Android Features
Galaxy Oreo Update: Samsung Adds Screenshot Labeling Feature in Android 8.0
Samsung has kept us busy with their Android 8.0 Oreo beta testing program for the Galaxy S8, and most recently, the Galaxy Note 8. As the beta continues to receive new updates, stability has improved continuously, and new features keep on creeping in for both devices.
News: How Android Go Is Bringing Flagship Performance to Low-End Phones
Ever since Google CEO Sundar Pichai took the helms of the world's most valuable brand, he has made it his mission to bring smartphones to lower-income communities. Born in India, Mr. Pichai has created several programs to address the needs of the Indian market, particularly the lower income families.
How To: Apply OTA Updates on Your Rooted Pixel 2 or 2 XL
So, you rooted your Pixel 2 or 2 XL and everything seems to be working quite well. However, a month passes, and you get a notification to install the monthly security update. Like clockwork, Google has been pushing out OTA security patches every single month for a while, but there is a new problem for you at this point — as a rooted user, you are unable to apply the update correctly.
How To: Mimic the Galaxy S5's New Speed Reader Technology on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
You can read at 500 words per minutes. Don't believe me? Here, see for yourself. This amazing technology comes from the startup Spritz, and they're ready to unleash it onto the smart device world, starting with the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Gear line of smartwatches.
How To: Play Stadia Games on Any Android Phone
Stadia is a lot like an Xbox or PS4, except there's no console — the games just stream from Google's servers to your phone, computer, or TV. But Stadia is limited to Pixel phones for right now, and when Google does expand support, it will still only be for select phones. Thankfully, there's a workaround for that if you're rooted.
How To: Monitor Your Stress Levels Using Your Samsung Galaxy S5
While it can't do anything to alleviate stress, a recent update to S Health will let you monitor your stress levels using nothing but your Samsung Galaxy S5. If you're feeling stressed, just place your fingertip on the heart-rate sensor and S Health will tell you roughly how stressed out you are (or aren't).
How To: Get New Transition Animations on Your Nexus 5
Transition animations are an essential element of any mobile operating system. They give the user a sense of what's happening on the screen, where the apps are coming from, and where they're going.
Deal Alert: Get $30 Off the New Nexus 7 Now Until Sunday, 7/28
If you just have to have the new Nexus 7 tablet today, you might get lucky if you go to Best Buy or GameStop right now, but if you want to save a little cash instead, the only real deal going on right now for the Nexus 7 tablet seems to be at Staples for $30 off—but only for online or phone orders. Offer expires 7/28/2013. So, instead of paying $229 + tax for the new 16GB model on Google Play, at Best Buy, or somewhere else, you can use the coupon code 41178 to get it for $199 + tax instead. ...
How To: Unlocked Bootloader? This Trick Makes Your Phone Boot 10 Seconds Faster
When your bootloader is unlocked, your phone shows a screen that tells you the bootloader is indeed unlocked and how software integrity can't be verified. But if you're the one who unlocked the bootloader in the first place, all this message does is slow down the bootup process dramatically.
How To: Separate the Settings Menu on Your Nexus 7 Tablet into Tabs Arranged by Category
It seems like most of the really cool and interesting modifications you can make to your Android device always require special root access, so when a fun mod comes along that doesn't require root—I feel it's my duty to alert you.
How To: Turn Off Facebook Lite's Call & Text History Logging on Android
The Android world exploded when it was discovered that Facebook was logging the call and text histories of many of its users, although the company claims those users had explicitly given Facebook permission to log that data. The case remains that many users were unaware of this activity, which occurs on both Messenger and Facebook Lite. Luckily, it's very easy to disable.
Drinking Games: Android Edition
If you ever need to spice up a party, drinking games can really get things started quickly. The objectives are generally to complete tasks or challenges, but it's really all a thinly-veiled excuse for increasing everyone's alcohol intake in a hurry while testing levels of inebriation.
How To: Install the Leaked Lollipop Firmware on Your Sprint Galaxy S5
With Nexus devices already enjoying Android 5.0 Lollipop, most other manufacturers are scrambling to get their flagships updated to Google's latest operating system. While HTC has promised Lollipop by the end of 2015, OEMs such as Motorola and Sony have already issued updates to their latest models. Then there's Samsung.
How To: Get Jelly Bean's GPS Status Bar Icon Back on Your KitKat-Powered Nexus Device
Android updates are a funny thing—they give us a host of new features and upgrades, but they can also change things that we're used to. And sometimes we prefer to have things the way they were.
News: Get Google's Awesome 'Android x Justice League' Wallpapers Right Now
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.
How To: Get True Stereo Sound on Your OnePlus 6 by Using the Earpiece Speaker
OnePlus pulled out almost all the stops with their latest flagship, but there are a few areas where the phone falls just short of perfect. The single bottom-firing speaker leaves a lot to be desired, for instance, but thanks to the awesome development community for the OnePlus 6, you can already give your phone true stereo speakers with a software mod.
How To: Become Master of Your Tunes with This All-in-One Android Music Player for Your Galaxy Note 3
There are a lot of great music apps available on Google Play for your Android device, each usually specializing in one feature or another, and we’ve shown a bunch of them. There's everything from floating controls to equalizers to deeply integrated streaming, but what if you want all of those features jam-packed into a single app?
News: The OnePlus 3T Crashes When Its Snapdragon 821 Processor Runs at Full Speed
The OnePlus 3T was released about five months after the OnePlus 3 with several noticeable upgrades. Firstly, it has a new processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, which is the same one that the Pixel and Pixel XL sport. Second is the 16 MP front-facing camera with a different sensor. And the next big change was a slightly larger 3,400 mAh capacity battery.
How To: Get Custom Notifications on Your Nexus 5 for Just About Anything
If you've ever used IFTTT, you know how well it can automate your online world. The premise is simple—If This, Then That—but the results are powerful. From automatically printing images based on hashtags to getting around Twitter bans, the service is quite useful with a wealth of possibilities.
How To: Disable Double-Tap to Wake While Making Calls on Your Nexus 6
The Nexus 6 came with a hidden kernel module that allowed for double-tap-to-wake functionality, essentially letting you turn your screen on just by tapping it. A simple root app allowed us to activate this feature, which meant we were always two quick taps away from waking our device.
How To: Install Android Q Beta on Your OnePlus 6, 6T, or 7 Pro
Hot on the heels of all the talk about Google's newest Android Q update, known as Android 10, there's a new beta to check out. OnePlus is one of the many partners that can now offer its users a chance to test the latest version early. That means you can install the newest Android Q beta right this second on your OnePlus 6, 6T, or 7 Pro just like Google's Pixel smartphones.
How To: Android Device Manager Now Available on Google Play to Find, Lock, & Wipe Lost Devices Easier
While the Play Store has a plethora of apps available for finding lost Android phones, Google came out with its own web-based application, Google Device Manager, earlier this year to help you keep track of all your Android devices and remote lock, erase, ring, and track if need be.
How To: Get WhatsApp's Latest Features Before Anyone Else
Getting cool new features before everyone else is just plain fun. To be on the bleeding edge can require a lot of effort at times, since the fastest way to get an update is to find it as soon as it leaks, then get to work on sideloading the new version. Luckily, there's an easier way to get the latest features on your favorite apps, with WhatsApp being no exception.
How To: Tiny Apps Is a Complete Floating Multitasking Suite for Android
With Android devices getting bigger by the year, you'd think there would be a native multitasking solution by now. While Samsung and LG have included such features in their customized builds of Android, the stock base that manufacturers start with still doesn't include multitasking support.
News: This Is What Android Lollipop Will Look Like on Samsung Galaxy Devices
The guys over at SamMobile were lucky enough to get their hands on an early preview build of Android 5.0 Lollipop on the Samsung Galaxy S5, as you can see in their video below. The operating system has definitely not reached its final form yet, but the progress is very clear.
News: How to Get Google's Gboard Keyboard on Your Android
Google released an amazing swipe keyboard a few months ago called Gboard that has Google Search built right into it; This makes adding pics, GIFs, videos, and links to articles, restaurants, and shops a breeze. It even helps you search for emojis! The only problem is that Gboard is for iOS devices only, meaning only an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch can use its magical powers.
How To: Make Your Galaxy S20's Photos Instagram-Ready in Seconds
To stand out on Instagram, you need more than just the great camera on the Galaxy S20. You have to think like a professional photographer, which means two things: using manual mode and editing your photos. It is only with the latter that what you imagine becomes a reality.
News: Gadget Hacks' Favorite Must-Have Android Apps of 2015
Considering that nearly half a million brand new apps were published to the Google Play Store in 2015, you can definitely call it a banner year for Android development. In fact, it's getting to the point where we're a bit spoiled as end users, since we've grown to expect something new and exciting practically every week.
Video: How the Google Pixel's Image Stabilization Stacks Up to the Nexus 6P
Walking while taking a video is always a pain. But it doesn't have to be, especially with Google's new Pixel smartphone and its new and improved Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) feature. A new video, released on Reddit, pitted the Pixel's EIS against the Nexus 6P with some incredible results.
Never Miss Another Track: Get Daily Reminders for Google Play's Free Song of the Day on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
With millions of options to choose from in Google Play's expansive library of songs and albums, it can most definitely take a toll on the wallet after a while. As (slight) consolation, Google offers one free song a day, available for download straight from Google Play onto your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or other Android device. Google's daily free song sure beats other services' free selections. Apple only offers one free single each week, and Amazon offers a decent selection of free songs from r...
How To: Bring Back Airplane Mode & Audio Toggles to Your Nexus 5's Power Menu
In an effort to make things simple and more secure, Google decided to slim down the power menu in Android 5.0. What once provided a quick link to shut your device down, turn on Airplane mode, and toggle volume states, has now been relegated to a simple power switch. Lucky for us, developer Gar Ynych has created a flashable ZIP that will revert these changes and restore functionality to the Nexus 5's power menu. In a few simple steps, you can add the volume toggles and Airplane mode switch rig...
How To: Try Mozilla's Privacy-Friendly Firefox Focus Browser on Android Right Now
Firefox Focus has been out for iOS for a while now, so it's about time Mozilla began porting the app over to Android. It's an amazingly private browser that protects you from trackers and ads when you're surfing the web. It blocks a wide range of online trackers, erases your browsing history, hides passwords, and deletes cookies. This essentially means ads won't be able to follow you around, in the sense that you won't see ads related to your last ten searches on Google.
How To: Get the OnePlus 3's Gorgeous New Wallpapers on Your Phone Right Now
The OnePlus 3 just launched, and if you're not sure about taking the plunge on the $399 budget smartphone, you can at least check out how the device's new wallpapers will look on your phone right now.
How To: Customize the Default Landing Screen & Tab for Google Play Music on Your Galaxy Note 3
For the most part, Google Play Music makes it extremely easy to upload and organize your music library, as well as access it quickly using the default settings—but there are a few things it could do better.
Rumor Roundup: Everything We Know About the Moto G6 Plus
Last year, Motorola released their Moto G5 Plus, a fantastic mid-tier machine that earned praise from both reviewers and consumers. Starting at $229, it was well-built and inexpensive considering everything Motorola managed to jam into it. This year, Motorola is looking to replicate the success of their G series with the G6 Plus.
Never Miss an Alert: View Your Galaxy S3's Notifications Directly on Your Computer Screen
Having quick and immediate access to your notifications is one of the most important features for any modern day phone, but these alerts can be easily missed when your device isn't in the palm of your hand.
How To: Get Adaptive App Shortcuts on Your Nexus 7's Lock Screen
There are a gazillion lock screen apps available on Google Play, but the majority of them are subpar and not worth your time. However, in my opinion, there is definitely one out there worth your time—one that constantly learns and adapts to what apps you use when and where to determine which shortcuts to give you.
How To: Install Android 9.0 Pie Beta on Your Google Pixel or Pixel 2 Right Now
Earlier this year, with the Developer Preview, we got a tantalizing glimpse of Google's upcoming Android 9.0 Pie and a whole slew of new features that comes along with it, such as iPhone X-like gestures and improved security features, to name a few. With its announcement at Google I/O, Android Pie just got a lot more accessible.
How To: Install HTC's Sense Browser on Any Lollipop Device
Many manufacturers add a custom skin on top of their Android builds, but none are more widely praised than HTC's Sense UI. The general consensus among Android users says that HTC's visual tweaks are done in good taste, and the features they add are both functional and warranted.
How To: Add More Than Just 5 Apps to Your Galaxy S5's Toolbox Button
Samsung's TouchWiz interface comes with tons of small features that can increase your productivity and user experience. From Mulit-Window Mode to Stress Level Monitoring, there are so many functions that some even go unnoticed.