Posted by Lily Sheringham, Google Play team
Hutch is a London based mobile studio focusing entirely on racing games, with more than 10 million players on Google Play. For their latest game, MMX Hill Climb, they used A/B testing and game analytics to improve the game design and experience resulting...
Samsung delaying some Galaxy Note 7 shipments for quality testing
Samsung found a hit with the Galaxy Note 7, but it turns out the company has decided to delay shipments of the new phablet.
Reuters has received confirmation from Samsung that shipments of the Galaxy Note 7 have been delayed. Samsung says the reason for the delay is “additional tests...
Fresh Meat: 10 new Android apps worth checking out
New apps need lovin’ too, right? Every day there are thousands of additions to the Google Play store, but many go unnoticed and never receive the attention they deserve. We’ve shown in the past that this community can discover great apps and propel them to new heights. Our weekly Fresh Meat column...
Google announces Search In Apps, a new way to search for personal content
Android's always been pretty good at search - it's developed by the world's biggest search company, so you'd hope so - but one thing that it's always struggled with is searching content on your device, having removed it in Ice Cream Sandwich because the API was not up to scratch. Google is attempting...
ASUS introduces the ZenWatch 3 with a perfectly round display
We’ve been hearing about the ZenWatch 3 for quite a while, but today brings us the official announcement of the latest smartwatch from ASUS. Right off the bat, the noticeable change is that the ZenWatch 3 sports a circular display, while its predecessors used the more generic square display. The circular...
Snapchat makes it easier to create On-Demand Geofilters, updates Android app with text formatting and more
In February, Snapchat introduced a way for anyone to create custom geofilters for events such as birthdays or weddings (or almost anything else, really). Until now, creating a filter required at least a minimal level of mastery of tools such as Photoshop, so the feature wasn't truly accessible to...
Geekbench 4 now available on Android for all your benchmarking needs
Earlier this month, I wrote about possibly the worst benchmarking application I had ever seen, 'Nenamark.' But Geekbench has come to save the day, bringing their Geekbench 4 benchmarking utility to Android. Geekbench is another cross-platform benchmarking program, so you can compare your results to...
Galaxy S8 Will Reportedly Come With Dual Rear Cameras And Iris Scanner
Samsung has already started working on the successor to the Galaxy S7 series released this year and it looks like an insider has already spilled the beans of what the Galaxy S8 will be like.
A user on Chinese site Weibo has reveled some potential features of the Galaxy S8 even though the device isn’t...
Piper security cam lets you upload recorded videos to Dropbox and Drive for free (plus more IFTTT improvements)
Piper's home security and automation unit has been improving year over year. Since my initial review, it has overhauled its app and improved many of its features, but it also recently released an IFTTT channel that enabled Amazon Alexa integration and let you schedule and automate a couple of actions.
Now...
You will soon be able to control Sonos speakers from inside the Spotify app and via Alexa voice commands
Sonos and Spotify may not be exclusive, but they are in a relationship. Last year we watched a Sonos app update gain Spotify radio integration. Soon Spotify will add the ability to manage Sonos speakers from inside the Spotify mobile app. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. That's how some relationships...
Google seems to be testing a new look for search history in the Google widget, and you can try it now
The next time you do a search on your phone, you may notice something unusual—the search history drop down has a new look. Well, it's new for some people. It's more compact with search terms in a series of blocks. This appears to be the default for a few users, but everyone can try it with a little...
[Deal Alert] Alarm Clock Xtreme & Timer and Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee both available for 0.10 in multiple countries (no US)
App deals are great, so it's good to see two available for €0.10 (or the equivalent in countries running the deal). One is an alarm clock, the other a popular game that has 50,000 downloads. As usual these are not available in the US - countries that do have the cheaper price include the UK, Germany,...
Google+ Web Preview now default look, Google+ Classic going away
Back in November last year, Google rolled out a new-look Google+ and deemed it a 'preview' of what was to come. It was generally assumed that at some point this would replace what has become known as 'Google+ Classic,' and that day has now arrived, with the announcement that the Web preview will...
This year’s Google phones reportedly won’t feature Nexus branding
As we near the fall season and subsequent high-end phone launches that come with it, a new report has surfaced that suggests that Google is taking a hard turn when it comes to its premiere flagship lineup of smartphones.
According to information obtained by Android Central, Google plans to drop...
Xiaomi Amazfit smartwatch unveiled for $120
Xiaomi is on a bit of a roll when it comes to product announcements, having just unveiled the Redmi Note 4 not too long ago. Here we are again with another new product, this time one meant for your wrist.
Xiaomi’s sub-brand, Huami, has officially unveiled the Amazfit smartwatch, which will go on sale...
SwiftKey's email and phone number predictions have now returned to the stable release
SwiftKey is getting back to normal. It all started with a bug that led to people receiving personalized suggestions for other users, which caused SwiftKey to temporarily shut down its sync servers. While sync came back pretty quickly, it only provided predictions for regular words, not more complex...
ZTE Warp 7 for Boost Mobile costs only $99.99
If you can remember the track record of ZTE and Boost Mobile, you’ll remember that the original ZTE Warp launched way back in 2011. Now we’re here, several years later, with a brand new member of the ZTE Warp family.
Boost Mobile is now carrying the Warp 7 from ZTE. The Warp...
Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel updated with better sharing features
Microsoft has long since abandoned the strategy of keeping its apps and services confined to its own platform. Windows Phone didn't really work out, so it's not like there's another option. Microsoft's Word, PowerPoint, and Excel apps are getting a nice update today on Android that makes them...
Google is testing a new Inbox search UI, may be first indication of "virtual assistant"
Another day, another A/B test has come our way at Android Police. This time, Google is testing out a new Inbox search UI, replacing the dropdown search menu that's been ever-present since Inbox launched.
The UI shows three categories: contacts, businesses, and refinements. Contacts and businesses...
[APK Download] Google Contacts 1.5 adds hamburger menu, labels, and more
Google Contacts is a great way to keep your contacts organized, but the Android version always lacked some features from the web app. The Android app has always been simplistic in nature, with the UI consisting of just a constant stream of contacts and an Add button. Google Contacts 1.5 is a welcome...
Samsung Galaxy Folder 2 flip phone revealed in new images
Samsung is still a fan of flip phones, so it’s no surprise that the company apparently has another Android-powered device coming down the pipe.
According to images shared on the social network Weibo, Samsung is gearing up to launch a new Android flip phone. This new handset, the Galaxy Folder...
Chainfire releases 'suhide', an experimental (and not officially supported) way to hide your root status on an app-by-app basis
Hiding your root status from apps that refuse to work when you are rooted—like Android Pay—is a cat and mouse game that enthusiasts have been losing lately. Chainfire, the developer who has become the main source of advances in rooting, announced today a new way to work around Android apps' ability...
Upcoming Android Nougat Version Numbers Get Leaked
It looks like Nougat will be just like Android Lollipop, which had version numbers 5.0, 5.1 and 5.1.1.
The next three quarterly maintenance releases of Android Nougat will be Android 7.1 / 7.1.1 / 7.1.2
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 28, 2016
According to Evan Blass, the next version of Android...
[Update: Gameplay Video] Madfinger unveils Shadowgun Legends, an MMORPG shooter
Update 1: 2016/08/29 12:57pm PDT
The first gameplay video is out:
Mobile gaming has been getting pretty intense in the last few years, due in no small part to increasingly powerful hardware available to shove into phones and tablets. Games like Clash of Clans and Hearthstone have...
Fitbit adds Adventure challenges, a series of virtual exploration trails to help you move more
Fitbit just unveiled its two upcoming trackers, the Flex 2 and Charge 2, but there's more that the company is adding to its trackers' experience this week: Adventures.
Sitting inside the Challenges tab, there will be a new series of challenges to compete in, except these are personal ones...
Verizon LTE Advanced rolling out in 461 cities with faster peak download speeds
Verizon Wireless has officially announced that it is rolling out LTE Advanced to 461 cities across the United States.
With LTE Advanced, customer peak download speeds will see a sharp increase. Specifically, peak download speeds can be up to 50 percent faster thanks to carrier aggregation....
Top 5 most popular Android apps from last week: LOST MAZE, Notion
Every week we cover new Android apps with Fresh Meat on Wednesday, followed by Android Gaming on Thursday and Top 10 App Updates on Friday. When Monday rolls around, we look back to see which apps were the most appealing to our audience. Read on for the five most popular...
Nine 3.0 adds Calendar, Exchange ActiveSync, drafts, and quick responses to its popular Outlook client
If you're an Outlook user, odds are you've downloaded the Outlook app on your Android phone or you've considered Nine as a capable third-party alternative. We first looked at it more than two years ago and found it to be an attractive if limited app with plenty of interesting features.
Nine...
New Google Crowdsource app asks you to help with translation and text transcription a few seconds at a time
Do you have 5-10 seconds to spare? Google would like you to spend that time getting something done in its new Crowdsource app. You can apply your human sensibilities to translation and text transcription, and in return you get a sense of satisfaction. Yep, that's it.
The tasks available in Crowdsource...
SuperSU 2.77 beta available for Note7, but there are caveats
Android developer extraordinaire Chainfire has worked his magic again, releasing a new beta of SuperSU with support for the Galaxy Note7. There are a few caveats though, mostly due to new Samsung security measures inherent in the kernel, stopping Chainfire from using his usual exploits and instead...
Announcing Open Registration and Exhibitors for Google Play Indie Games Festival in San Francisco, Sept. 24
Posted by Jamil Moledina, Google Play, Games Strategic Lead
To celebrate the art of the latest innovative indie games, we’re hosting the first Google Play Indie Games Festival in North America on September 24th in San Francisco. At the festival, Android fans and gamers will have a unique opportunity...
