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It's a dangerous internet out there, full of ne'er-do-wells who want nothing more than to get into your personal data. The best way to stop them is to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your accounts, but managing your 2FA tokens can be a pain. Now, LastPass Authenticator can sync your 2FA data in the cloud so you can get the login codes on any of your devices.
Google changed a lot about how Android Wear works in the 2.0 update. So much, in fact, it had to push back the release by several months. At I/O today, Google has announced some new developer tools that will lead to better watch face complications and wearable-friendly UI designs.
Google is focusing on battery life in Android O by clamping down on what apps can do in the background. At the same time, Android O includes a new battery settings menu that attempts to present your usage in a more understandable way. Instead of simply showing how much juice an app used, it puts battery use in the context of how you use the phone.
Apps are probably one of the biggest uses of space on your device, and they might be slimming down in the future. Google is preparing to offer developers an automatic APK optimization service. The idea is to deliver smaller APKs to users that have all the extraneous bits stripped out.
Google has been smoothing Android's rougher edges over the last few revisions, but there's one thing you interact with constantly that still needs some work: text. Until now, developers had to specify a text size, and that's all the text would be without third-party workarounds—even if that meant it was super-tiny or so big it overflowed. Now, they can create "autosizing TextViews" with Google's tools.
Animations in apps can often be jerky or unrealistic, but in Android O Google plans to give developers tools to make animations buttery smooth and natural with the power of physics. It should also be much simpler to make animations with this system.
Google began introducing long-press actions for icons in Android 7.1—currently, a long-press in Pixel Launcher can display app shortcuts (previously known as launcher shortcuts). You get more in Android O DP2. We already knew about the previously reported notification dots, but there are also widget links.
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We've all gotten used to the consistent round icons on the Pixel Launcher, and a surprising number of developers have even gotten on board with round icons. Android O brings more choice to the icons, but keeps the consistency. There's a new icon shape selection in the launcher settings as of the second O developer preview.
Samsung launched the Galaxy S8 with support for the Gear VR (obviously), but Google's VR platform got the cold shoulder. The GS8 could have had both if Samsung wanted, and Samsung and Google have apparently come to an understanding. Yes, Daydream is coming to the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.
Android has handled notifications in pretty much the same way since its inception. Oh, there have been refinements over the years, but you go to the same place for notifications. That's changing in Android O with Notification Dots. You've probably seen something like this on custom launchers, but this is much more integrated with the OS.
Oh, Allo. We all wanted to give you a chance when Google announced you at I/O 2016. After months of waiting, the app has picked few of the features we wanted. Hey, it's got stickers, though. According to Google's VP of product management Nick Fox, the Allo web app is at least a month or two from release still.
At last year's I/O, Google dipped its toe into the virtual reality waters by announcing Daydream (above). Like Gear VR before it, Daydream requires a phone to be inserted into a headset to operate. However, Variety is reporting that Google is set to unveil a VR headset that is completely standalone—no phone required.
Sometimes you can save significant cash buying something on eBay rather than going through conventional retailers. You can shave another 20% off the cost of electronics with a new eBay deal. It's limited to 26 sellers, but there are lots of neat items to be had including phones, tablets, and cases.
Google added an interesting option for gift giving occasions to the Play Store in late 2015—electronic Google Play gift cards. This feature has been available in the deep recesses of the Play Store ever since... until recently when it seems to have disappeared. Google support is confirming to people it pulled the feature.
imes phones leak a little, and sometimes they leak a lot. The HTC U11 has fallen solidly in the latter category. There won't be any more leaks now, though. The U11 is official, and you can pre-order one this very day. We already know a lot about the U11, including the existence of HTC's squeezable Edge Sense. There are still a few surprises, though.
The Galaxy S8 just launched a few weeks ago, so the discounts are nothing like you see with phones that are months old. Still, there are some deals to be had on the GS8, including this one on eBay. For $689.99, you can have the unlocked international GS8 (G950F). That's about $100 cheaper than most retailers.
HTC launched the U Ultra early this year, but the reviews were largely negative. Now, the company looks to be preparing for its "true" flagship in 2017 with the HTC U11. We've seen a few leaks of this device, but nothing as good as this. It seems someone who attended a briefing with the phone jumped the gun and posted their hands-on. We get plenty of angles on the phone and a demo of the new Edge Sense feature.
The LG G6 has been available in the US for several weeks via carriers, but now you can skip that and get an unlocked G6 that works on any carrier. The US version of the unlocked LG G6 is now available for purchase at several retailers. Although, LG's own online store still shows it as pre-order.The North American unlocked G6 (model LGUS997) is mostly the same as what you can get from carriers and internationally. However, it has better network support with all the bands necessary for both GSM and CDMA carriers. Otherwise, you have the same 5.7-inch 1440p LCD, 4GB of RAM, dual cameras, and 3,300mAh battery.
T-Mobile is making a big deal out of its new buy one, get one (BOGO) promo on the Galaxy S8, but you can get a similar deal on LG's latest flagship. Buy a G6 and LG will cover the cost of a second one (eventually). LG appears to be taking the lead on fulfillment, so there are not as many annoying catches, like with the GS8 deal. You still have to jump through some hoops, though.
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The Galaxy S8 only just launched, but a post on Reddit outs T-Mobile's plan to offer a solid buy one, get one (BOGO) deal on the GS8 and GS8+ starting tomorrow. As with all carrier deals, there are plenty of little catches. Still, you can get a (mostly) free phone.