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T-Mobile's April Fools joke is about as subtle as its 'new' color
April showers bring joke press releases
The last two years have seen most technology companies cancel their usual round of April Fools gags and goofs, what with the current state of the world. And as much as it's hard to argue that everything is "back to normal" just yet, one thing seems inevitable: we're getting some jokey press releases over the next few days. Even before the clock strikes midnight, T-Mobile is ready to reveal the first gag of the year: a brand-new hue for its branding.
Google says it won't pull a 'Voltswagen' this year
The company will skip its elaborate April Fools' Day jokes for a second year running
2020 sucked hard. A year ago Google decided to skip its tradition of elaborate April Fools' Day jokes, on account of, you know, a worldwide pandemic that killed millions of people. A year later things are looking up — I'm getting my first vaccine dose tomorrow! — but it's far from over. So maybe it's a good thing that Google is reportedly skipping the levity for a second year running.
April Fools is an annual highlight at Google (right on par with Google I/O), with the company directing many resources to develop the most elaborate Easter eggs. Google Maps is almost certainly always a part of the yearly festivities: After 2015's resurrection of Pac Man and last year's Where's Waldo, this time around we're invited to play good old Snake on our favorite mapping service.
LineageOS announced its April Fools' Day joke at the appropriate time back on Sunday, but the gag itself wasn't ready until the most recent builds were released yesterday. Now that it has actually landed (late), the hoax has lost both its relevance and its taste. So if you flash this week's update and see a warning about software counterfeiting and cryptocurrency mining, don't freak out. It's just a very late, very bad joke.
April Fools' day is almost upon us, but each year at least a few companies are unable to restrain themselves, pushing out their pranks early as the remainder dribble out over the day itself. Google's various divisions do some decent work each year—last year's Google Gnome was itpretty good, and the Maps team's 2014 Pokemon prank was memorable. OnePlus even has a history of pulling off a decent prank. But, there are a ton of individual companies and gags to follow.
There's a wide selection of mobile hardware these days, but the variations between flagships are getting fewer with every year. IP-68+ ratings and high-dpi OLED displays are commonplace now, and every new phone wins a camera award. The only real way manufacturers can differentiate is via the software experience, and everyone has an opinion when it comes to that, including those of us here at Android Police.
April Fools Day is almost upon us, but some companies aren't waiting to share their pranks. Google always does a great job, from the Pokemon Google Maps overlay to a smart mailbox, but there are a few from other companies worth mentioning. Here's a rundown of all the hilarious (or strange) tech-related April Fools Day jokes from around the web.
The Nexus 5X was one of the last devices with the Nexus brand (unless Google revives it), along with the Huawei-made 6P. Compared to its predecessor, the Nexus 5, it had a faster processor, a far superior camera, a fingerprint sensor, and more. When the 5X was released in 2015, it was easily one of the best value devices you could buy - but how does it hold up a year and a half later?
Is it really an April Fools "prank" if what you put together actually performs its stated function? Either way, you probably won't want to keep the "Self-Browsing Chromebook" app on your machine for more than a day or so. According to Google's straight-faced Chrome Blog entry, the app is intended to automate your entire computer experience. What it actually does is take over your laptop with a full-screen interface that navigates around the web by itself.
Inbox by Gmail isn't even yet a year old, but Google is trying to improve mail even further. But this time, it's not working with the digital variety. It's doing something about snail mail.
When HTC announced the RE camera, an inhaler-shaped device that lacks a viewfinder of its own, it seemed like great fodder for an April Fools joke. But no, that product was real, and it actually exists.
Google has spent years putting its search functionality into as many form factors as it can manage. It all started with desktops and laptops. From there, Search hopped to phones. Now we see it making its way into TVs, watches, and cars.
Ever wondered if there was an alternate reality where your world was flipped, wrong was right, right was left, left had stayed, and... I may have lost focus right there. Let me readjust my direction and perspective... So elgooG asked the same question and came away with a solution to show you (and let's face it, your bewildered coworkers) a mirror of our universe, or at least the part of it that we all visit several times a day.
Did you just conduct a small or elaborate prank on your friends, family members, or coworkers? If so, and if you were talking to them on Hangouts, the moment you decide to reveal your true intentions and the nature of the prank, you'll be helped by a selection of easter egg animations. That should soften the blow — potentially.
Sometimes words cannot express how websites make you feel. The quickest way to get your emotions across is to simply share the look on your face. This is easy enough in person, and Google is making the online process similarly simple.
Samsung may have recently unveiled two smart watches and the Gear Fit, but the manufacturer isn't finished with wearables just yet. Tonight, in a post to Samsung Tomorrow, Samsung unveiled Samsung Fingers, a smart glove with features that truly revolutionize your hand experience.