Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE Review: Doesn’t justify the “Fan Edition” label

When Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 FE last year, it said the new Fan Edition lineup was a tribute to Galaxy fans that set “a new standard of making uncompromising flagship innovations accessible to as many people as possible.” During the launch event, the company also promised it would launch “Fan Editions of our flagship devices in the years to come.”

So when Samsung reached out to send over a review unit of the new Galaxy Tab S7 FE, I expected to receive an affordable version of the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus with perhaps a few missing features. However, the device I’ve been using for the last ten days is anything but that.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE only has a total of three features in common with the flagship Galaxy Tab S7+ — the display size, battery capacity, and One UI — and in my opinion, it doesn’t deserve the FE moniker. Samsung should have just called it the Galaxy Tab S7 Lite (as previous leaks and rumors suggested) because the “FE” tag will only mislead fans.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE: Specifications

Specification	Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE
Dimensions & Weight	185.0 x 284.8 x 6.3mm 608g
Display	12.4-inch FHD+ TFT LCD 2560 x 1600 (244 PPI) 16:10 aspect ratio 60Hz refresh rate
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G Adreno 619
RAM & Storage	4GB + 64GB 6GB + 128GB microSD card slot (up to 1TB)
Battery & Charging	10,090mAh 45W fast charging support 15W charger included
Security	Face unlock
Rear Camera	8MP, AF Video: 1080p @30fps
Front Camera	5MP Video: 1080p @30fps
Port(s)	USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C
Audio	Dual speakers tuned by AKG Dolby Atmos support
Connectivity	4G LTE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band Wi-Fi Bluetooth 5.0 GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
Software	One UI 3.1 based on Android 11
Other Features	S Pen (not active, <30ms latency) Samsung DeX support 6-month Clip Studio Paint subscription 30-day Canva Pro trial Noteshelf

About this review: I received the 6GB/128GB version of the Galaxy Tab S7 FE (LTE) from Samsung India for this review. Samsung had no inputs in any part of this review.

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Design & Display

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE looks quite like the flagship Galaxy Tab S7+. It has a similar metal chassis with square edges, a tiny pill-shaped camera module in the top right corner on the back, antenna lines on the left and right edges, and Samsung branding in the top left corner. The only obvious difference between the two is that the Galaxy Tab S7 FE doesn’t feature a glass strip next to the camera module. That’s because the flagship model came with an active S Pen that charged wirelessly when placed on the glass strip. Since the Galaxy Tab S7 FE’s S Pen is just a glorified stylus, Samsung has removed the glass strip from the tablet.

Over on the front, the tablet features a 12.4-inch TFT LCD (2560 x 1600) that has a 16:10 aspect ratio, 60Hz refresh rate, and minimal bezels on all sides. While the display is great for content consumption and gets bright enough for outdoor use, it’s a bit underwhelming for the asking price. I expected to see a 60Hz AMOLED panel or a high refresh rate LCD at this price point, but that’s sadly not the case.

The power button, volume rocker, and SIM tray on the Galaxy Tab S7 FE all reside on the top edge, while the USB Type-C port can be found on the right edge. The tablet features a dual speaker setup tuned by AKG, another downgrade from the flagship models. It features the same proprietary keyboard connector at the bottom edge, which is compatible with the keyboard accessories designed for the Galaxy Tab S7+. The tablet features a front-facing camera, which resides in the center of the top bezel.

Overall, the Galaxy Tab S7 FE feels just as premium as the flagship Galaxy Tab S7+. But it lacks a few crucial features you would expect to see on a tablet that costs over ₹45,000 (~$600), such as a fingerprint scanner. Yeah, you read that right. The Galaxy Tab S7 FE doesn’t have a fingerprint scanner. Software-enabled Face Unlock is the only mode of biometric authentication on the tablet — and we all know how secure that is.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE: Performance & Battery Life

While the Fan Edition label might lead you to believe the Galaxy Tab S7 FE packs a flagship SoC, it doesn’t. The tablet features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 750G, which is a mid-range chipset found on affordable devices like the OnePlus Nord CE. The SoC is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage on the base model, while the higher-end variant gets 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Since I recently reviewed the OnePlus Nord CE, which also packs the same SoC, I was expecting the tablet to perform just as well, if not better. But it didn’t.

Performance-wise, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE is just good enough for light workloads and media consumption. So if you’re planning on getting some serious work done or play demanding games on the tablet, then you should probably look elsewhere. While using the tablet over the last two weeks, I noticed a couple of issues with the Galaxy Tab S7 FE that may turn buyers away. The tablet stuttered quite often when I had more than a couple of Chrome tabs open for work, it froze while playing demanding games like COD: Mobile at medium to high graphics settings, and it took far too long to switch to DeX mode.

While playing videos on YouTube, the tablet worked fine as long as I stuck to the auto or 1080p video quality preset. But the video stuttered as I switched to a higher quality preset. It’s also worth noting that the tablet’s speakers, while pretty decent for the most part, crackled at high volume in some situations. Here’s a sample:

I’m not sure if the issue is limited to my review unit or not.

If you care about synthetic benchmarks, here’s a quick look at the results posted by the Galaxy Tab S7 FE:

In Geekbench 5, the tablet got a single-core score of 650 and a multi-core score of 1,882. In 3DMark’s Sling Shot Extreme OpenGL test, it got an overall score of 2,320, and it scored 33.3 in Browserbench’s Speedometer 2.0 web benchmark. In Androbench, the tablet delivered sequential read speeds of 899.63MB/s and sequential write speeds of 487.62MB/s.

I have no complaints about the Galaxy Tab S7 FE’s battery life. It performed reasonably well, with a four hour Netflix binge session at full brightness consuming around 50 percent of the battery. While doing only browser-based tasks, the tablet lasted just about two days on a single charge.

While the tablet’s battery performance was decent, its charging speeds were atrocious. That’s because it ships with a 15W charger in the box, even though it supports 45W fast charging. The charger took well over three hours to charge the 10,090mAh battery on the tablet from 0-100%, which is rather unacceptable. I’m disappointed that Samsung still doesn’t ship a faster charger with its tablets, but that was to be expected as the company ships the same 15W brick with its flagship Galaxy Tab S7.

S Pen & Keyboard Folio

As mentioned earlier, the S Pen that comes with the Galaxy Tab S7 FE isn’t the same as the one you get with the flagship models. It’s just a glorified stylus that doesn’t support any of the premium features you get with the active S Pen. In addition to that, it doesn’t offer the same 9ms ultra-low latency as the active S Pen you get with the Galaxy Note 20 or Galaxy Tab S7 series. Instead, it promises <30ms latency, which isn’t all that great for writing or drawing.

The keyboard folio case for the Galaxy Tab S7 FE is also a downgrade. While it’s similar to the keyboard folio for the Galaxy Tab S7 in terms of design and build quality, it doesn’t feature a trackpad. This makes working on the tab a bit annoying, as you have to use the touch screen for all the tasks you would otherwise perform with a mouse or trackpad.

Conclusion

I don’t see which “uncompromising flagship innovations” the Galaxy Tab S7 FE makes more accessible for buyers. It’s just a mid-range tablet with a large screen and a large battery, and it fails to justify the Fan Edition moniker. In my opinion, Samsung should’ve offered the Galaxy Tab S7 FE with an older flagship chip. That would’ve addressed the performance issues while keeping the cost low.

Speaking of which, the Galaxy Tab S7 FE’s price tag also makes it hard to recommend. You can get a regular iPad or the iPad Air for a similar price. Both of those options undoubtedly offer better performance and they’re significantly better tablets overall. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 is also a much better purchase, and it’s often available at attractive discounts that bring its price down to the same level.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE is a mid-range tablet with a large screen and a large battery, but it fails to justify the Fan Edition label.

View at Samsung

I honestly expected Samsung to offer users better value with its Fan Edition devices. I hope upcoming Fan Edition phones or tablets aren’t as disappointing as the Galaxy Tab S7 FE.

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Twitch now lets you join Watch Parties from an Android or iOS device

Twitch now lets you join watch parties from an Android or iOS device starting today. Watch Parties launched late last year and lets streamers host viewing parties for movies and TV shows that are available on Amazon Prime, but until today, they could only be joined from a desktop.

Watch Parties are now rolling out on an Android or iOS device near you.

To learn more about Watch Parties, including how to host your own, check out the help article at https://t.co/YvqLMCD5c6. pic.twitter.com/5aQC9It02G

— Twitch (@Twitch) June 30, 2021

It’s important to keep in mind that Twitch streamers and viewers who want to watch along will need to have an Amazon Prime subscription in order to join the party. However, you don’t need to be a Twitch affiliate or partner to start a watch party. When joining a watch party for the first time, you’ll be asked to authorize the device you’re on for Prime Video playback.

Virtual watch parties have become quite popular thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic pushing people to find socially distant ways to watch their favorite movies and TV shows with their friends. Twitch has taken quite a while to get watch parties working on mobile, though its parent, Amazon, has yet to roll out watch parties support in the Prime Video app for mobile users.

Watch parties in Twitch is an awesome feature and one that a lot of people will end up using at some point. They’ve already become quite popular on Twitch, with many variety streamers taking to hosting them with their fans live on stream. There’s even a dedicated section for watch parties so that you can pick any random streamer to join and watch with if you’re feeling bored.

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Twitch now lets you join Watch Parties from an Android or iOS device

Twitch now lets you join watch parties from an Android or iOS device starting today. Watch Parties launched late last year and lets streamers host viewing parties for movies and TV shows that are available on Amazon Prime, but until today, they could only be joined from a desktop.

Watch Parties are now rolling out on an Android or iOS device near you.

To learn more about Watch Parties, including how to host your own, check out the help article at https://t.co/YvqLMCD5c6. pic.twitter.com/5aQC9It02G

— Twitch (@Twitch) June 30, 2021

It’s important to keep in mind that Twitch streamers and viewers who want to watch along will need to have an Amazon Prime subscription in order to join the party. However, you don’t need to be a Twitch affiliate or partner to start a watch party. When joining a watch party for the first time, you’ll be asked to authorize the device you’re on for Prime Video playback.

Virtual watch parties have become quite popular thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic pushing people to find socially distant ways to watch their favorite movies and TV shows with their friends. Twitch has taken quite a while to get watch parties working on mobile, though its parent, Amazon, has yet to roll out watch parties support in the Prime Video app for mobile users.

Watch parties in Twitch is an awesome feature and one that a lot of people will end up using at some point. They’ve already become quite popular on Twitch, with many variety streamers taking to hosting them with their fans live on stream. There’s even a dedicated section for watch parties so that you can pick any random streamer to join and watch with if you’re feeling bored.

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Google Photos for Android prepares to add a homescreen widget for your Memories

Back in October, Google released an update to the Google Photos app for iOS that added a homescreen widget. This widget cycles through the “Memories” albums that Photos automatically generates. On Android, Memories are visible at the top of the “Photos” tab, but Google is preparing to let users see them on the Android homescreen through a widget — just like on iOS.

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by the developers in a future build.

Version 5.49 of the Google Photos app is rolling out on Android, and a quick look through the APK reveals that a widget is being prepared.  New strings reference a “Google Photos widget” that lets you “rediscover moments from Google Photos.”

<string name="photos_widget_account_not_found">Account not found</string>
<string name="photos_widget_description">Rediscover moments from Google Photos</string>
<string name="photos_widget_label">Your memories</string>
<string name="photos_widget_loading">Loading…</string>
<string name="photos_widget_no_logged_in_account">Please add your Google Account before setting up the Google Photos widget</string>
<string name="photos_widget_one_year_ago_title">1 year ago</string>
<string name="photos_widget_select_an_account">Select an account</string>
<string name="photos_widget_this_week_subtitle">This week</string>

While the strings and widget preview image suggest the Memories album will only show photos from this week last year, it’s possible that the widget will behave the same way as it does on iOS. That is, you’ll be able to add a widget that cycles through all of your auto-generated Memories albums.

Although the requisite receiver and activities are listed in the app’s Manifest, I’m unable to actually add the widget to the homescreen as it seems to be dynamically disabled. Perhaps Google will enable the feature through a future update or by toggling a server-side flag. Once the widget becomes available in the Google Photos app for Android, we’ll let you know. You can download the latest version of the app from Google Play, though version 5.49 may not have rolled out to everyone just yet.

Google Photos (Free, Google Play) →

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Which model iMac should I buy: Price, configurations, colors, and more

Apple’s new 24-inch iMac was refreshed at its Spring event earlier this year as an all-purpose PC for the masses. It’s now powered by the M1 Silicon, Apple’s ARM-based processor that currently powers the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13, iMac mini, and even the new iPad Pro 2021. The new iMac also gets a much-needed design refresh where Apple is offering the machine in seven different colors in a sleek and slender design.

If you’re planning to buy one, there are some important things to consider and we’re going to list all the differences so you can make an informed decision. Before we list the differences, let’s take a look at all the common features on the new iMac that are available across variants.

The most obvious one is the chipset, the M1 Silicon, Apple’s first ARM-based microprocessor that’s based on TSMC’s 5nm process. According to Apple, it has the world’s fastest CPU core in low power silicon and the world’s best CPU performance per watt. It’s also Apple’s first step into moving away from Intel chipsets.

The new iMac comes with an updated 23.5-inch 4.5K Retina display which offers a brightness of up to 500-nits, support for one billion colors, P3 color gamut, and Apple’s True Tone technology. All models of the new iMac also feature at least 8GB of memory, the new and improved 1080p camera, a six-speaker system with support for Dolby Atmos, triple microphone array, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and, last but not least, a 3.5mm headphone jack. All models also come with two Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports, however the higher tier models have additional ports (more about this later). There are a total three configurations available priced at $1,299, $1,499, and $1,699.

24-inch iMac Colors

The new colors are one of the most attractive selling points on the new iMac. It’s available in Blue, Green, Pink, Silver, Yellow, Orange, and Purple. However, if you’re planning to buy the $1,299 base variant, you can only choose between Blue, Green, Pink, and Silver. Only the more expensive models of the iMac offer all seven color options.

24-inch iMac Storage

There are plenty of SSD storage options on the iMac. The base storage starts at 256GB on the $1,299 model which can be configured with 512GB and 1TB for an additional $200 and $400 respectively. The $1,499 model also starts at 256GB with upgrade options of 512GB, 1TB and 2TB for an additional $200, $400 and $800. The top $1,699 model comes with 512GB as standard and offers an upgrade to 1TB storage for an additional $200 and 2TB for $600.

Unless you’re a content creator who deals with a lot of heavy files, we suggest that 256GB of SSD storage should be more than enough. You can always look at cloud storage or external USB drives in case you fall short on storage space.

24-inch iMac Memory and GPU

Apple uses the new M1 chip on all three models, however the chipset also has different variants with different GPU and memory options. The base variant comes with a 7-core GPU while the other two get an 8-core version. As for the memory, 8GB is standard on all, but you can bump up to 16GB for an additional $200. There’s only a marginal difference between the two GPU options when it comes to performance, however getting extra memory is advised if you plan on heavy multitasking workloads. If you plan on using the iMac as a regular home PC, then 8GB of memory shouldn’t be an issue.

24-inch iMac Port selection

The new iMac comes with a limited number of ports due to its super slim design. All three models come with two Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Note the $1,499 and $1,699 models offer two additional USB-C ports. You don’t get any USB-A or HDMI ports, which means the port selection is very limited and you might have to invest in a good USB or even better a Thunderbolt dock for additional ports. It’s worth noting that the new iMac supports one external monitor with up to 6K resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. This is a limitation of all M1-powered Macs and according to Apple’s documentation, you can’t increase the number of supported monitors by using a dock either.

The new iMac also comes with an Ethernet port that’s placed right into the charging brick, which is a neat solution to cut down on cable clutter. The base model doesn’t come with an Ethernet port, but you can pay an extra $30 for one. Both the $1,499 and $1,699 models come with Ethernet embedded into the charging brick.

24-inch iMac Touch ID

A new introduction to the iMac, Apple has added Touch ID via the Magic Keyboard which now comes in the same colors as the new iMac itself. Having fingerprint authentication not only lets you log in securely, but you can use Apple Pay and switch between profiles with just a finger. The feature should be great for consumers who have multiple users at home.

The new Magic Keyboard with Touch ID is available on the $1,499 and $1,699 models. The $1,299 model comes with a standard wireless Magic Keyboard, however you can upgrade for an additional $50. If you’re going for the base variant, our recommendation is to pay that extra $50 for the Touch ID-equipped Magic Keyboard for seamless authentication without the need for typing in passwords.

In our opinion, it’s worth spending the extra $200 for the $1,499 iMac rather than the base variant. For the extra money you’re getting additional USB-C ports along with an Ethernet connection, Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, slightly better graphics performance, and of course more color choices.

If you’re planning on getting one, make sure you check our guides on the best external monitors, docks, mice, and keyboards for the new 24-inch iMac with M1. Additionally, check out our roundup of the best laptops for 2021.

Apple iMac 24-inch

The new 24-inch iMac gets a complete redesign and is now powered by Apple's M1 Silicon, along with a brand new 24-inch 4.5K Retina Display and seven color options.

Buy from Amazon

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TCL brings its premium C Series range of 4K TVs to India

TCL today launched three new premium 4K TVs in the Indian market. The new range features 120Hz MEMC support, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced, Game Master, Hands-free voice control 2.0, and a host of other features. The new range will also be upgraded to the new Google TV interface, starting Q3 2021. Here’s a quick look at all the new models in TCL’s C Series lineup:

TCL C825 Mini LED 4K TV

The TCL C825 Mini LED 4K TV is the crown jewel of TCL’s new TV range. It offers support for a range of premium features, including full array local dimming, Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Vision IQ, 120Hz refresh rate with MEMC support, Game Master with HDMI 2.1 input, and IMAX Enhanced certification. The TV also comes with a 1080p magnetic camera that can be used to make video calls using Google Duo or Zoom. Furthermore, the TV features an integrated Onkyo Soundbar with a built-in subwoofer and Dolby Atmos support.

The TCL C825 will be available in two size variants in the Indian market — 55-inch and 65-inch — priced at ₹114,990 and ₹149,990, respectively.

TCL C725 QLED 4K TV

The TCL C725 features a 4K QLED panel, and it also offers support for features like Dolby Vision, HDR10+, MEMC, and hands-free voice control 2.0. Much like the C825, the C725 comes with a webcam for video calls and an integrated soundbar from Onkyo with Dolby Atmos support.

The TV will be available in three screen sizes — 50-inch, 55-inch, and 65-inch — priced at ₹64,990, ₹72,990, and ₹99,999, respectively.

TCL C728 QLED 4K TV

Rounding off the list is the new TCL C728 TV, which also features a 4K QLED panel. The TV is squarely aimed at console gamers, and it features Game Master support with HMDI 2.1 input, 120Hz MEMC, and hand-free voice control. The TV also offers variable refresh rate (VRR) support, an auto low-latency mode (ALLM), and eARC.

The TCL 728 will be available in three sizes — 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch — priced at ₹79,990, ₹102,990, and ₹159,990, respectively.

All three models will run TCL UI based on Android TV out of the box, and they’ll be upgraded to Google TV later this year. The TVs will be available on Amazon.in, Reliance Digital, TCL’s website, and select offline retail stores. It’s worth noting that the company will start smartphone and TV display panel manufacturing in India later this year, which should effectively bring down the price for the aforementioned models.

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These are the Best Chrome Extensions: Buster, MightyText, Inssist, and more!

It’s hard to deny that Google Chrome is one of the most popular web browsers used by a majority of people across the world, regardless of the platform. It comes pre-installed on all Android smartphones and Chromebooks, and has also become the browser of choice for a lot of people on Windows computers, because it syncs your data across all devices that use Chrome. Even if you don’t use Chrome directly and use alternatives like Brave or Microsoft Edge instead, those browsers still use the Chromium engine. So a lot of elements like the sync functionality and Chrome extensions remain uniform.

Chrome extensions are a great way to increase the functionality of your web browser and add functions that extend beyond just browsing around on the web. We’ve tried various Chrome extensions across different genres to see which ones actually stand out and add some value to your browsing experience, and here are some of the best ones we found. The list contains Chrome extensions for everyone regardless of what you do on the internet. From productivity to entertainment, we’ve tried covering all bases to make sure there’s something that interests everyone.

All of these extensions can be used on any Chromium-based browser and platforms including Mac, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc. If you have a ChromeOS-based device, we have a list of the best keyboards for Chromebooks and even a guide to opt out of Google’s Privacy Sandbox on Chrome that you may want to check out if you’re a privacy nerd.

Navigate this guide:

• Essential Chrome Extensions
• Productivity Chrome Extensions
• Utility Chrome Extensions
• Entertainment Chrome Extensions

Essential Chrome Extensions

These are the extensions we feel everyone must use on their browsers and can benefit from in different ways. From helping you save money to saving important data on the cloud, these extensions will help you while performing different activities on the web.

Save to Google Drive

Save to Google Drive is quite a basic one and the name tells you what it does. Don’t write it off just yet though — we’ve included it under essential extensions for a reason. How many times have you come across a webpage, image, video, or file that you wanted to save for later or share with someone? If your answer is often, this extension is for you.

It basically adds a Save to Google Drive button in the contextual right-click menu in your browser so next time you see something you want to save or share, just right-click and select Save to Google Drive and it’ll be automatically added to Drive. From there, you can either download it for yourself or share the link with anyone you want.

Save to Google Drive

Adds a button in the right-click menu to save files directly to Google Drive.

Download from Chrome Web Store

Honey

If you’re a shopaholic and order a lot of things from different e-commerce websites online, this one’s for you. Honey is a Chrome extension that checks for the best deals and offers you can apply while checking out on multiple online shopping websites. You can compare deals and buy whatever you want from the portal that offers the best price.

Honey has a database of discount and coupon codes that it tries to apply automatically on almost all popular shopping websites which can save you a lot of money especially if you order stuff regularly. From ordering food to expensive electronics, Honey claims you can save upwards of $100 every year using their extension.

Honey

Honey helps you save money while shopping online by applying the best possible discount codes.

Download from Chrome Web Store

Buster

If you hate captchas, Buster is for you. A lot of websites often ask you to enter or solve captchas which can get boring or sometimes confusing too, especially when you’re using Chrome in incognito mode or if you’re using a VPN. You’ll be prompted to solve a captcha quite frequently and after a point, it does get really annoying. Don’t worry, Buster has got you covered. Every time you see a captcha, the bottom section of the captcha window will now have an extra icon that fires up Buster once you install the extension. Clicking on the button will automatically solve the captcha for you in a matter of seconds.

Buster

Buster can solve captchas by itself, saving you time and annoyance.

Download from Chrome Web Store

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Productivity Chrome Extensions

These extensions contribute towards improving your productivity while you’re working and help you get more out of your web browser. You can integrate these extensions into your workflow to help you do your work in a better way, manage time properly, or even multitask in a more efficient manner. These are our top three productivity-related extensions.

Todoist

We’ve featured Todoist as a part of our best WearOS apps article as well, and that’s because it’s one of the best services to create a to-do list. The Chrome extension from Todoist doesn’t require any additional app installation but offers a great deal of functionality. It sits in your browser in the extension bar and a single click will reveal a window where you can access all your tasks and tick them off whenever you’re done with them.

It’s a great way to start your day by inputting all your pending work and it’s quite satisfying to check all the boxes as and when you complete your work.

Todoist

Todoist is a great extension to help you with listing down all your pending tasks or even to simply take down pointers during a meeting.

Download from Chrome Web Store

MightyText

MightyText is a great way to avoid constantly checking your phone while you’re working on your computer. It enables you to send and receive SMS messages directly from the Chrome extension, so if you’re texting your friends and colleagues or just want an OTP for a transaction, you no longer have to reach out for your phone.

We all know if you pick up your phone to reply to a message, it doesn’t just stop there. You’ll probably open a social media app and end up spending more time than required, so this is a good app to avoid such distractions.

MightyText

MightyText lets you send and receive SMS messages directly from your browser so that you don't have to reach out to your phone.

Download from Chrome Web Store

Google Meet PiP

You’ve probably heard of Google’s own picture-in-picture extension and probably even use it to watch videos in PiP mode on your browser. However, the Google Meet PiP extension lets you have a PiP window of a Google Meet call running on your screen while you continue to do other tasks.

This is very helpful if you’re in a meeting and someone is sharing their screen for a presentation and you need to refer to some notes or you’re just involved in other important work. You won’t have to stay on the meeting tab all the time while still continuing to see the presentation. If you attend a lot of meetings, this is a great addition.

Google Meet PiP

Google Meet PiP allows you to have a floating Google Meet window so you can attend meetings while working on something else.

Download from Chrome Web Store

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Utility Chrome Extensions

These are some extensions on Chrome that make your job a lot easier or introduce features that can be really nifty. While you may initially think you don’t really need these features, using them a few times will make you realize what you were missing out on before you had them installed!

Save Image as Type

If you download a lot of images from the web, this extension makes your job a lot easier. While most images are in popular formats like JPG or PNG, there are some websites that have images in less popular formats like WebP which are not very easy to open or edit on a few devices.

Save as Image Type adds an option in the contextual menu when you right-click on an image and allows you to save the image in whatever format you want. It saves the time and effort of first downloading the image and then converting it to the required type.

Save Image as Type

This extension allows you to choose the format in which you want to download an image from the web.

Download from Chrome Web Store

Mailtrack

While most instant messaging services like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal have the option to enable read receipts for messages, there’s no such option on Gmail. If you’re sending an important email, there’s no way of knowing if the recipient has opened your email or not, let alone knowing when or how many times they’ve opened it. Well, Mailtrack solves that problem.

Once you install the extension and authorize it with your Google account, you will be able to track all the emails that you send and receive a notification every time your mail was opened by the recipient. You can even see how many times an email was opened which is neat. Once you start using Mailtrack, there’s no going back.

Mailtrack

Mailtrack gives you read receipts for your emails and lets you check when and how many times your emails were opened.

Download from Chrome Web Store

Dark Reader

This one’s quite self-explanatory. While most smartphones have a built-in dark mode to make viewing the screen easier on your eyes in the dark, a lot of websites still don’t have a dark mode, and Chrome by default doesn’t have the option to enforce dark mode. Dark Reader is an extension that does exactly that.

You can enable dark mode on every single website, so if you’re using Chrome on an OLED display, you can save some battery while also reducing the strain on your eyes especially at night.

Dark Reader

Dark Reader is a simple extension that forces dark mode on all websites on Chrome.

Download from Chrome Web Store

Awesome Screenshot and Screen Recorder

While you can take screenshots on your computer using the default tools on Windows, Mac, or any other OS for that matter, Awesome Screenshot and Screen Recorder lets you take customized screenshots within Chrome itself which can be very handy if you want to capture only specific portions of the webpage or a scrolling screenshot of the entire webpage.

Additionally, you even get a screen recorder built-in that can either record the entire Chrome window or a specific tab along with feed from your webcam which can be very handy if you’re shooting a tutorial or just recording something to help somebody. This is another of those must-have extensions.

Awesome Screenshot and Screen Recorder

If you take a lot of screenshots on Chrome or record videos with different webpages, this extension makes things a lot easier.

Download from Chrome Web Store

The Great Suspender

If you open a lot of tabs on your browser and don’t close them for whatever reason, The Great Suspender is a godsend. It puts unused tabs in a suspended state meaning a tab will not be active anymore if you haven’t opened it in a while. When you have too many tabs open, your browser — especially Chrome — consumes a lot of RAM that can in turn slow down your entire computer.

By using this extension, you can put all of those unused tabs to sleep to save memory on your device and make Chrome, as well as your computer, run smoother. Whenever you open a suspended tab, you just have to refresh it to bring it back to life.

The Great Suspender

This extension suspends all your unused tabs and puts them in a state of sleep to save memory on your computer.

Download from Chrome Web Store

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Entertainment Chrome Extensions

Enough of work and productivity, it’s time to have some fun and get entertained. Here are some extensions to improve your experience while consuming media on your browser or even add some features to social media apps that are not present by default. If you want to watch your favorite shows and movies with friends and family, we’ve got that covered too.

Inssist

Instagram is arguably one of the most popular social media platforms but is also the one with the worst web interface. Even after being around for years, the Instagram web app doesn’t allow users to upload posts or stories onto their profile which is a pain. Even the ability to check and reply to DMs was introduced only recently so that tells you how unimportant its web client is to Instagram.

The way to fix this is by using Inssist. It’s an extension you need to authorize by logging into Instagram, and once you’ve done that, you will be able to post photos, videos, and even stories onto your Instagram profile directly from your computer without having to open the app on your smartphone.

Inssist

Inssist is an Instagram client that lets you upload posts and stories directly from your computer.

Download from Chrome Web Store

Audio Only YouTube

YouTube is a great platform to watch videos on. However, YouTube can often just be used to listen to music as well, since a lot of artists upload their tracks to YouTube along with other music streaming platforms. While you can use YouTube Music on your smartphone to listen to the song without the video playing along, there’s no such thing on the web. So if you only want to listen to the music, the video stream consumes your internet data unnecessarily. Audio Only YouTube fixes that by adding a button that allows you to stream just the music and saves up to 50% of data.

Audio Only YouTube

If you use YouTube to listen to a lot of songs, this extension allows you to stream just the music and save data by not streaming the video along with it.

Download from Chrome Web Store

Invideo for YouTube

Here’s another Chrome extension for YouTube. There are times when you want to skip to a particular section in the video where the creator mentions a specific thing you were looking for. It’s quite tedious to manually scroll through the seek bar to find the exact section especially if it’s a long video. That’s where Invideo for YouTube comes in.

It makes use of YouTube’s transcription feature to search within a video and find the section where the creator mentions the term you’re looking for. Just search for the word or phrase you want to find in a video and you can skip directly to that timestamp.

Invideo for YouTube

Invideo can help you find particular sections in a YouTube video where the creator has mentioned a specific word you're trying to find.

Download from Chrome Web Store

Watch Party

You’re probably aware of this one but for those of you who aren’t, Watch Party allows you to watch your favorite TV shows and movies with your friends and family in sync. It can be a pain to stream video together, especially if you’re a lot of people and while hosting an online meeting is an option, it doesn’t work too well with audio at times or everyone in the meeting doesn’t get controls to play/pause the content.

Apple recently introduced a similar feature built into Facetime, but not everyone has an iPhone and this extension is universal and works across devices. A host of services are supported so pick your favorite show and start binging with your friends!

Watch Party

Watch Party allows you to watch content form your favorite streaming platforms along with friends and family.

Download from Chrome Web Store

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From productivity to entertainment, all of these extensions add immense value to your usage and can help you save time or enable features you didn’t think could be done. You can install all of them to try them out and keep the ones that are really helpful to you. However, note that Chrome extensions do consume a good chunk of memory so make sure you limit yourself to a few extensions. You can install the rest whenever you want to use them temporarily for a specific purpose and then delete them later.

Which of these extensions interested you the most? Are there any useful extensions that we missed out on which you use? Let us know in the comments below so we can add them to the list.

The post These are the Best Chrome Extensions: Buster, MightyText, Inssist, and more! appeared first on xda-developers.

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