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These secret settings instantly make any Android phone feel twice as fast

Flagship Android smartphones are plenty fast these days, and most of the stutters and stammers that used to impact their interfaces have been addressed. Sure you’ll still come across the odd bug and some frame skipping here and there, but for the most part Android phone vendors have really gotten their acts together. Of course, speed on a smartphone is like money or vacation days: you can never have enough. What you might not realize though, is that you don’t have to wait for a new phone with a next-generation processor or new faster RAM chips to enjoy a speedier experience on your Android smartphone.

Facebook rolls out time spent dashboard

Last week, Instagram started rolling out its new dashboard that showed how much time you spend on Instagram, and now, it’s Facebook’s turn: the company is rolling out the feature in the actual Facebook app now, via TechCrunch. Facebook announced the new dashboards for the Instagram and Facebook apps back in August as part of the “time well-spent” movement that has been sweeping across the tech world. Unlike Facebook’s dashboards, Apple’s Screen Time and Google’s Digital Wellbeing allow users to block themselves from using apps, instead of just relaying usage information.

Microsoft announces it will support secure USB keys that let you log into everything without a password

Microsoft announced Tuesday it will now support USB security keys, which give Microsoft account holders the ability to log into their computers and accounts without a username or password at all. The passwords will support users across the range of Microsoft services, including Outlook, Office, OneDrive, Bing, Skype and Xbox Live, according to the company. Microsoft will support keys from well-known names Yubikey and the FEITIAN Biopass key, which retail for between $20 and $60. The keys are USB key fobs that users can insert into their USB-enabled devices.

‘Pokémon Go’ creator Niantic to develop GPS-based tourism games

It was at the helm of GPS/AR/Maps-based “exergaming” in 2013 with Ingress, saw phenomenal success with Pokémon Go, and will launch a location-based Harry Potter mobile game next year. Now, Niantic is making the natural move into tourism-focused games. In partnership with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), as part of its Travel.Enjoy.Respect program, the games company will create new experiences that encourage players to explore and discover the hidden histories of both their own neighborhoods and further afield.

$1 million ‘Fortnite’ winter tournament is open to all

Now that Epic has had some time to refine Fortnite’s online tournament system, it’s committing to higher stakes for its competitions. The studio is launching an open Winter Royale tournament with a total of $1 million in prizes. Anyone in the North America and Europe regions can qualify by excelling in event sessions during the qualifying days on November 24th and November 25th. If you make the cut, you’ll play in your respective region’s finals (starting November 30th for Europe, December 11th for North America).

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