Cody Toombs
Senior Reviewer
Contributing since February, 2013
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1509articles
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About Cody Toombs
Cody has been writing with Android Police for ten years. While best known for the hundreds of APK Teardowns and breaking news on many of Google’s new products and services, he also covers deeper technical topics about the inner workings of Android, app development, and security. Cody is a software engineer and consultant with two decades of experience developing mobile and enterprise applications. In addition to writing, Cody is a regular podcaster and has made appearances on CNN, All About Android, and Tech News Today. Cody is also an active photographer and videographer, occasional gamer, and an all-around decent human.
What tech products or categories are you most passionate about?
Cameras and smartphones for photography. New technologies are bringing a lot of interesting things capabilities to the worlds of photography and video.
What was your first phone and what do you remember about it?
My true first phone was some old Motorola candybar phone from before the days of smartphones. I started on smartphones with the Cingular 2125 (a rebrand of the HTC Faraday, I think?)
Latest Articles
Find My Device v2.2 adds IMEI numbers to simplify reporting of lost or stolen phones [APK Download]
Find My Device doesn't get a lot of updates these days, and it probably doesn't need much more than it already does. However, the latest update does add a potentially valuable new feature that could make it easier to report your lost or stolen phone. You can now get the IMEI number for the device without digging up the original box or paperwork, and without having to make a point of recording the number elsewhere.
Google Opinion Rewards now allows you to delete and recreate your account [APK Download]
There's not a lot to Google's Opinion Rewards app, but the team behind it spent most of last year expanding its footprint to many new countries. Just last month, it was finally updated to also allow users to make changes to account information they had submitted during the sign-up process, which cleared up some oversights like the possibility of moving to another area. In today's update, Opinion Rewards is closing another gap by adding the ability to delete user accounts.
Update Notes for YouTube, YouTube Music, Play Store, Play Books, and Google Earth (May 19, 2018)
Every week, I examine somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred app updates while looking for changes. The most interesting things turn into APK Teardowns or Download posts. Many of the remaining updates are unremarkable, amounting to a few bug fixes, routine updates to libraries, or even just pixel-level adjustments to layouts and images. However, there are usually a few updates that land somewhere in between. I don't want to spam readers with dozens of short posts, but I hate to ignore things that people might want to know about, so I'm going to wrap up the leftovers for a little weekend reading and call it Update Notes.
Google Duo v34 brings the official rollout of screen sharing, except it's totally broken [APK Download]
We've been anticipating the official launch of screen sharing in Duo for about many months, ever since a teardown in mid-October revealed it to be in development. We've even seen basically what it looks like, albeit just as a sample. Now with the rollout of v34, we can all begin sharing our screens with friends, or more likely, help our parents fix something that's not working on their phones. Well, we could try to do that, except screen sharing is kinda totally broken.
It doesn't matter that it's Friday night, Google is still readily rolling out updates to its apps. The latest is a beta release for the Google app, bringing us up to v8.4. Changes are pretty sparse on this one, but there are a few cosmetic tweaks, plus we're getting some more details on the nature of the Read Later feature discussed in the previous teardown.
Google+ v10.6 may finally bring customizable fonts, colors, lists, and more [APK Teardown]
Google told us about a great many things at I/O that are coming to many different products across the Google family, but one big service wasn't mentioned: Google+. We've been waiting for a while to see some changes in the company's only true social network, and now there's actually something to look forward to. A teardown of the APK points to a significant enhancement to the text formatting features already available to users.
[Update: Rolling out] Casting notifications will soon launch Google Home or the media's matching app as a remote control
The infamous Casting notification became a very controversial feature for many. It looked like a good idea when it first appeared, but quickly earned much hate as the notifications proved to be spammy in regular use. Google eventually rolled out an option to turn off notifications. If you haven't shunned these notifications, or you're willing to turn them back on, you can look forward to a new twist that makes it possible to tap on the notification to immediately open up an app as a remote control.
Google Maps v9.78 beta adds visited places to custom lists, prepares profile privacy control and rodízio avoidance in São Paulo [APK Teardown]
Welcome a fresh update of Google Maps to the world. Version 9.78 began rolling out to the beta channel last night, and with it come a few visual tweaks and a cool new feature for custom lists that shows the places you've visited. Turning to the teardown, it looks like Google will be giving contributors a little more visibility and control over their public profiles. Drivers in São Paulo, Brazil will also be getting a useful tool for navigating through or around the rodízio.
Google app v8.3 beta prepares Read Later feature, Direct Reply notifications for messages, and much more [APK Teardown]
Google began rolling out a more-beta-than-usual update to its search app a couple days ago. Despite following the rush of I/O announcements, it doesn't look like this version brings any new features to users. However, like almost every update, it comes with an assortment of clues about upcoming changes.
Google Photos v3.20 prepares to launch suggested actions and may hint at locking photos with a fingerprint [APK Teardown]
While new information keeps rolling out of Google I/O, some of the recently announced things are creeping out in various forms. After the keynote, we've been expecting some enhancements to Google Photos, and the latest update contains new text that makes it look pretty likely that we'll be getting them soon. There's also a subtle clue that may suggest we'll soon get to lock up some of our photos or albums and access them with a fingerprint.
Android Messages v3.2 adds link previews, prepares dark mode and notification improvements to Messages for Web [APK Teardown]
Google I/O is in full swing, and that means app updates are going to be rolling out in force. I'm sitting here in the press box before the keynote, but that won't stop the teardowns from happening. An update to the Android Messages app landed yesterday, bringing with it newly added capabilities to show link previews. Coming in from the teardown, we've got signs of a new dark mode and some helpful controls for the upcoming Messages for Web feature.
Google app v8.2 beta prepares switching note and list services in Assistant, trimming silence from podcasts, and more [APK Teardown]
Google has been rolling out updates to its flagship app at a record pace, with significant updates landing only a few days apart. The latest may be a sign that the developers are nearly done, as the additions appear to be slowing down. In this update, we can see small visual tweaks, but nothing else too major. As usual, it's in the teardown where the changes are racking up, including signs that users will get to choose their own services for lists and notes taken by Assistant, an ability to trim the silence from podcasts, and a small follow-up regarding Google Doodles.
Google Home v1.29 prepares remote control for home automation, new Home and Account tabs, and closed caption customizations [APK Teardown]
As we get REALLY close to Google I/O, we're getting a rollout of the latest Google Home app. Like everything lately, we're not seeing much in the way of UI changes, though support for Ice Cream Sandwich is going away. However, there are some big things to see in a teardown. We've got signs of a remote control feature that works with various home automation features, lots of stuff happening with captions, and two new tabs for navigation.
The Translate app doesn't see a lot of updates, but when they come out, there's usually something interesting to discuss. In the latest version, rolling out today, there's not much to look at on the screen, but there are a few things in the teardown to look through. Actually, there was an unusually large amount of text added to the APK, but almost all of it is a repeat or slightly varied version of existing text, which likely means a new look is probably also in the works.
Google Contacts v2.7 prepares a new home screen widget and name suggestions using sources like Google Maps [APK Teardown]
Google Contacts v2.7 is rolling out, but you're not likely to see anything different in the UI. This update likely fixes some bugs and lines up a few new features. A teardown points to a brand new widget that will include a list of contacts. We'll also be able to look forward to a clever tool that will suggest names for contacts based on sources like Google Maps and your corporate directory if they're available.
Google Maps v9.77 beta brings an all new look to saved lists, sets up location sharing requests, and more [APK Teardown]
A new version of Google Maps landed late last night and brought with it an assortment of visual tweaks. You'll find an all new and improved look for your saved lists, plus some interesting tweaks to other small spots around the interface. There is also a pretty clear hint that we'll be able to send requests for other people to turn on location sharing so they don't have to take the initiative to share with us. There are a couple of smaller teardown topics as well.
Update Notes for Android Auto, Photos, Tasks, Play Music, Maps, and more (April 30, 2018)
Every week, I examine somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred app updates while looking for changes. The most interesting things turn into APK Teardowns or Download posts. Many of the remaining updates are unremarkable, amounting to a few bug fixes, routine updates to libraries, or even just pixel-level adjustments to layouts and images. However, there are usually a few updates that land somewhere in between. I don't want to spam readers with dozens of short posts, but I hate to ignore things that people might want to know about, so I'm going to wrap up the leftovers for a little weekend reading and call it Update Notes.
YouTube v13.16 may be preparing “Red” rebrand to “Premium” and urging binge watchers to take a break [APK Teardown]
YouTube may officially hold the crown for different service names, as long as you count the ones that appeared and never seem to launch. When the YouTube Red name first turned up, everybody was rightfully skeptical, but it turned out to be the ultimate replacement for the "Music Key" subscription. In just the last few months, we've seen the names Plus, Premiere, and Remix pop up, but none have yet to evolve into a final name. Yet another name from the thesaurus is joining the list, but this time, it's probably serious. Say hello to YouTube Premium.
Google app v8.1 beta adds 'At a glance' widget and Explore page with Your Stuff, hints at adding penalties to floating sports scores, and more [APK Teardown]
Google has been pumping out significant updates pretty fast recently, likely as the finishing touches are put down on new features that will be cut loose in a couple of weeks during I/O. The latest update brings with it the 'At a glance' widget that debuted in the Pixel Launcher, making it available to many more devices and in different launchers. We've also got a few small topics to cover in a teardown.
Google Duo v33 hints at read receipts and three levels of bokeh effect [APK Teardown]
While we await the imminent rollout of the screen sharing feature we've been watching for a few months, a new version of Duo is rolling out with even more clues about upcoming changes. There haven't been any immediately obvious changes going live in this update, but a teardown points to a couple of enhancements. The first will be read receipts for video and audio messages sent through Duo. The second set of clues points to three different levels for the upcoming bokeh effect.