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Facial recognition on Android isn't the most robust method of securing your phone; it even says as much when you set it up. It shouldn't be very surprising, then, that it can be fooled by what is probably the least likely thing someone trying to get into your device will have access to: a lifelike, 3D-printed replica of your head.
For some reason, it seems like every single social media service wants to add stories to their platform. Snapchat really kicked the concept off, Instagram decided to copy it, and then Zuckerberg and friends decided to put it in Facebook too. Now, YouTube is joining in on the fun as well.
Bose is known for making high-end audio gear. It shouldn't be surprising, then, that its latest fully wireless earbuds cost $250. What is a little surprising, though, is that the new "revolutionary noise-masking sleepbuds" (sleepbuds is one word, lowercase) can't play music. These pricey, battery-powered, Bluetooth-connected earphones are made solely to drown out noise and help you sleep, and they literally can't do anything else.
When discussing smartwatches, most of us agree that Samsung's Gear S3 is one of the best. It's my personal favorite and I think that Sammy did a great job with it. However, as seems to be the trend these days, the Korean company has paired up with TUMI, a "travel lifestyle brand," to bring us a special version of the Gear S3 Frontier. Thanks!
How do you tell a Periscope streamer you like what they've got? Hearts. How do you tell them you really like what they've got? Super Hearts. The latter is a new item in the Periscope app, and it'll cost you. Twitter has added in-app purchases for Super hearts to its live streaming app to squeeze some revenue out of the previously free service.
Instagram is getting some new features to appeal to your creative side. If you've been dying for some face filters for your posts or Direct messages, you can now have them. More features are also being added, like video rewind and hashtags right on the Stories that you post. Sounds... engaging.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 plus are two of the most attractive smartphones that have come out in the past few years. With their super-slim bezels, rounded corners, and glass backs that come in a variety of colors, the S8 and S8+'s good looks can't be denied. Most of the accessories that debuted alongside the duo, such as the Alcantara Cover and Clear View Standing Cover, aren't bad-looking either. However, there's one exception to the rule - the 2Piece Cover. If you want to make your gorgeous new phone look like absolute crap, you should seriously consider one of these.
One of the newest storms to hit the Internet was the change to Evernote's privacy policy. While this is usually reserved for those of us who can wade through varying levels of legalese (I admit that I'm weird), I do recommend that all users of the note-taking service take a quick pass through one section in particular. And even though people all over are up in arms, there are a few key points to consider.
In this job I work with a lot of public relations people. Their task is similar to mine, but in the opposite direction: while the responsibility of tech journalists is to present consumers with information that helps them make buying decisions, PR agents are generally instructed to drive sales by getting the news out. There's nothing wrong with the profession itself, and I've known great PR agents and those who are not so great. But I often look across the professional aisle and feel profound sympathy for my counterparts on the corporate side of tech media.
You can already use a browser, email client, and video player on Android Wear thanks to Appfour, and now you can check your calendar too. This dev specializes (apparently) in taking full-size apps and shoehorning them into the small form factor provided by Android Wear. Sometimes it's a bad idea, but it's at least good for a laugh. This one seems somewhat useful, though.
Have you ever wanted to view a document on your smartwatch? Don't lie. What, you have? Oh, well, um, now you can, all thanks to developer appfour.
When George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, he famously replied, "Because it's there." I imagine a similar disposition possessed the developer of Wear Browser (better known for AIDE) when he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, I guess I'll put a browser on that watch." I say this because I can't think of a good reason anyone would do this. Still, it exists.
Games made specifically for Android Wear devices were almost inevitable. Despite the small size, there's a lot of potential for Wear integration for full-sized Android games - you could use your watch as a Star Trek-style alert system for an RPG, or as a fun secondary screen, like the Visual Memory Unit on the old Dreamcast. Even games limited to Wear itself could do a lot with simple taps or swipes. So the fact that the first Android Wear game we've come across is a Flappy Bird clone, is, you might say, a bit disappointing.
Remember the time Samsung thought people wanted to walk around talking on a camera? Well, I'm not sure it got the memo that people actually didn't want that. Like, at all. Because tonight it announced another Galaxy Zoom. This one's called the Galaxy K zoom, and it's just like the last one...with better specs. You know, the natural progression of things. In all seriousness, though, it actually does look quite a bit sleeker and slimmer than last year's model.
Typically, AP refrains from covering crowd-funding projects that have not yet reached their funding goal. Sometimes, though, there comes a campaign that is just too good to pass up. These campaigns usually fall into one of two categories - either the yet-unfunded campaign is unbelievably awesome, or it's really weird and kind of ridiculous. We'll let you decide which bucket the HeadWatch falls into.
American carriers sometimes get phones later than the rest of the world. Lately the situation has been improving, especially with big-name devices and a few exclusives. But when we see evidence of an upcoming low-end phone that's almost a year old, and one that's been supplanted by a new version, we can't help but sigh. So it is with the Galaxy S III Mini, which was just pegged by Evleaks for an AT&T release. The tweet says the model name will be SM-G730A.
[New App] RoundR Rounds The Corners Of Your Device's Screen, Because Why Not?
As an Android site, we try to keep a close eye on newcomers to the Play Store. Sometimes that helps us find new, innovative, and highly useful apps. On
As an Android site, we try to keep a close eye on newcomers to the Play Store. Sometimes that helps us find new, innovative, and highly useful apps. On the other side of that, it also help us find WTF apps for the roundups. But every once in a while an app shows up that simply baffles the mind, because its existence is so seemingly questionable it's hard to imagine why it's a thing in the first place.
The Pebble sure wasn't the first smart watch, but it's been getting a lot of attention lately. In fact, wearable computing as an industry is seeing a bit of a resurgence in general. The trouble, at least as one company sees it, is that smart watches require you to already have an expensive phone. That's two batteries you have to keep charged! Craziness! That's where the Neptune Pine comes in.
In order to further convolute the Galaxy series more than it already is, Samsung just brought the Galaxy S II name back from the dead by announcing the Galaxy S II Plus. The phone – which is already basically irrelevant – is a rehash of Sammy's 2011 flagship, albeit with a slight bump in spec and a new version of Android. Woo.