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Midrange devices are really the perfect target for something like TWRP. They're capable devices, but they usually suffer from intolerably bloated interfaces and/or get updates way too late or not at all. A custom recovery is the starting point from which any enterprising user can start flashing mods and custom ROMs onto their device to get over any of the previously mentioned hurdles.
I could have sworn that SanDisk made 256GB MicroSDXC cards already, but it seems like it didn't. It just announced them though, so I'm not awfully wrong anymore. There are two new cards in SanDisk's portfolio of super duper ultra high capacity: the SanDisk Extreme MicroSDXC UHS-I and SanDisk Ultra MicroSDXC UHS-I card, Premium Edition.
Fragmentation is the flaming torch we have to face each time a discussion about Android updates or development is started. Google releases monthly distribution numbers of its operating system, which detail the percentages of devices running a certain version of the OS that have visited the Play Store in the past 7 days. They're usually met with collective groans as Froyo and Gingerbread cling on to dear life month after month.
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- Yahoo just announced the app's release officially and detailed an improved home screen that focuses on the teams and players you have favorited and an Alerts tab that keeps track of all the notifications you receive through the app so you can easily go back and check something if you missed it.
Yahoo already had a Sports app on the Play Store, which until yesterday enjoyed the brand's signature purple icon and "Yahoo Sports" name. Now, that app has been clearly retired with a grey icon and a switch back to its old Sportacular name. Instead, there's a brand new Yahoo Sports app on the Play Store with an improved purple icon and an entirely redesigned UI.
After launching quasi-worldwide and implementing lots of small usability improvements for data usage, Netflix is ready to take another big leap forward. Or NNNNNNot. The service is introducing a small branding change in its app icon and across its various social media presences.
About a month ago, some Twitter users started spotting a night mode in their Twitter app that transformed the entire interface into a dark blue shade. The change was triggered server-side, meaning it showed up inconsistently across different Twitter beta and alpha versions, but it didn't seem like there was a way to revert it back to a light theme on request.
It's been a while since we've done these WhatsApp posts to talk about all the little changes that the app has received and that don't warrant an entire post. But they've started to add up and it's finally time for me to sit down, sift through the hundreds of tips emails and chats and screenshots, find the different modifications, and tell you all about them in case you missed them.
The main reasons I can speak and write in English so well (or at least I think I do), despite it being my third language, are song lyrics and movie subtitles. Teenage-me used to spend hours listening to American music and watching American movies, trying to understand what was being said, then resorting to hit the subtitle button on my VCD player (I'm old) or to go to LetsSingIt to find the lyrics. They helped me get pronunciation right like no book or college course ever could.
When I published my review of the LG G5, my personal take on the device itself was positive and divergent from David's more criticizing review. However, there is one aspect both David and I agree on almost to the letter: the Friends. They are, in my opinion, fun to try, but you can tell they were rushed, with a poorly executed mechanism, and some highly doubtful usefulness factor. Well, all but the 360 Cam. That one is pure awesome bundled in magic and wrapped in 360 degrees of cool.
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- In a couple of later tweets, Blass did indeed mention an iris scanner, saying that his sources had confirmed it. Other rumored specs include a 5.7-inch QHD (2560x1440) screen, 64GB of storage plus a microSD card slot, a 12MP/5MP camera setup, IP68 water and dust protection, and black, silver, and blue color options. Note that there's some considerable evidence in Samsung's hardware lineup and patent portfolio that indicate that the iris scanner is real.
We know the next Galaxy Note device will be announced on August 2nd, but that's pretty much all that was quasi-confirmed about Samsung's upcoming big flagship. Rumors had said that the company might skip the number 6 and jump straight to 7, to stay on par with its Galaxy series and not confuse people. After all, most of Samsung's marketing for the Galaxy S7/S7 Edge this year was around the shape of the number 7. It would send a mixed signal if it were to advertise the number 6 now for the Note. (It might also have to do with the inevitable launch of the iPhone 7 in the fall.)
Google Photos is still trying to find the best ways to reconcile between your locally stored photos and your cloud photos in the most seamless and least intrusive way. Over the year since its launch, it made deleting photos, from inside the app itself, simultaneous between cloud and local storage. Then it made it possible to empty your phone's storage if you've already backed up photos, so you don't run out of space on your phone.
Look, I'm not going to try to convince you that the Galaxy S7 Edge is a good phone. If you're reading this, then you're already interested in this kick-ass device, which I personally think nears perfection and can easily fill most people's needs in a high-end smartphone.
WhatsApp's voice calling doesn't seem like it has changed a lot since it was first tested as an invite-only feature then released to everyone in March of 2015. But the service, from my personal experience, has become more reliable, less spotty, with fewer delays and disconnections. Around me, everyone uses WhatsApp calls, because everyone is on WhatsApp to begin with, but also because local calls still aren't unlimited or cheap on any plan, not to mention the exorbitant prices of international calls. WhatsApp calls have almost completely replaced regular calls for us, and it's not hard to imagine that it must be the same in other countries where WhatsApp is popular too. Just today, I was chatting with a drug company rep who told me that most if not all of her business calls (boss, clients, suppliers, etc) are done on WhatsApp now.
New York City's Pride March is scheduled to take place this Sunday the 26th, and Google is all ready to join in. Android's "be together not the same" slogan champions acceptance and celebrates difference, something that falls in line with the message of Pride. And with the Orlando shooting's black cloud looming over everyone, it's nice to see Google already excited and ready to grab its rainbow flag and stand proud.
Earlier this month, the Moto 360 and Moto 360 Sport started getting an update with May's security patches and a couple of Moto Body improvements, while other Wear watches got just the new security updates. And given that almost none of the other manufacturers share their update's details, we didn't know if anything else had changed in their software along with that.
Instagram's filters may have set the bar low for "photography" but, by doing so, they democratized something that many users were either too afraid to attempt or deemed too complicated and demanding. The app has gone from being known for crappy photos of daily meals to becoming the place where audiences can find and follow brands, popular or esoteric interests, and niche hobbies.
Whoa. It's not easy for me to be impressed by a keyboard. I have been a staunch Google Keyboard user on all of my devices from the day it was released as a standalone app on the Play Store many moons ago. Every other keyboard I have tried — and I've tried plenty — fails to even register within the usable spectrum for me: lags and/or lack of precision have killed many revered third-party options.
In my surroundings, I am known as the "LG girl." I switched to the brand in 2013 when the G2 was announced and fell in love with the big screen, the great camera, and even LG's own software additions on top of AOSP. I recall showing friends and acquaintances photos I'd taken with the G2 while hiking, flipping the phone to landscape, and telling them to swipe through the pics. "It's like holding only a screen, the bezels disappear," was my own way of explaining why I loved the G2 so much. It never failed to impress.
Over the years, we've had an official XDA-Developers app, followed by another official XDA-Developers app, then an official but not Play Store-friendly XDA-Developers app, but if that wasn't enough, we now have one more official XDA-Developers app. Because apparently updating the previous listing isn't something the XDA Developers developers could figure out. (Actually it's good they kept the legacy apps for those who were using them, but this was an easy joke not to make.)
We've featured RichFace in our Android Wear roundups quite a few times already, but so far, we haven't had reason to talk about the designer/developer team beyond that. That changes today with the release of their first non-Wear app on the Play Store. It's a Live Wallpaper, so we're still in customization territory, but it's definitely an interesting one.