eero mobile app walks you through setup and allows you to manage your network from anywhere, so you won’t need to be tech savvy to get it done by yourself. The router updates itself, so you also won’t need to do it manually to take advantage of new features and bug fixes. These routers come in different bundles, so you save more by buying more than one. You can pay as little as $77 for one or spend more on bigger bundles.

Extenders

The Amazon Eero extenders add 1,500 sq. ft. of extra coverage to your existing Eero routers. They’re incompatible with other routers, though. They’re as easy to set up as the regular Eero routers, and will receive the same software updates, as well.

Will you be buying an Amazon Eero WiFi router or extender? Let us know in the comments section below.

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