Technologies

How I Feel One Year After Ditching My Android for an iPhone

There are some iPhone features I now can’t live without, and some Galaxy features I still miss.

It’s been a year since I abandoned my decade-long relationship with the Samsung Galaxy and switched to the iPhone 14 Pro, and I’m happy to report I don’t regret a thing.

I loved my Galaxy devices and was always a proud Android user, but a series of factors — namely, my eagerness to try Apple’s hardware and software, as well as a desire to no longer be bullied for green texts (which is Apple’s fault) — enticed me to switch teams. It’s been smooth sailing since then, and I’ll be bold enough to say I don’t see myself ever going back.

One of the main reasons is my love for iMessage. It’s been surprisingly seamless to stay in touch with friends (due in no small part to the fact that they actually want to include me in group texts now without giving me crap about it), and the messaging experience is just more enjoyable with reactions and hi-res images and videos.

I had and loved RCS messaging on my Galaxy, which, like iMessage, shows typing indicators and read receipts, supports sending high-quality media and lets you react to messages. But few of my friends had phones that supported RCS messaging, or if they did, they just never cared to enable it. And until very recently, Apple resisted pressure to adopt RCS on iPhones, but shockingly reversed course in mid-November. That means that while I had an Android, I could hardly reap the benefits of RCS, while I apparently made my (dramatic) iPhone-using friends’ lives more difficult.

I’ve also become a sucker for AirDrop. Because I shoot a lot of videos on my phone for work as well as my personal social media accounts, it’s been a game changer to be able to instantly share videos between my iPhone and MacBook.

Sharing pictures and videos after a hangout is painless, too. Yes, third-party apps like WhatsApp and Google Drive exist, but WhatsApp still reduces video quality, and using Google Drive is relatively slow and feels like actual work. So, AirDrop is the clear winner here.

Speaking of videos, the quality on my iPhone is unmatched; regular shots as well as Cinematic mode videos are crisp and clear, and better supported by apps like TikTok. While I’ve always admired how vibrant images on the Galaxy look, and admittedly think some iPhone photos look too dark and shadow-y, that video quality has me hooked.

An iPhone feature that took me by surprise when it won me over is MagSafe. I initially didn’t understand the appeal of this: Why charge using MagSafe if it takes two seconds to plug in a cable? But little did I know that it was less about the charging, and more about the accessories. I’ve become reliant on my MagSafe portable charger, which is much easier to carry around than my massive power brick, as well as my MagSafe wallet. Safe to say (see what I did there?), I get it now.

There is one feature I admittedly still miss, even one year into ditching my Android: Object Eraser. This is a Galaxy feature that lets you remove any person or object from your photos by drawing a line around what you want to get rid of, then tapping a button to make them disappear. This was great for when I had an almost perfect image, but someone was photobombing or there was something distracting in the way.

The Google Pixel lineup has a similar feature called Magic Eraser, as well as a next-level tool called Magic Editor, which, in addition to removing anything from your photo, lets you move people and objects around and change the background. It’s cool and creepy all at once.

Sadly, Apple still doesn’t have a similar AI-based editing feature built into Photos. If I wanted to remove anything from an image, I’d need to go into Photoshop, and Lord knows I’m not doing that. So I’d love for that capability to be added in a future software update.

Check out the video above for more iPhone features I can’t live without (and to see whether I now condone bullying people for having green texts).

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 10, #533

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 10, No. 533.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition features a lot of team names, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy one to solve. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Play ball!

Green group hint: Not front.

Blue group hint: Certain NFL player.

Purple group hint: They play at Smoothie King Center.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: An AL Central player.

Green group: Words appearing before «back,» in football.

Blue group: Associated with Derrick Henry.

Purple group: New Orleans Pelicans.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is an AL Central player. The four answers are Guardian, Royal, Tiger and Twin.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is words appearing before «back,» in football. The four answers are corner, defensive, full and running.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with Derrick Henry. The four answers are Heisman, King, Ravens and Titans.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is New Orleans Pelicans. The four answers are Bey, Fears, Murphy and Queen.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, March 10

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 10.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? I’d just like to point out that the New York Times puzzle-makers love the 7-Across answer — they use it about every other week. Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Writing that lacks substance
Answer: FLUFF

6A clue: Pencil in a cosmetics bag
Answer: LINER

7A clue: ___ acid (building block of proteins)
Answer: AMINO

8A clue: Partner of services, in economics
Answer: GOODS

9A clue: Small criticism
Answer: NIT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Warning sign in a relationship, metaphorically
Answer: FLAG

2D clue: Fancy prom ride
Answer: LIMO

3D clue: SAG-AFTRA, for one
Answer: UNION

4D clue: Luxury fashion house headquartered in Rome
Answer: FENDI

5D clue: Ground coating on a cold morning
Answer: FROST

Technologies

Australians Flock to VPNs in the Wake of Online Age-Restriction Laws

App downloads for VPN services increase sharply as websites in Australia go behind age-restriction walls.

A new set of laws in Australia requiring adult websites and app stores to age-restrict content for those under 18, and requiring AI companies to restrict chatbot offerings from displaying certain types of sensitive or adult content to minors, is apparently driving many to download Virtual Private Network apps there.

Major adult sites have closed their virtual doors to those who aren’t age-confirmed in Australia, and these changes follow a nationwide ban on social media use by teenagers and young children that went into effect in December.

According to reports from Reuters, The Guardian and others, in response to the bans, downloads of VPN-related apps, which people can use to circumvent location-based restrictions, are sharply on the rise. According to Reuters, three of the 15 most downloaded free iPhone apps in the country were VPN-related as the new laws went into effect on Monday.

Lawmakers in some regions, including the US, are well aware that people use VPNs in this way. In states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, laws are being proposed to limit or outright ban VPN use. Wisconsin’s proposed law would require adult sites to block VPN traffic, while Michigan’s proposal would ban VPN use entirely in the state.

There is also a proposal in England under consideration to ban VPN use by minors. That proposal is currently under review.