Android: Page 21

Okay, yes, 2018 has only just begun — but it's not our fault that Sony dropped some of the ugliest new phones on us since ... their last ugly phone in 2017. According to Evan Blass (@evleaks on Twitter), Sony will be "refreshing" their low- to mid-range phones (Xperia XA1, XA Ultra, and L) by debuting the Xperia XA2, XA2 Ultra, and L2 at CES next week.

The Pixel 2's camera is one of the best you'll find on an Android phone. Among its standout features is the incredible Portrait Mode, which Google accomplished with some impressive software processing. Thanks to a few clever developers, you can now enjoy the Pixel 2's Portrait Mode on your Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note 8.

So you spent all day customizing your phone. You tinkered with all the settings, searched the web high and low for the perfect wallpaper, and found an ideal icon pack to complement the color scheme. You go to sleep, proud of the work you accomplished when the unspeakable happens — your phone freezes and tech support is telling you to do a factory reset to fix the problem.

Whether you're new to Android or you just haven't kept up on the app scene lately, we hand-picked over one hundred essential apps that are all designed to improve your experience. From custom launchers and icon packs to weather apps and file explorers, there's something for everyone in this list.

If you own the Galaxy S8, S8+, or Note 5, be on the lookout for a new security update. These Samsung devices are the latest to receive the December security update to patch issues from both Samsung and Android.

Back in November, Essential opened the Android Oreo Beta Program for all users of their PH-1 flagship. We even wrote up a full guide on how to install the beta, if you're interested. They followed the Oreo beta with a Reddit AMA, where they mentioned the second beta software would arrive very soon. That update has just gone live, so you can grab it right now in a few easy steps.

Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 have Oreo beta software available in the wild at this point. We devoted a number of articles to covering what's new in Oreo and went into detail about the bugs and hiccups on both the S8 and the Note 8. Still, many people are left wondering — what's the difference between the Oreo builds on these two phones?

Features like themes and a tab queue make Firefox an extremely versatile mobile browser. Mozilla is constantly adding bonus functionality like this to Firefox, but a long-time staple is perhaps the most powerful feature: Extensions. This system gives you the ability to add features without having to upgrade the entire app.

At this point, we've seen Samsung's vision for Android Oreo on both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8. Just last month, Samsung opened its Oreo Beta Program for the S8 to the public. A few days ago, we obtained and detailed a leaked beta build of Oreo for the Note 8. While both of these updates have some compelling new features, there are always tweaks we hoped to see that didn't make the cut.

You have a lot of choices when it comes to your next smartphone. iPhone, Galaxy, Pixel, G6, V20, and many more all vie for your wallet. Each of these phones are great for different purposes, but what if your main interest is mobile gaming? Which phone will give you the longest Minecraft session, or the best performance for Pixel Gun 3D?

Now that we've had significant time with Samsung's Oreo Beta for the Galaxy S8, many interesting features have come to light. As we continue using the new software, we have uncovered more subtle changes. The home screen already received a few new customization features, it's only fitting that the edge screen get some love, too.

Just yesterday, Google announced that it is banning all apps that contain any form of lock screen ads. Today, they posted a list of the Best Apps of 2017 for the Play Store. Given the new policy of cracking down on apps with advertisements on the lock screen, you wouldn't expect to see one of those in the list of top apps. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened — Google is promoting obvious adware in their list of best apps.

Google just released the second developer preview of the Android 8.1 update for Nexus and Pixel devices, and even though it's just a point-one release, there are lots of cool changes. Before you run off to join the Android beta program and try the new version, it's worth reading up on what's new.

Out of all the questions that we receive from our readers and viewers here at Gadget Hacks, the most frequently asked one is "What wallpaper is that?" On occasion, our wallpapers may be personal or images from the web, but for the most part, they come from dedicated wallpaper apps.

Essential recently launched their Android Oreo Beta Program, open to all owners of their PH-1 flagship. We detailed a quick and easy method for installing the beta on your device. With every beta program, there are bound to be plenty of new features and a few bugs, as we found out with the Galaxy S8 Oreo Beta. Let's take a look at what's new with Android 8.0 on the Essential Phone.

OnePlus just took the wraps off their new flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 5T. The phone has an impressive spec list, including a Snapdragon 835 processor, 6.01" FHD display at 2160 x 1080, 6 or 8 GB of RAM, 64 or 128 GB of storage, 3,300 mAh battery, and the awesome Dash Charging technology. This rapid turnover to a new device has many OnePlus 5 early-adopters angry and feeling duped.

DC's highly anticipated new Justice League movie is opening tonight, and Google just pushed out a nice treat for Android fans heading out to the movie. Over on the official Android Twitter account, we found a few exclusive "Android x Justice League" wallpapers featuring our favorite bugdroid.

Google launched the Pixel 2 XL with a unique pinch-to-zoom feature in the YouTube app. The feature is pretty basic, allowing users to expand the video to full-screen on devices with 18:9 aspect ratios with a simple pinch gesture. Considering its simplicity, it was strange that the feature was limited to the Pixel 2 XL. Today that exclusivity has ended as the feature is rolling out to the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Note 8, LG V30, and LG G6.

Essential just dropped the Oreo Beta Program for their flagship PH-1 phone. Users have been eagerly awaiting this update as the early Nougat builds of the PH-1 software have suffered from numerous performance issues and lag. The good news is that you can grab the Oreo update today with a few simple steps.

The Android Oreo Beta for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ has been available for nearly two weeks. Samsung started rolling out the Beta 2 update late last week in the UK, and just yesterday in the US. Unfortunately, the US version of the update firmware (G955USQU1ZQK6) experienced a critical bug with the phone app at launch. As a result, Samsung has completely pulled the US Beta 2 update for the time being.