Latest Articles
Google kept most of the new stuff in Android N under wraps before today's surprise developer release, but one of the things we spotted early was a redesigned user interface for the main Settings app. Here it is, in all its multifaceted glory. There are a lot of small changes, mostly focused at getting more relevant information to users quickly, and often without the need to dive into a sub-menu. Almost all of the listed entries on the main page now have a subtitle: the connected network for Wi-Fi, devices for Bluetooth, a readout for data usage, et cetera.
There's a new version of Android on the horizon, and you know what that means: users complaining that their devices aren't included in the developer preview. But it also means that the Quick Settings menu is getting some interface changes, and there are quite a few tweaks in the new N builds. Now when users pull down the notification shade, they're first greeted with a single row of minimalized settings icons, which can be accessed without pulling down the shade twice as in Marshmallow.
In between selling iPhone cases (yes, really) and paying for product placement on the latest season of House of Cards (yes, really), OnePlus seems to have achieved something rather cool on the software front. They've partnered with Canonical, the people who make the popular Linux desktop distribution Ubuntu, in order to bring the mobile version to the original OnePlus One. Neat! OnePlus made the announcement on Google Plus.
The folks at iFixit are all about empowering consumers to repair their own devices. But they never said that was easy, and such is the case with Samsung's 2016 flagship. As usual iFixit has meticulously torn apart the Galaxy S7 for your education and entertainment, and unsurprisingly, the components are even more intricate and hard to replace than they were on the Galaxy S6. Warning: gratuitous phone guts below.
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.
Amazon really wants people to use voice command to buy stuff. So much so that the new Echo Dot, the smaller, cheaper version of the Amazon Echo that can use an existing speaker can only be bought through voice commands, specifically on an existing Amazon Echo unit or through Amazon's Fire TV platform. At least, that's what the launch announcement says. It turns out you can get one through the Amazon Android storefront app just as easily, no extra hardware required (though you do need to be an Amazon Prime subscriber). Here we go:1. Download and install the Amazon Shopping app on an Android phone or tablet. (This might work on iOS too, but I don't have anything to test it with.)2. Log in to your Amazon account.3. Tap the microphone icon in the upper left corner to start the voice command tool.
ZeroLemon, purveyor of enormous batteries and even bigger cases to the mobile masses, has another extended battery on offer. This time it's for the LG V10, the high-end phone with a weird little stock ticker screen above its primary panel. As with most of ZeroLemon's designs, it wraps around the entire phone with specific cutouts for buttons and ports. The extended battery is 9000mAh, exactly three times bigger than the V10's stock battery, and it's selling on Amazon for .
You might have heard that Amazon disabled the option for software encryption in the latest version of its Android-based Fire OS for the Kindle Fire series of tablets. (This isn't new - Fire OS 5 has been rolling out to various tablets since last year.) And if you read news that isn't Android Police, you probably also know that it's not the biggest story involving encryption right now. After consumer backlash following the Apple-FBI encryption case, Engadget reports that Amazon says it will return software encryption in the next major update.
Considering the shortness of February and the general malaise that is the entertainment industry between January and March, it's impressive that Android received so many high-profile games during the month. And indeed we did: JRPG fans have no less than three new classics to check out, there's a new chapter of The Walking Dead for horror fans, and plenty of titles for more causal players to try. Below in no particular order, you'll find our picks for the seven best new Android games of February, plus a few honorable mentions.
Last year Dell introduced the Venue 8 7000 series (AKA the 7840), one of the most unique tablets on the market. Its super-slim case and bezels make it look more than a little striking, and the Intel RealSense cameras on the back are something that no other Android device can boast. The design isn't without its problems, as mentioned in Ryan Whitwam's review - one of the biggest pitfalls of the product was the high price for an 8-inch device, which launched at $400 for the 16GB base model. If you've been admiring the design but balking at the price, the Venue 8 7000 now has a steep discount.The 16GB version of the tablet is now $199.99, and the 32GB model gets a similar discount to $249.99. That's much more palatable, and a bit cheaper than similar tablets in the same spec range, like Samsung's Tab S series. Inside the 6mm body is an Atom Z3580 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a surprisingly big 5900mAh battery. The 8.4" screen is one of the Venue 8 7000's most distinctive features with a high 2560x1600 resolution, and the primary rear camera is 8MP (plus two 720p rear cameras for RealSense depth sensing). The tablet launched with Android 4.4.4, but it's since been updated to 5.1.The price has already been dropped on Dell's official website, but it doesn't appear to be in stock at the time of writing. Amazon is selling both the 16GB and 32GB version. Expect retailers like Best Buy to follow suit in the next few days if they haven't already. This price drop might indicate that Dell is getting rid of its existing stock... which doesn't bode well for any future software upgrades.Source: Dell, Amazon
Samsung continues to push its Pay platform on every front, and according to the latest press release, it's working. The company claims that "about five million users" have used Samsung Pay to spend more than half a billion dollars. That's probably thanks to Samsung's unique system that doesn't require retailers to buy new payment processing hardware. A wide array of compatible banks, credit unions, and credit card companies probably doesn't hurt. Today Samsung announced that Wells Fargo, one of the largest American banks, is joining the program.
I kind of wish that Supercell, developers of the base-building IAPfests Clash of Clans and Boom Beach, would go into cartoons or movies. The 30-second commercial skits that they make to reel players into games are much more entertaining than the games themselves. But if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak, so let's just take a look at the company's latest offering. Clash Royale is available worldwide today, after spending several months as a geo-limited beta.
The LG G Pad X 10.1 isn't the most notable tablet in the world. Its specs are middling at best, its styling is inoffensive, and it isn't any particular bargain. But it does have one claim to fame, at least if you have the AT&T LTE version: it's the first tablet to support NumberSync, the service that allows users to seamlessly use one number across multiple devices for phone calls and texts. Previously the service was limited to Apple devices (piggybacking off of Apple ID) and the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch.
Later this month, DC will release its next gigantic tentpole movie into theaters, in which Super-Cavill and Batfleck will (presumably) grimace at each other for 150 minutes while Wonder Woman begs them for some screen time. If you prefer your superheroes to have a little fun and self-awareness (and you can't wait for the next Marvel movie to come out), LEGO just released another Batman game in the Play Store. Batman: DC Super Heroes can be yours for $5.
The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge feature the triumphant return of expandable storage to Samsung's flagship phone line (without Android 6.0's adoptable storage function, unfortunately). So while you're waiting for your new phone to ship, you need to track down a high-capacity MicroSD card to stick inside it. If you head over to Amazon, you can find a positively massive 200GB SanDisk Ultra card for just .99. That matches the lowest price we've seen on this particular card, and it qualifies for free shipping even if you don't subscribe to Amazon Prime.
The writing isn't quite on the wall for traditional cable and satellite television - not so long as companies like Comcast can manipulate the market with artificial monopolies and data caps, anyway - but things are definitely looking up for cord-cutters. The latest fruit of the union between American telecom AT&T and satellite TV giant DirecTV is a series of TV packages that don't require, well, TV packages. These data-only streaming options will become available some time in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to an AT&T press release.
Google's various flavors of voice control are neat, not to mention extremely useful thanks to deep integration with Android. But Mountain View doesn't have a monopoly on speech interpretation: Microsoft has made a pretty compelling case for its cross-platform Cortana system, to say nothing of the similar entries from Apple and Amazon. SoundHound threw its hat in the ring last year with the semi-proprietary Hound app, though you had to be part of the beta to check it out. Today Hound gets a public launch, and everyone can play with it with no prerequisites.
Back in 2005, video games really wanted to be movies. "Cinematic" was the buzzword of the day, though it usually translated to "a whole lot of cutscenes." Games still haven't quite gotten over their movie crush, but one of the distinct styles of games to emerge from that era was the narrative-focused 3D adventure. These games mixed the traditional inventory puzzles and story-focused dialogue of adventure games with big-budget production and quick-time controls. The works of director David Cage, including games like Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, are the primary examples of the genre.
What's up, British people... and Welsh people, and Scots, and Irish people who live in Northern Ireland but not the other parts of Ireland. (Did I miss anyone?) You probably watch the British Broadcasting Company's news or television shows, even if it's only in passing. And some of those shows probably feature some live music. If you like the music on those BBC shows, there's an app where you can watch and/or listen to it. It's called BBC Music. Go figure.
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.