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What do you love about Android, Mishaal Rahman?
Our new monthly interview series is kicking off with arguably the most prominent Android expert out there
Android has been with us for more than 15 years now, or even longer depending on how you count. What was once merely meant to be an OS for cameras has turned into the operating system powering some of the best smartphones around the world, and we're coming up to Android 15 later in 2024. Android has made its way to more devices, like tablets, but also more unlikely use cases like IoT devices, point of sales terminals, and more.
Learn all about Google's Emoji Kitchen from its head chef
Jennifer Daniel talks Gboard, mashup "types," and spiders
The Emoji Kitchen mashups might already feel like they've been around since the dawn of time, or the dawn of emoji, anyway, but they are still a recent development, with new and fanciful combinations landing in Gboard regularly. We've all used them, but some of the "how" and "why" behind the fun and fanciful combinations remain (perhaps appropriately) mysterious. For example, did you know that there were five distinct "types" of emoji mashups, with another potentially planned?
Material You dynamic theming is Android 12's biggest feature, and here's exactly how it works
The 'infinite possibilities and playfulness' that Google invented its own color space for
We’ve all been oohing and aahing over Material You and its fabulous vibes since Android 12 rolled it out last year. But it’s not just beautiful; it was a technical achievement as well, with surprising complexity behind those dapper accent colors. Google actually invented its own color space to take perceptually accurate contrasting “tones” into account when picking the colors that adapt from your wallpaper to personalize your device’s color palette.
How does Android’s new Earthquake Alerts System work? In short: As quickly and reliably as possible, according to the project's lead engineer, Marc Stogaitis. And on July 23rd, plenty of people in the Philippines appreciated it when Google successfully detected a magnitude 6.7 earthquake-in-progress, alerting residents and helping many reach safety before it hit them.
Interview: Diablo Immortal lead designer Wyatt Cheng details what's next for the hotly-anticipated MMO
Plus the latest BlizzCon coverage
Ever since Diablo Immortal was announced at BlizzCon 2018, it has had a cloud around its development. This announcement was poorly received at the time, and in the years following, Blizzard fell silent. Then out of nowhere, a technical alpha was launched last year while Blizzard simultaneously released a plethora of content that detailed the game's design, gameplay, and monetization plans. This was a reassuring maneuver to assuage fears of a blatant cash grab, and the lead designer Wyatt Cheng has detailed further at BlizzCon 2021 what we can expect from the upcoming mobile MMO. This reveal was followed up with an interview with Wyatt Cheng as well as the combat designer Julian Love to dig even deeper, so if you've been wondering about the game's current direction, we have tons of tidbits to share.
Recorder on the new Pixel phones lets you edit audio straight from the transcript
Interviews just got a whole lot easier to tweak
Those of you who use your phones to record interviews or other talking will appreciate this feature addition that Google has made with Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 Recorder app: the ability to edit the audio by just messing with the transcript. It's a small change, but a welcome one for those who use the Recorder function often.
As 2019 ends and we enter a new decade, I felt the story of OnePlus deserved a bit more examination. In an email interview with CMO Kyle Kiang, I probed the history of a company that is often as shocking in its successes as it is in its marketing misfires. As it crests its sixth year as a smartphone vendor, it's more competitive than ever, coming a long way from the days when it could barely manage to build enough $349 OnePlus Ones using a tightly controlled and very annoying invitation system.
Many, including us here at Android Police, have felt that Android TV is languishing as a platform, especially considering some of its best standalone hardware is coming up on four years old — admittedly, it has aged gracefully. According to a recent interview from TechHive, Google's commitment to the platform is only increasing, though, and both big changes and new hardware are planned.
Earlier this year, it was rumored that Google was planning on releasing up to three variants of an upcoming Pixel watch. Details at the time even included three separate codenames and chipset specifications. According to an exclusive report published earlier today by Tom's Guide, that may not be the case anymore.
Prototypes are always cool to see, but us consumers don't often get to do so. It's nice to take a look at how the designs of products evolve from the drawing board all the way to our homes, pockets, and backpacks. An interview with Google hardware designer Ivy Ross recently went up on The Keyword, and embedded within are photos of several Google products' prototypes.
The Pixel's review embargo just lifted earlier today, and reviewers have been very impressed with both the speed of the phone's 12.3MP shooter and the quality that its images capture. In his review of the Pixel, David said it has "the best smartphone camera on the market." Marc Levoy, the lead of a computational photography team at Google Research, discussed with The Verge just how much the software assists in making the Pixel's camera so damn good.
Earlier this year, both Evan 'Evleaks' Blass and The Information's Amir Efrati claimed that the upcoming Android Silver program would replace the Nexus line of developer phones. Blass went so far as to say, "There is no Nexus 6. Farewell, Nexus." Both of those reports would seem to be contradicted by our own exclusive reveal of the HTC Volantis, a new Nexus tablet. Now we've got even more claims that the Nexus hardware line isn't going anywhere soon, this time right from the proverbial horse's mouth.
Google I/O is next week, and among other things, the official Google developer conference has often served as an introduction for new Nexus hardware. But with the rumors of the "Android Silver" program floating around, which is said to completely replace Google's manufacturer-agnostic developer hardware line, we couldn't help but wonder if any of Google's OEM partners were working on new Nexus devices. We asked Ken Hong, Global Communications Director of LG, to shed some light on the subject. Here's what he told us:
Android fosters a wide and varied app ecosystem, enabling companies both large and small to produce compelling software. The ability to write an app and easily distribute it to most of the world has given rise to independent developers like Chris Lacy, the man behind Action Launcher, Tweet Lanes, and most recently, Link Bubble. Chris took some time to answer a few questions and tell us a little about his experiences developing apps for Android.
[Interview] Koushik "Koush" Dutta On Leaving Cyanogen, Inc. And His Return To ClockworkMod
Koushik Dutta, better known as "Koush" to the Android power user community, was one of the original Cyanogen, Inc. employees when the company incorporated last year. But he's been giving Android users some great stuff for much longer than that: most people's first exposure to his work comes from ClockworkMod, still one of the most widely-used custom recoveries available, not to mention various tools like ROM Manager, ClockworkMod Tether, and DeskSMS. Lately he's been expanding into more general apps like Helium Backup and AllCast.
Cyanogen, Inc. has been adding staff to its small but growing roster at a steady pace ever since the company had its big coming out party. And like its initial team, a lot of them have come from the Android modding and ROM community. Cyanogen's latest hire might be familiar to some of you: François Simond, better known online as "Supercurio." Mr. Simond was kind enough to let us break the news, and also pick his brain on topics like CyanogenMod, audio and video calibration, and mobile computing in general.
I've been lusting after ASUS' ambitious Padfone devices ever since they were announced way back in 2012. But since ASUS is a company that focuses on its home market first, we haven't seen hide nor hair of the docking smartphone-tablet hybrids over here in the United States. According to an Engadget interview with ASUS CEO Jerry Shen, that could change as soon as the second quarter of next year.
Head Of Android Sundar Pichai Talks Google I/O, Android, And Chrome - Confirms Focus On Developer Tools, Not A Major Android Revision
Newly appointed head of Google's Android division Sundar Pichai - who perhaps not-so-incidentally also leads the Chrome OS team - recently sat down with
Newly appointed head of Google's Android division Sundar Pichai - who perhaps not-so-incidentally also leads the Chrome OS team - recently sat down with Wired for his first interview since Andy Rubin's departure. Though he didn't speak to specifics about any mysterious Motorola smartphone or Chromebook Pixel follow-up, Pichai did shed some light on the state of Android, Google's open-source philosophy, and future projects.
Conversations With An Amiigo Founder: This Fitness Bracelet Is For Everyone, Whether You Lift Or Not
Last month, we covered the Amiigo which, frankly, looks kind of awesome if it works as advertised. For those who missed it, here's the gist: you put on a bracelet and a shoe clip and the two track your workout. The system then logs that data and feeds it into some fancy software that analyzes your sessions and tells you how much weight you're losing, how many calories you're burning, and what other exercises might be right for you.
We've only got about a month left before Ouya units start landing in the hands of backers and a few months before the full-blown retail launch. A retail launch that we now learn will include GameStop, Best Buy, Target, Amazon, and an undisclosed number of other sellers. Yes, including brick-and-mortar stores. Things are starting to look pretty good for the little console that could.