Jordan Palmer
Contributing since August, 2016
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1269articles
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About Jordan Palmer
Jordan is an editor for Android Police and a technology enthusiast. He writes frequently, both professionally and as a hobby, loving the process of putting pen to paper... or fingers to a keyboard. Beyond tech journalism, Jordan enjoys writing fiction and spending many of his free seconds world-building for his novels. He also fills his time with video games (like Overwatch), staying fit, and ignoring his house cat.
Latest Articles
Telegram pushed a pretty substantial update today, bumping the Android app to v5.6. With it comes several new features, like archived chats, a new design, and other quality-of-life improvements.
In amidst the Google-y goodness that is the yearly I/O conference, Samsung had to go and try to steal some of the spotlight. You might be wondering how, exactly, the electronics giant is going about this. TechCrunch broke the news this morning that a development lab within the company has actually been leaking important information like the SmartThings source code and app signing keys.
Good afternoon, and welcome back to some app sales. It's been a crazy week with Google I/O – the fatigue is real – so I took some time this morning to rest, which is why this is so late in the day. You'll have to forgive me, especially since there's not a whole lot good to be had today.
The Google I/O 2019 keynote was, as usual, chock full of cool announcements, and among them was mention of a lofty new goal: Project Mainline. The idea picks up where Treble left off, furthering Android's modularization and making it easier for updates to change core OS components — mitigating the effect of the big, bad Fragmentation monster.
Today's I/O news is slowing down, but that doesn't mean that cool or important stuff has dried up just yet. Last year, Google announced that it was bringing support for Vulkan 1.1 to Pie, but now the company has said that v1.1 will be a requirement for 64-bit Android devices running Q or higher.
Last year, Google brought Linux support to Chromebooks. It's a really nifty feature, and it's only been improving since I/O 2018. But this year, Google announced that all Chromebooks launched in 2019 will be Linux-ready right out of the box, which is great for developers, enthusiasts, and newbies alike.
Coming as a surprise to absolutely nobody, Android Q will be the tenth version of Android and Google is noting it as such. It's been a long-time coming, and it's fun to just look back at how far things have come. I sometimes miss the Holo days (#holoyolo), but with the new dark theme, I'm overall happy with how Android looks these days. To each his own, yes, so it's okay if you don't.
Among the many announcements regarding Android Q, one little thing was slipped into the final notes near the end of the presentation. Q will support encryption on low-end devices, bringing security even to budget phones.
One of the best parts about Google Maps, and the feature I use more than anything else, is navigation. There are a slew of options, from your typical driving to walking to even public transit (if there is any where you live). But walking while staring down at your phone can indeed be dangerous, so Google is adding AR walking navigation to Maps, with Pixels getting an early preview.
Living in the digital age, we have almost everything we need to keep informed at our fingertips. Sometimes, however, we need to disconnect, whether it's to get homework done or enjoy time with family and friends. Previously, we've had options like Airplane Mode and Do Not Disturb, both of which do the job quite well. Unfortunately, they're an all-or-nothing solution, so Android will be getting a third choice: Focus Mode.
As usual with the last few years of I/O, Google took a chunk of time to talk about Assistant. While there are some other really interesting pieces, one that is sure to make people happy is that Assistant is coming to Waze.
Last year, one of the highlights that Google talked about was Duplex, where Assistant could call and make reservations for you. The creepy-yet-totally-cool factor was astronomically high, and since last year, Duplex has expanded to 44 states in the US. But Duplex isn't just for phone calls, you know — Duplex on the web is here to make sure that your online tasks are easy as pie.
To kick off Google I/O, CEO Sundar Pichai began the keynote with talking about Search, Google's bread and butter. We've all seen the evolution over time that has made Google the dominant search engine and the go-to for basically everyone, but I/O 2019 brings the next step in that evolution. When you search for a relevant topic, Search will show you full news coverage relating to that query, and podcasts about it.
B&H has always been near the top of our recommendations for deals because, previously, the retailer never charged sales tax outside of New York and New Jersey, thus making items cheaper than other places. But not too long ago, B&H was forced to cave and start charging tax due to a Supreme Court ruling addressing this issue. However, it's fired back with the oddly-named Payboo, a credit card that refunds you for any sales tax you pay on B&H.
Following the Pixels getting theirs today, Essential has pushed out the May security patch to the Essential Phone, right on time. This is quite typical for the company to be the first third-party OEM to update their phones, and unlike others, these patches are applied for everyone, not just those who opt into beta programs.
One of my dreams as a kid, and even as an adult, is to not vacuum, but that's not an option considering I have two long-hair cats. Luckily for those like me, we live in a technological age with robot vacuums, some of which can even swear. And you can pick one – a Eufy RoboVac 15C to be exact – up today in Amazon's Gold Box (Deal of the Day) for $179.99.Our very own Scott owns one and says it's quite spectacular. You can control the RoboVac 15C from the Android app and it works with Alexa for voice commands. It feature's Anker's BoostIQ, which automatically adjusts vacuum power when needed. The battery can last up to 100 hours, and this RoboVac is quite slim at 2.8" thick.You have a few hours – about seven at time of writing – left to get in on this deal, so don't wait too long. Link is below for you to get started.Buy: Amazon
Twitter users, rejoice! Starting today, you'll be able to include images, videos, and perhaps most importantly, GIFs in your retweets and quote tweets — itshappening.gif.
Welcome to Google I/O 2019 week, everyone. Things are about to kick into high gear, so be ready for the barrage of news. Though the keynote isn't until tomorrow, you can still expect some early stuff today, so why not have a look through some app sales before that starts?
TGIF, y'all. The weekend before Google I/O is almost here, so savor it because next week is going to be nuts. There will be the regularly-scheduled app sales and I'll try to get them out early in the mornings so that you have some time to look through them before I/O news starts. Unlike Wednesday's roundup – which still has goodies like the Evoland games and KOTOR on sale – today's is quite small.
It's been interesting watching all of these Pixel 3a/3a XL leaks happen all over the place – though it's hard to beat the insanity that led up to the Pixel 3 reveal last year – but it looks like Best Buy has taken the device's release for granted and jumped the gun a bit, as you can see in the photo above. Oh, boy.