At the moment, the default Google camera app allows a staggering one option for a helpful photo grid: on or off. As happy as we are that it's there at all (if you're wondering, it's very good for getting a straight perspective and a balanced composition), we'd like to see some more options. And we'll...
Pokémon GO update fixes the 'footprints' tracker by removing it, adds avatar adjustment and other tweaks
A couple of weeks ago, when the "three footprints" monster tracking system in Pokémon GO suddenly stopped working and showed three steps for everything, I decided to stop playing the game until Niantic fixed the issue so I could reliably find Pokémon nearby. I guess the joke's on me.
Pokémon GO version...
Waze beta reminds you not to forget your kid in the car
Forgetting children in a car is on a hot summer day is, sadly, not that uncommon of a way for young people to die. Hospitals give out notices to new parents alerting them to the risk. But a piece of paper is easy to, well, forget. So Waze is doing its part to reduce the number of incidents.
With Waze's...
Nest app update introduces Spaces view, groups products by room and shows live video on the home screen
Nest products monitor the many areas of your home, so it's not too much of a stretch to think you will want to view your home by room instead of gadget. The latest app update does just that. Nest's new Spaces view groups together all of the Nest products in your home by the room they're in.
The Nest...
Top 10 Android app updates this week: Runkeeper, Twitter
Welcome back to our weekly Top 10 Android App Updates column, where we take a look at the most frequently upgraded apps for the week. We’ve found that one of the best ways to discover useful apps is to find the ones that are actually being updated by the developers rather than selecting...
SwiftKey admits connection between sync outage and prediction bug
As we reported yesterday, SwiftKey's synchronization service has been down for several days. At the time, there was speculation that the outage was related to reports from users that they were getting predictions from other accounts. That's not speculation anymore—in a brief post on the SwiftKey blog,...
Upcoming HTC Nexus Phones Will Not Share Same Build Quality
It’s been a while since there was any talk about Google’s upcoming Nexus lineup but now there has been new developments regarding the differences between Marlin and Sailfish.
NexusBlog has apparently received word from a source within HTC about Marlin and Sailfish not sharing the same build quality....
Samsung teases soon to be released Note 7 with new video
Samsung has released an official teaser video for the Galaxy Note 7, and while it doesn’t give us any new information on the device, it’s pretty entertaining.
Granted, we really don’t need much more info on the Note 7. Leaks have exposed pretty much every spec and angle of the device possible,...
Motorola releases two apps to manage your new Moto Mods
Now that the Moto Z and Moto Z Force are officially out on Verizon, Motorola has uploaded two apps to the Google Play Store to help you manage your new Moto Mods.
The Moto Mods Manager app will allow you to control the mods attached to your phone. It also lets you update the mods, which makes the mods...
Moto Z Droid and Moto Z Force Droid now available on Verizon
If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on a Moto Z or Moto Z Force, the Droid versions are now available for purchase on Verizon! Though pre-orders have been available for a while, you can now buy the devices online and in some stores.
Both devices feature a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display (though the...
Samsung reportedly releasing Gear S3 at IFA Berlin in September
The Samsung Gear S2 is a pretty solid smartwatch despite the fact that it runs Tizen instead of Android Wear. However, now might not be the best time to buy one, as the successor is reportedly launching in a little over a month.
The Samsung Gear S3 is said to launch at IFA Berlin, hosted between...
[Not very swift] SwiftKey sync has been down for the last 3 days, but it's being worked on
Noticing something is amiss with SwiftKey lately? You are not alone. The keyboard's sync service has been broken for the last three days, and there's no sign of a resolution yet. SwiftKey is aware of the problem, though.
One of the nifty things about SwiftKey is that it includes Google account login...
Add-ons for Docs and Sheets are now on Google Play
Two years ago Google introduced extensions for Google Docs and Sheets. These third-party add-ons expanded on what the browser-based word processor and spreadsheet could do, often integrating them with online services. Now that functionality has made its way to Android.
These add-ons are available...
Motorola releases Mods Manager and projector Mod app in the Play Store
The Moto Z and Moto Z Force have launched today as Verizon-exclusive devices. The Moto Z will come out as an unlocked device in the not too distant future, but the Droid phones are the only game in town when it comes to Moto Mods. And there are settings apps for the Mods in the Play Store—two...
Announcing Android add-ons for Docs and Sheets
Posted by By Saurabh Gupta, Product Manager, Google Apps
We know many of you consider your mobile device as your primary tool to consume business information, but what if you could use it to get more work done, from anywhere? We’re excited to introduce Android add-ons for Docs and Sheets, a new way...
Latest YouTube update removes notification button to close background play
Google does a lot of smart things, but it also makes some very bizarre (dare I say, dumb?) decisions. Case in point, YouTube recently changed the way it handles background play, making it harder to end playback from the notification. The "x" used to be tiny, but now it's just gone.
Background play...
Top 10 new Android games this week: Snakebird, ReRunners
Welcome back to Android Gaming Weekly, our weekly recap of new game releases. We still plan to cover upcoming releases and games we’re playing, but this column is dedicated to new games that you can start playing right now. Check out our top picks and let us know in the comments section if...
[Update: Brazil court freezes $11.7M of Facebook funds] Judge in Brazil orders WhatsApp blocked once again
Update 1: 2016/07/28 6:03am PDT
Seeing as blocking the service wasn't changing anything, a Brazilian court has decided to freeze 38 million reais (approx $11.7M) of funds held in Facebook's account (reminder: Facebook owns WhatsApp), as
WhatsApp is hugely popular in Brazil where mobile...
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens beeps and bops its way onto Android
The LEGO games are great - a little repetitive, maybe, but very good, especially for mobile devices. For the Star Wars fans out there (and boy are there a lot of you), your time has come: LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens has hit the Play Store, almost a month after release on consoles and PC.
We...
Galaxy Note 7 Will Come With 3,500 mAh Battery
Samsung is expected to launch their next flagship smartphone in less than a week from now and we pretty much know almost everything about the phone thanks to recent leaks. The Note lineup tends to come with larger than normal battery sizes to cope with the massive display, however that has remained...
YouTube Gaming v1.5 adds chat overlay to full-screen videos, landscape orientation, watch history, a new easter egg, and more [APK Download]
It has been about six weeks since the last YouTube Gaming update rolled out, and it's clear the developers have been keeping pretty busy on making changes. The latest update has quite a few improvements to be found throughout the app, not to mention at least one feature that might be considered pretty...
Protecting Android with more Linux kernel defenses
Posted by Jeff Vander Stoep, Android Security team
Android relies heavily on the Linux kernel for enforcement of its security model. To better protect the kernel, we’ve enabled a number of mechanisms within Android. At a high level these protections are grouped into two categories—memory protections...
United Airlines updates Android app with fingerprint authentication
Frequent United flyers may find themselves using the airline's Android app more often than they realize. The latest update cuts down on how often you have to type out your password as you sign in to your MileagePlus account. Now you can tap a fingerprint scanner instead.
The app notifies you of the...
Pushbullet will limit API-based pushes to 500 per month on free accounts starting August 1
There was a bit of a dust-up the other day when Pushbullet began sending out some scary-sounding emails to users. The emails explained that a few services making very heavy use of the Pushbullet API were going to be blocked. Today, Pushbullet has decided to change its approach to coping with...
Google Play Family Library lets family members share apps and content across devices
Google wants to make it easier than ever to share content, from apps and games to movies and books, with your family members. To do that, the company has announced and launched the Google Play Family Library.
With Family Library, sharing a variety of content, from movies, TV shows, books, comic...
