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Ready for the new Nexus phone announcements next week? Google is, and apparently they're preparing for a launch soon after that. A device that's without a doubt the LG Nexus 5X has arrived at the Federal Communications Commission for documentation and certification, an essential step in selling any wireless device in the United States (and a frequent source for gadget leaks to hungry nerds). This particular phone uses the model number LG-H790, presumably the carrier-agnostic version for the United States, while the international version leaked by an Amazon India listing yesterday is the LG-H791. The LG-H791 has also been listed in the FCC database.
Show of hands: how many Android Police readers are still using Android 2.3 or lower on a phone or tablet? According to the latest distribution numbers, it's under one in twenty of Android users worldwide - the rest have upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) or later. (We don't talk about the whole Honeycomb thing anymore.) That being the case, it's understandable why the developers of SwiftKey have decided to stop supporting those older machines with the latest beta version of the custom keyboard app.
We've already heard a good bit about the DROID Turbo 2, the latest Motorola phone customized for Verizon's US exclusive line. We've even been given a peek at the device, which seems to be very similar to the latest iterations of the Moto X series. New details have been reported by Phandroid, and while we can't confirm them, they seem like natural extensions of Motorola's current market direction. Notably, the DROID Turbo 2 will reportedly get at least some of the same Moto Maker customization options that have been slowly expanding from the Moto X to other devices.
Have you noticed an improvement in your phone's voice search or voice dictation capability in the last few days, especially in noisy environments? You can thank the Google Speech Team. They've implemented a new system for automated listening to human voices. Adding recurring neural network functionality to the system has allowed it to more accurately identify complete words instead of individual snippets of sound. From the Google Research Blog:
[Bonus Round] HoPiKo, Beacon 38, Hypersurf, Rage Quit Racer, HALOS, Champ Man 16, And PewDiePie: Legend of Brofist
HoPiKo, Beacon 38, Hypersurf, Rage Quit Racer, HALOS, Champ Man 16, And PewDiePie: Legend of Brofist
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a super-fast platformer, a unique 2D exploration game, two tunnel runners, a minimal twitch game, yet another soccer manager, and (sigh) a game from a bunch of Let's Play "stars." Without further ado:
According to my Steam statistics, I've played approximately 162 hours of Just Cause 2, a significant portion of which was spent grappling members of the Panauan armed forces to lit fuel containers to make them zoom away like man-sized Roman candles. Avalanche Studios' open-world magnum opus seems to nail what larger franchises like Grand Theft Auto forgot years ago: the most fun you can get from a sandbox game is in blowing large parts of said sandbox to smithereens.
You know how you can press the little music icon while you're doing a Google voice search, and it will identify a song playing in the background Shazam-style? It looks like that functionality is making its way to the Android version of Google Play Music as well. A few of our readers and one Android Police staff member have seen the "listen for music" prompt while using the built-in search function in Google's default music player. It looks like this:
If you're looking for a relatively cheap tablet with access to the Verizon network... well, then you probably already own one of those Ellipsis things. But if you want one with an actual name brand behind it, Samsung would like a word. The company just released the Galaxy Tab E, a tablet that hasn't been seen in the US before today, on Verizon. You can get one for $329.99 outright, not bad for an LTE tablet, or just under $14 a month for two years on the installment plan.
HTC has a new top-of-the-line phone brewing, and having apparently run out of new ways to talk about Duo cameras and metal alloys, they're opting to make it look like an iPhone. We got a peek at the HTC A9 back in August, and subsequently said, "yup, it looks like an iPhone." Unfortunately new leaks from two different sources aren't going to move that opinion, though they do give us a somewhat better view of the phone as a whole. A view that says "iPhone, but with huge bezels."
Look, I'm not what you would call a stylish person. I think I can say with some confidence that most work-from-home tech bloggers fall into the same category (though Liam is one dapper dude). But I know a dumb-looking haircut when I see one, and the poor woman in LG's latest teaser video would be entirely justified in assaulting her high-priced stylist with a designer curling iron.
Looking to apply some root modifications or custom ROMs to that sweet Moto X Pure Edition (AKA the Moto X Style outside the US) you just got from Moto Maker? You might want to think twice. According to an employee post on the official Motorola support forum, the Moto X Pure Edition is not considered a developer device (like the Developer Edition versions of previous Moto X and DROID phones), so fiddling around with aftermarket software means you're on your own when it comes to support.
Android has more birthdays than a cheapskate in an Applebees. November 5th, 2007 is often given as one option, because that's the day that Google announced the development of the platform itself. October 22nd, 2008 is another one, the day that the HTC's G1 phone was first released by T-Mobile. But for some reason, the Google Store team is choosing to pin down today, September 23rd as Android's "seventh birthday." On this day in 2008 Google and T-Mobile announced the availability of the G1 for the following month. That's also the day that the Android 1.0 SDK was first available for public download. T-Mobile still has the original press release up on its archive - you can read it here.
There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to which carriers release updates for their Android updates first, and once you stray outside of the shallow waters of flagship smartphones, things start to get really inconsistent. For example, AT&T is updating its carrier-specific version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 to 5.1.1 today, at least according to this support page. But at the same time, Sprint's Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 is only just now getting upgraded from Android 4.4 to 5.0. Huh.
Remember that brief period in the late 90s and early 2000s when every other console game came with a seizure warning? The developers of Raywar: Pandemonium might want to consider adding one to their game. Twin-stick shooters with "retro" graphic elements have begun to blend together since Geometry Wars typified the sub-genre, but this entry pushes the visual elements over the top with absolutely insane levels of lighting effects, on-screen enemies and pickups, and shiny, shiny explosions. Check out the video below, which hardly does the game justice.
It's a little less than a week until Google reveals its new Nexus devices in San Francisco, but as seems to happen every year, we know pretty much every detail beforehand. Oddly, one of the last things we knew about the new LG and Huawei Nexus phones were their actual names. A rumor last week suggested that LG's 5.2-inch follow-up to the 2013 Nexus 5 would be called the Nexus 5X, and that Huawei's 5.7-inch flagship would go by Nexus 6P. Android Police can now confirm the rumors with these exclusive images of the retail packaging for both phones. The Nexus 5X is above and the Nexus 6P is below.
What can you get for $5 on Amazon? How about a set of unicorn-themed temporary tattoos, or a Cydni Lauper compilation CD, or a potholder that looks like a Russian nesting doll? Any of these fine treasures can be yours for free, if you can convince one of your friends to buy something using the Amazon Shopping app for Android. Oh, and they'll get $5 too, just for being invited. Russian nesting doll potholders for everyone!The latest update to the shopping app, version 5.9, says as much in the changelog.
Google seems to really love tinkering with its Clock app. The latest version of the app, 4.2, should be rolling out in the Play Store now. This one is available to everyone running Android 4.4 or higher (we didn't grab it from one of the Android M preview builds). It has exactly one new notable feature: the ability to gradually increase alarm volume, which is a fairly typical feature of alarm apps (and even real, physical clocks). The rest is a bunch of visual tweaking.
Say what you will about the OnePlus 2 (and we certainly have), it's perhaps the most likely phone released this year to be modified by end users, with the possible exception of the new Nexus devices. So it's a good thing that all those tinkerers and ROM flashers now have a reliable way of applying updates and making backups. Team Win Recovery Project, better known as TWRP, is now available in a OnePlus 2 flavor. It's version 2.8.7, the latest stable release.
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.
Samsung's top-end tablets tend to be much more expensive than their contemporaries, and even more so if you spring for a mobile radio. Today (and only today!) you can grab the original Galaxy Tab S 10.5, with a 16:10 Super AMOLED screen and a Verizon LTE radio, for just 9.99 on eBay. That's an incredible $500 and change off of the original retail price, and about $100 off of the going rate for the year-old tablet. This is a new item in the white-and-gold color, but hurry - according to the eBay listing, this deal will be gone in about 12 hours (approximately 12 PM Eastern US time on Monday).