Android News
News: Leaked Pics of the Upcoming LG G5 & Its 'Magic Slot' Removable Battery
LG is set to launch its G5 handset on February 21st at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This shouldn't be too much of a surprise, but images of the G5 have now been leaked ahead of the event by Evan Blass (@evleaks). This image shows that the handset will indeed have two lenses on its rear-facing camera so that you can shoot wide-angle 135º photos.
News: Google Streamlines Drive App & Finally Adds Trash Folder
Google is rolling out an update for Google Drive that streamlines the online file storage/sharing app, and finally gives you access to the Trash folder that had only been available on the desktop version.
News: Gmail Introduces Gmailify, a Better Way to Manage Your Non-Gmail Email Accounts
Just about a year ago, Google launched an update to the Gmail app for Android that let you link accounts from other email services to Gmail, allowing you to read and respond to everything in one place.
News: The World's First $4 Android Phone Is Here... Maybe
A little-known company in India is making waves after announcing that it will sell an Android 5.1 Lollipop smartphone for less than $4 (or, more precisely, 251 rupees). The Freedom 251, from Ringing Bells, sounds almost too good to be true. Is that because it is?
News: Here's All the New Edge Features Samsung Is Bringing with Marshmallow
Samsung is rolling out the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for Galaxy S6 and S6 edge today, February 15th, and with it come some good improvements to how S6 edge users can utilize the handset's curved screen.
News: 15 Great Reasons to Root Your Phone
Okay, so you finally got around to rooting your Android device—now what? Well, to get the most out of your Superuser status, you'll need to find some good root apps, which will allow you to easily add features, reduce battery drain, remove ads, and much more.
News: Galaxy S7 Preorders Open February 21st, Include Free Gear VR
Samsung will begin preorders for the upcoming Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge on February 21st, the same day the company plans to unveil its handsets ahead of the Mobile World Congress, according to Dutch site Android World (via Droid Life). Customers who preorder a Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge will also receive a free Gear VR.
News: Big Changes for Facebook Messenger: Multiple Accounts, SMS, & Material Design
Earlier this week we showed you how to use multiple accounts on Instagram, and now Facebook is rolling out a similar feature for its Messenger app, as well as a few other features.
News: Google Maps Update Eliminates Annoying Voice Directions During Phone Calls & More
We've all been there. You're driving along with Google Maps pointing the way when you get a call from your friend asking you how much longer it'll be until you show up. You try to offer some lame excuse about how something came up last-minute, but you're interrupted, quite rudely, by Maps's voice guidance. The voice butts in again, and again, and again, to the point that you consider having Maps navigate you to the nearest cliff so that you can drive off it.
News: Filing Indicates a HUGE Battery on the New Samsung Galaxy S7
New filings with the FCC released on Monday show that Samsung's forthcoming Galaxy S7 Edge will feature a 3,600 mAh battery. While this news might not satisfy everyone who is unhappy that Samsung did away with removable batteries, this should mean that the S7 Edge will be able to last longer between charge-ups.
News: Download All the New Samsung Galaxy S7 Wallpapers Right Now
The leaks keep trickling out for Samsung's new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge handsets. Hot on the heels of the first images of the S7 Edge, 13 of the wallpapers for the new flagships have surfaced online (courtesy of J.K. Shine from the SamMobile forum), and are here for you to download if you'd like to get a head start on the action. If you like any of these wallpapers, just long-press on the image and hit "Save," and you'll be able to set it as your home screen background (on your computer, click o...
News: Leaked Pics Just Revealed the Samsung Galaxy S7
There have been plenty of rumors and lots of speculation about the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, and now we're finally getting our first look at Samsung's newest flagships—in the form of two images.
News: LG G5 to Be Unveiled at Mobile World Congress, Stealing Samsung's Thunder
February 21st is going to be a busy day for Android smartphones. Samsung has already scheduled its "Unpacked" event to show off their new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge handsets, and now LG is joining in on the action, as it will unveil the G5 on the same day, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
News: Gear 360 VR Camera Set to Accompany Galaxy S7; Announcement Date Set
Samsung trademarked the name Gear 360 a few weeks ago, and today it has been confirmed that the Gear 360 is a spherical virtual reality camera that will accompany the much-anticipated Galaxy S7.
News: Microsoft's Android Alarm App Has a Weird New Way to Get You Out of Bed in the Morning
Waking up can be a real struggle for some people. Alarms help, but most of them are so easy to turn off that you can shut them off while you're still half asleep and go back to bed, only to wake up in a panic as your realize you've severely overslept. Microsoft Garage wants to make you at least work for your lethargy with its new Mimicker Alarm.
News: The 12 Best Android Widgets for Getting Things Done
For people that like to get things done, Android's home screen widgets are almost indispensable. Rather than packing your launcher with a bunch of icons, you can utilize widgets to get quick information in a beautiful package or provide one-tap access to a particular functionality within your apps.
News: 5 Surefire Ways to Free Up Space on Android
Fewer and fewer Android phones are being released with SD card slots, so it's always a struggle to make sure you have enough free storage space for your photos, videos, and music. Things like app data and cache slowly build up as you use your device, which means your available storage number gradually decreases over time.
PSA: Enable This Hidden Setting Before Modding Anything on Android
If you've ever rooted an Android device in the past or installed a custom recovery, you're surely familiar with the term "unlocked bootloader." But if all of this sounds like gibberish to you, some major changes in Android have made it to where you should definitely get familiar with the concepts.
Deal Alert: Use Android Pay to Get a Free Chromecast & Music
Google announced today that it's offering rewards to Android Pay users, and taking advantage of these deals could land you a free 2nd Generation Chromecast, among other prizes. The Tap 10 promotion is pretty self-explanatory: Tap to use Android Pay 10 times before February 29, 2016, and Google will give you a code to redeem a free Chromecast, free music, or both. You'll also be rewarded for Taps 1 through 9 as well. You'll receive a code for one music track from the Google Play Store for ever...
News: Sony Brings Xperia Stateside; Schedules February Release for the Z5 & Z5 Compact
Sony announced that it is releasing its flagship Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact handsets to the United States on February 7th, a first for these flagship devices.
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.
News: Samsung to Debut Galaxy S7 & Others in March 2016
A slide shown during a China Mobile conference indicates that Samsung's Galaxy S7 handsets should be hitting the market next March. If this chart is to be believed, it strongly suggests that Samsung will unveil its flagships at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (Feb. 22-25, 2016). For reference, the public got its first look at the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge on March 1st at last year's MWC; the handsets were released a little over a month later on April 10th.
News: Android 6.1 Rumored to Include Native Split Screen Support
Google seems to be following Apple's and Microsoft's lead, as the "point" update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow (6.0 -> 6.1) will reportedly allow multi-screen support. Android 6.1 is expected to debut in June 2016.
News: How to Get a Free $20 Best Buy Gift Card from Google (Limited Time Offer)
Nexus owners in the United States are eligible to grab an easy $20 e-gift card from Best Buy this holiday season. All you have to do is install the Android Pay app and use it to make a purchase at one of the million-plus participating merchants through December 31st, 2015.
News: Samsung Galaxy S7 Likely to Have iPhone-Like Pressure-Sensitive Screen
It sounds like Samsung is impressed enough with Apple's 3D Touch feature on the iPhone 6S models that the company is planning on implementing a similar feature on its upcoming Galaxy S7 handsets. A source told The Wall Street Journal that the latest iteration of Samsung's flagship will feature a similar design to this year's Galaxy S6, and will again feature both standard and curved AMOLED models. It's also rumored that the standard design will once again support microSD cards, which should p...
News: 21 Free Android Apps Your Kids Will Love
Today's smartphones and tablets offer a great way for children to learn through interactive sight, sound, and touch, but they can also provide hours of genuine fun. If you have a spare tablet laying around—or at least a nice, durable case—the only thing you need to get your child started in this world of fun and learning is a handful of good apps.
News: 5 Free Photo Editing Apps for Android That Kill the Competition
Smartphone cameras are so good nowadays that there's almost no reason to own a point and shoot. Once the megapixel spec race was finally settled (hint: more isn't always better), manufacturers started focusing on the quality of their camera sensors, which has led to a huge jump in color accuracy, dynamic range, and image clarity.
News: Instagram Brings iPhone's 3D Touch to Android
I had the chance to play around with an iPhone 6s this past weekend, and I have to say, I found the new 3D Touch feature to be pretty intriguing. It's still only partially implemented, but when it does work, it works quite well—you simply press a bit harder on certain elements like image thumbnails, then instead of opening in a full-fledged view, you'll see a pop-up preview that fades away as soon as you let go of the screen.
News: 5 Apps That'll Make You Ditch Your Stock Photo Gallery
Making sure you have the best gallery app available for your Android device used to be as easy as just installing QuickPic. But late last year, Android's top photo-viewing app was sold to a company who is notorious for permission spamming, so QuickPic quickly lost everyone's approval.
News: Android's Best Build.Prop Tweaks for Better Speed, Battery Life, & Customization
Android has a single text file named build.prop that determines tons of various system-wide settings on your device. You need root access to edit this file, since it's stored on the system partition—but the various lines of codes it contains are actually fairly easy to interpret and modify.
News: Free Alternatives to Pushbullet Pro Features
As one of the most powerful Android apps for connecting your phone or tablet to your other devices in various ways, Pushbullet had always been a fan—and Gadget Hacks—favorite.
News: The Complete List of Marshmallow-Compatible Xposed Modules
The Xposed Framework was just recently made available for Android Marshmallow, but everything isn't quite back to status quo just yet. Sure, some Xposed modules function properly, but others are a bit buggy, and several don't even work at all. This is mostly a result of changes to the Android system that Lollipop modules relied upon, and such modules will need to be updated for Marshmallow compatibility.
The Big Android Dictionary: A Glossary of Terms You Should Know
Android comprises an entire ecosystem of apps, games, functions, and features, so it would only make sense that it has its own lexicon. Words, phrases, and acronyms that didn't exist ten years ago are now used in an off-the-cuff style by developers and support technicians across the web.
News: The 16 Best Google Android Apps You Didn't Know About
It would only make sense that Google is one of the most active app developers on the Android platform, particularly when you consider that they develop the platform itself. From my count, there are an astounding 117 unique apps that the search giant and its subsidiaries have published on the Google Play Store.
News: 20 Official Samsung Galaxy Themes That Don't Totally Suck
Taste is certainly relative. When you look at Central American architecture and notice all of the bright pastel colors, then move just a thousand or so miles to the north and see that buildings in the United States are mostly painted in earth tones, this becomes abundantly clear. Imagine if you were to switch hemispheres altogether—what would you see in East Asia?
News: The 5 Best Apps for Scanning Text & Documents on Android
Scanners are much too cumbersome to fit in a pocket, but with the use of just one application, you can replace all that bulky hardware with your Android smartphone and take it with you wherever you go. All you need to do is find the scanning app that fulfills your needs. Here are our five favorites that are good for business pros and average joes alike.
News: 7 Must-Have Paid Apps for Android
Let's say you're flush with Google Opinion Rewards credits, or you just got a Google Play gift card for your birthday. This is a perfect opportunity to remove ads and unlock new features by upgrading some of your free apps to their paid counterparts, or to finally purchase that app you've been lusting after that doesn't offer a free version.
News: 20 Unique Android Apps That Offer Incredible Functionality
There are over 1.6 million apps on the Google Play Store, which makes it the largest collection of mobile apps on the planet. However, a large portion of this total is occupied by apps with overlapping functions—think social media, news, weather, music players, and various other categories where developers compete against one another to garner the largest user base.
News: The 5 Best 'Car Mode' Apps for Android
In general, smartphones and cars don't mix—but this is mainly because you have to take your eyes off the road to poke around on your handheld gadget. In reality, the only difference between your smartphone and your car's FHWA-approved infotainment system is that the latter is mounted in a fixed position and has an oversized interface that makes it easy to use without looking away from the road.
News: The 5 Best Free Camera Apps for Android
Practically every smartphone comes with a built-in camera app, but these apps are generally created by the device's manufacturer. And let's face it, manufacturers are hardware companies first and foremost, so they don't always produce the best software.