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Dark theme boot screen spotted in testing for Chrome OS
Soon your Chromebook won't blind you every time you power it on
If you're a Chromebook fan and a Dark Theme stan, then you may be particularly excited to hear that a dark boot screen for Chrome OS has been spotted in recent Dev-channel releases. The new look started appearing late last week for devices like the Pixelbook and Lenovo Duet running the latest Dev channel Chrome OS 101 releases. However, reports indicate some subtle differences between devices.
Android 12 got a small reboot animation tweak for the impatient among us
Google Play system updates now come with progress percentage when you restart your phone
Google isn't only regularly releasing monthly system updates to Android phones, it's also pushing so-called Google Play system updates to devices. They're independent from full system releases and have been created as part of Project Mainline, an effort to speed up updates to certain parts of the Android system. As reported by XDA Developers, the process has received a small makeover as part of the latest update, with a new percentage bar now showing the installation progress on the boot screen on Pixel phones running the Android 12 Beta.
One of the rumored additions in Android Q Beta 5 was a dark boot screen on Pixel devices, which would address a common complaint that rebooting your phone at night flashes you with a bright light. The feature has made an appearance in the latest beta, but not for all devices.
Proponents of dark mode, here's one more thing to tick off your wishlist for a black digital world. The upcoming Android Q Beta 5, which isn't yet available but has already leaked... twice, will offer a new dark boot animation when your phone is set to use the system-wide dark mode.
I normally like covering the Open Betas that OnePlus puts out for its devices. Ever since the program launched last year, it's shown that the "underdog" Chinese manufacturer is cleaning up its act regarding updates (the OP2 incident notwithstanding). However, this time around, I'm left facepalming. Why, you may ask? Aside from the normal bug fixes and optimizations, OnePlus decided to change the boot animation... and I think that it's pretty terrible.
Do you know what appears when your phone boots up? Nexus devices have this spunky way of showing off the Android logo. Other manufacturers have their own way of introducing their brand. Motorola tends to get particularly creative. Turning on a Moto E feels a lot like watching the launch trailer.
How many times have you looked at your Android Wear watch while it booted and thought, "Gosh darn it, that's a rrrrreally cool animation right there!" If you love that boot sequence, you probably get a tickle every time your battery dies or your watch updates and you see it starting up again. Boot Watch Face eliminates those requirements by using the animation each time you turn your watch on. Neat!
You probably heard that Cyanogen Inc. decided to change up its logo and branding a few weeks ago. Apparently, with that comes a new boot animation for the impending Cyanogen OS 12 (Lollipop) update. The company has posted a video preview of the animation on YouTube, so take a look.
Were you upset that CyanogenMod changed its boot animation for CM12 (based on Lollipop) to a blinding white flash of branding brilliance? Then you really need to find better things to be upset about. Even so, it looks like the nightly builds released just a few days later have adjusted the boot animation once again, bringing it back to a more sober black. Here it is, for your viewing pleasure:
Remember the not-so-glory days of home computing, when each and every action taken before your operating system booted up was rendered on-screen in glorious greyscale text? Now you can re-live those days (or I dunno, just install a really useful pre-boot tool) with LiveBoot. This customized boot animation with its own configuration tool comes from prolific developer Chainfire, who released a free version with a Pro upgrade into the Play Store.
Motorola's newer phones have a lot of little touches that improve the overall experience, one of which is the boot services app. Sounds boring, right? Well, it is most of the time. The exception being days like today when Motorola uses boot services to push out a new boot animation. This time it's got a World Cup theme.
Motorola has a lot of apps in the Play Store to enhance its devices over time without a ROM update – even the boot animation. Motorola's newest boot animation is now playing on a Moto X/G near you. Don't have a Moto device? We've got the video for you.
One of the darlings of the Android custom ROM world, AOKP, has a new, and pretty incredible, boot animation. Some of you may recall that the AOKP team started soliciting new boot animations from their user community back in December. That contest has now ended, and the winner, Joachim Holler, certainly delivered the goods.
The various families of custom ROMs are in an arms race... in a really nice way. Each one is trying to one-up the others with new features and improvements on stock Android, with some genuinely spectacular results in some cases. The latest beta builds of Paranoid Android include some particularly useful features, most notably a revamped Quick Settings menu. The PA version of the drop-down icon grid allows for multiple functions for each square and on the fly rearranging. Check it out in the video below:
There are a lot of things to like about about Motorola's bargain wonder the Moto G, but the animated boot logo probably isn't at the top of the list. The boot animation which it shares with the Moto X is admittedly cool, and at least someone at Motorola is paying attention to it, even after launching both phones. The Motorola Boot Services app was published in the Google Play Store today, downloadable only on the Moto G. Apparently the app is already installed and updated on the Moto X.
Android is now the undisputed champion of mobile marketshare, but certain companies are still releasing exclusive iOS apps, like the JARVIS-themed Iron Man 3 companion. It's a bummer, but iOS users can't make sweet custom boot animations like the one that Redditor hypd09 posted to /r/Android yesterday. It won't turn your phone into a suit of weaponized armor, but it will look pretty sweet with your elaborate Halloween costume.
Last night, 73v1n, the author of the last few CyanogenMod boot animations, posted an updated and completely revamped version designed for CyanogenMod 10. It's very likely going to become the official animation of the ROM in the future, but if you want some of this goodness on your device stat (especially if you're running CM 7 or 9, as the version number doesn't appear in the newest animation), you don't have to wait for CM10 at all - 73v1n has now uploaded it for everyone to enjoy.
73v1n (a.k.a. @Xevin, a.k.a. Cameron Behzadpour), the creator of official CyanogenMod boot animations, dropped the version for CM10 a couple of minutes ago. Jelly Bean-colored, clean, and simple, yet, in my opinion, highly attractive, the animation hits the nail on the head. There no Cid, no controversy surrounding him, no outdated skater dude - just pure awesomeness. I won't spoil the fun - just watch.
[Video] Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Boot Animation (As Seen On A Nexus 7)
It's kind of a tradition now for the Android team to create different boot animations for every Android release, and Jelly Bean is definitely no exception.
It's kind of a tradition now for the Android team to create different boot animations for every Android release, and Jelly Bean is definitely no exception. Here's the boot animation from the Nexus 7 which is, as you all should know by now, the first device running Android 4.1: