Technology
The Unexpected Data Hogs on Your Phone
There are many people who, for one reason or another, rely heavily on mobile data. Whether they’re out most of the time, don’t have a Wi-Fi connection available, or travel a lot, their carrier’s plans help them to stay connected. However, not all carriers offer unlimited data plans or have “fine print” that limits your usage. Therefore, you must be aware of the mobile data used by your favorite apps.
Today, the most popular apps are multimedia-based. Of course, we’re talking about social media, which allows you to share special moments and stay in touch with your loved ones. We also can’t forget streaming apps, both music and video, which are essential for your free time. These apps, by nature, are “devourers” of your mobile data plans. Even web browsing and travel apps are among the hungriest ones.
If you’ve ever wondered if any of your favorite apps are among those that use the most mobile data, you’ll probably find the answer throughout this article. A recent study by the Holafly team yielded some pretty revealing results. You might even get a few surprises, as well as useful tips to help you save on your precious data plan.
YouTube is the video app most hungry for mobile data
If you want to watch videos, it’s quite likely that YouTube is the first name that comes to mind. That’s normal since we’re talking about the world’s leading platform for this type of content. Over the years, YouTube has gained many more features, and its UI has become more dynamic. This not only results in a heavier mobile app but also higher data usage without you even realizing it.
With that in mind, you won’t be surprised to learn that YouTube is the video-focused app that’s hungriest on your mobile data. The study showed a use of around 193 MB every five minutes. That’s almost 30% more data than Disney+, the second on the list, which uses about 150 MB every five minutes. The gap is much larger with Amazon Prime Video, the third on the list, which uses “only” 97 MB of data every five minutes.
Still, you could say that YouTube is “cheating.” Its default settings are fairly data-intensive due to features like videos that autoplay in your feed as soon as you open the app. Plus, it will always try to set the maximum video resolution allowed by your internet connection speed.
How to save some valuable mobile data on YouTube
Fortunately, the mobile app comes with options to help you reduce data consumption. One of the most obvious is to disable video autoplay in your feed. You can find the option in Settings > General > Playback in feeds. In settings, you’ll also see “Data saving,” a set of options designed to… well, save mobile data.
From “Data Saving,” you can set things like reducing video quality, disabling video playback in feeds only while using mobile data, and even a data usage reminder. YouTube also allows you to tweak the video resolution while playing a video, a pretty useful option for what we’re looking for.
If you’re a regular Netflix user, you’ll be pleased to know that the app is among the least data-hungry of its kind. Netflix uses 53 MB per five minutes, second only to Apple TV, which uses 44 MB. As a bonus, Spotify, the music streaming service, barely reaches 7 MB of data usage every five minutes.
Snapchat is the king of mobile data use among social apps
We’ll consider “social” not only social media apps but also messaging apps. Do you love using Snapchat on a daily basis? Would it change your perspective to know that it’s the most data-hungry social app? The study found that Snapchat uses more mobile data than other messaging apps, and even more than social apps like Instagram and Facebook!
Snapchat takes up about 101 MB of your data every five minutes of use. In comparison, Threads (2nd place) and Pinterest (3rd place) use 85 MB and 82 MB during the same period, respectively. You’d expect apps like Facebook and Instagram to be at least in the top 5 most data-hungry social apps. However, surprisingly, they don’t even crack the top. Instagram (6th place) and Facebook (7th place) use about 69 and 65 MB every five minutes, respectively.
Facebook and Instagram, surprisingly out of the top 5
The “social” app that uses the least data is LinkedIn, with just 23 MB every five minutes. Okay, this might be considered cheating, as LinkedIn is primarily a professional platform, and its usage differs significantly from that of Instagram. Reddit, which ranks 9th among the top 10 data-consuming social apps, does not cater to the same user experience as Facebook. However, X (FKA Twitter), an app more comparable to Meta’s services, takes only about 50 MB of mobile data every five minutes.
Back to Snapchat, there are reasons behind its high mobile data demands. As soon as you log in, the app downloads both new content and Lenses from your favorite contacts. This enables faster access to the cached content. However, it is inconvenient if you have a data plan with limited usage. Fortunately, you can find a “Data Saver” mode in the app’s settings. In fact, most social apps offer similar modes, so if you use one on the list, you should explore its Settings menu for a bit.
AllTrails surpasses Google Maps in data use for travel apps
Apps that make your life easier when traveling are the order of the day. Our mobile devices have replaced the classic (and huge) physical maps of yesterday, adding many advantages along the way. We will consider as “travel apps” all those that make it easier for you to get around or move without problems in unknown locations. That is, apps like Uber, Google Maps, hiking, hotel reservations, and even languages share the section equally.
Speaking of hiking apps, you might be surprised to learn about the one that consumes the most data in this section. It is AllTrails, an app that takes about 155 MB of your mobile data every five minutes of use. AllTrails is a favorite app for hikers, offering over 420,000 trails with reviews, tips, and even an AI-powered bot for extra assistance. However, like Google Maps, AllTrails allows you to download maps for offline use. So, you can use this option to download maps for the trails you’ll need over a Wi-Fi network before you set out.
Google Maps data usage appears to be really well optimized
In this segment, Google has done a good job with its Maps service. Although the app has received more and more options and features, it ranks 5th among the most data-hungry travel apps, using 87 MB every five minutes. However, Waze, another Google-owned navigation service, ranks 2nd with 100 MB every five minutes. Waze’s existence may have helped Maps become a lighter app. After all, Google can integrate additional navigation features into Waze.
The Hotels.com app, a hotel booking service, takes third place in the segment with 104 MB of mobile data per five minutes. It’s intriguing that the Hotels.com app is so mobile data-hungry when other similar apps on the list, such as Trivago, consume only 34 MB every five minutes. However, the design of each app significantly impacts its data consumption. For example, some apps keep downloaded content in cache longer, at the cost of taking up more space on your internal storage.
The design differences between similar apps also become evident when comparing Uber and Bolt, two ride-sharing services. Uber takes about 120 MB of mobile data for every five minutes of use, while Bolt takes only about 47 MB during the same time. The least mobile data hungry app for travelers is Google Translate, using a paltry 3 MB every five minutes.
Apple’s Safari is the least data plan-friendly mobile browser
The web browser segment is quite competitive, both on PCs and smartphones. Most users tend to rely on pre-installed browsers, but many still download their favorite alternative browser as soon as they change phones. You won’t be surprised to learn that Opera is the least data-hungry mobile browser, given its development approach from the very beginning. Opera is a legendary browser that has existed even since the pre-smartphone era. The app consumes just 16 MB for every five minutes of use.
If you’re an Apple device user, there’s bad news for you. The research determined that Safari is the mobile browser that consumes the most mobile data in its segment, using about 56 MB every five minutes. That’s quite a bit more than Vivaldi, which came in second on the list at 33 MB per five minutes of use. The big surprise may be Chrome, which doesn’t make the top five despite its reputation for being resource-hungry. Google’s mobile browser takes about 24 MB per five minutes of use, second only to Opera.
Some tips to help you avoid unexpected data charges
Now that you’re aware of how much mobile app usage some of the most popular apps take up, you probably want to know what you can do about it. We’ve already offered some tips throughout the article, but now we’ll compile the most effective ones in a summary below, as well as include some new ones.
For travel, it’s a good idea to use an eSIM-compatible smartphone and pay for an international data plan from the many available out there. Remember that roaming adds an extra cost to the usual price you pay. Holafly, the company that conducted the mobile data usage study, offers its own eSIM plans, which you can check out on its website. This way, you can keep total control of your mobile data expenses, avoiding unpleasant surprises on the bill.
For video-based apps, remember to disable HD content playback whenever possible. Most apps of this style allow you to reduce video quality. Only a few, like Max, don’t offer this option, automatically adapting to the speed of your mobile data connection. It’s also advisable to utilize an available WiFi connection to cache your favorite content. These tips also apply to music streaming services, as they usually offer similar data-saving options.
If you’re an Android user, there’s a system-level data-saving option. The feature can be especially useful while traveling or if you rely heavily on mobile data usage in your day-to-day life. Usually the “Data saver” option is available from “Network & Internet” in your phone’s settings. However, the location of the option may vary due to the custom skins of each brand.
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NYT Mini Crossword today: puzzle answers for Saturday, October 5
The New York Times has introduced the next title coming to its Games catalog following Wordle’s continued success — and it’s all about math. Digits has players adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers. You can play its beta for free online right now.
In Digits, players are presented with a target number that they need to match. Players are given six numbers and have the ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide them to get as close to the target as they can. Not every number needs to be used, though, so this game should put your math skills to the test as you combine numbers and try to make the right equations to get as close to the target number as possible.
Players will get a five-star rating if they match the target number exactly, a three-star rating if they get within 10 of the target, and a one-star rating if they can get within 25 of the target number. Currently, players are also able to access five different puzzles with increasingly larger numbers as well. I solved today’s puzzle and found it to be an enjoyable number-based game that should appeal to inquisitive minds that like puzzle games such as Threes or other The New York Times titles like Wordle and Spelling Bee.
In an article unveiling Digits and detailing The New York Time Games team’s process to game development, The Times says the team will use this free beta to fix bugs and assess if it’s worth moving into a more active development phase “where the game is coded and the designs are finalized.” So play Digits while you can, as The New York Times may move on from the project if it doesn’t get the response it is hoping for.
Digits’ beta is available to play for free now on The New York Times Games’ website
Technology
How to disable Google Assistant on your Pixel Watch 3
One of the best things about Wear OS smartwatches these days is the Google Assistant integration and that goes for the Google Pixel Watch 3 as well. However, if for whatever reason you decide you don’t want to use this incredibly useful feature, just know that you can actually disable it. In fact, turning off Google Assistant on your Pixel Watch 3 is pretty simple. If you aren’t sure how to disable it and you want some help, that’s what this handy little guide is here for.
We’ll walk you through the steps to disable Google Assistant if you decide you simply don’t want it to be active. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that in doing so, you’ll be crippling the watch a little bit. After all, smartwatches are, among other things, meant to give you a hands-free way to interact with tons of smart features. Things you maybe can’t do with your phone because your hands are full. Nevertheless, it’s understandable that not everyone will want to use Google Assistant on their watch. And if you aren’t using it, then there’s not much of a reason for it to be enabled.
It’s also worth mentioning that you can always enable it again if you change your mind. So with that said, let’s dive in.
How to disable Google Assistant on your Pixel Watch 3
Bring up the quick settings menu
You’ll want to start by bringing up the quick settings menu. The watch will walk you through how to get to this upon your first time setting it up. Just in case you forgot though, you simply need to swipe down from the top edge of the display to bring up the quick settings menu.
Tap on settings
Now tap on the settings tile. The settings tile is the button that looks like a little gear icon. Just like on your Android smartphone.
Scroll down to the Google menu
When you open the settings menu, it should put you right at the top, with “connectivity” being the first sub-menu you can open. Scroll down a bit, either by using your finger or the haptic crown, and look for the “Google” sub-menu. Tap on that.
Tap on “Assistant”
This will be the first option in the Google sub-menu. Tap on Assistant to see a handful of options you can enable or disable.
Scroll down and tap on “Turn off Assistant”
In this menu scroll all the way down to the bottom and tap on the button that says “Turn off Assistant.” This will give you a tiny disclaimer about what will happen and what you won’t be able to do if you disable this feature. Now tap on the “Turn Off” button That’s pretty much it. Now it’ll be disabled.
Alternatively, there are some other ways to lessen the Google Assistant interaction if you don’t want to turn it off completely.
Turn off the wake word
If you still want to use Google Assistant on your Pixel Watch 3, but don’t want the wake word to be active, you can turn this off to limit the interaction so that it won’t activate without you manually trying to engage the Assistant. In the same menu where you disabled the Google Assistant feature, there are three other toggles you can play with. The first one is to turn off the Hey Google wake word. If you disable this toggle, then you won’t be able to activate the Assistant when saying this.
It also means that it won’t randomly activate anytime something that sounds remotely similar is said. This doesn’t happen often, but it can happen. If you do turn this off, you’ll want to make sure that the toggle just below this is turned on. This toggle controls pressing and holding the side button to bring up Google Assistant. You can disable this as well and still use the Google Assistant feature. However, you’ll now have to access it by opening the app drawer and tapping on the Assistant app. That might be preferrable to you, but if you want ease of use, leave this toggle enabled.
Servers computers
The Dell EMC PowerEdge R540 Rack Server
Technology
Samsung’s One UI now covers all of its consumer devices, including TVs and appliances
Samsung will begin using the One UI name for all its consumer devices, now including TVs and home appliances. Executive Vice President Sally Hyesoon Jeong made the announcement at the company’s 2024 developer conference (via 9to5Google). The One UI branding was previously exclusive to its Galaxy phones, tablets and wearables.
“One UI now goes beyond mobile as the software experience for all Samsung consumer devices,” Hyesoon Jeong said onstage at the San Jose keynote. It’s part of the company’s aim for more cohesive branding across its consumer ecosystem, especially as its AI approach evolves.
Samsung also teased that its next software user experience, One UI 7, will arrive with the 2025 batch of Galaxy S phones. “One UI 7 will bring a fresh, new look to the entire interface,” Hyesoon Jeong said at the conference. She laid out three goals for the upcoming software: simple (with a purpose), impactful (leaving a “signature impression”), and emotive design that elicits a human reaction from the user.
The Samsung VP says the One UI 7 home screen grid represents the more focused design principles. “It’s sleeker and easier to use, giving you a neat home screen no matter which Galaxy device you’re using,” said Hyesoon Jeong.
Although you’ll have to wait until early next year for One UI 7, the company said a developer beta will be available to test-drive by the end of this year.
Servers computers
Compaq 9000 series 42u rack cabinet
This is the said updated video of my full 42u cabinet, allthough I still don’t have UPS unit batteries. Sorry for the video choppiness and such, it’s my Cannon Power Shot digital still camera’s video mode. only does 30FPS. I don’t use my DV cam, since I’ve had too many issues with synching the video and sound when ripping over firewire. .
source
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