“Is that an iPad?”
The question echoes through the room as a curious passerby inquires about the black slate resting on the table.
“Oh, no, this is an Android tablet. I think it’s made by Google or something? Maybe Samsung?”
With a glut of near-doppelgangers filling the tablet market, the need for...
Halloween app and game sales: Goat Simulator, HD Widgets, Crimsonland, and more
It's Halloween, so that means we've got some spooky app and game sales from the haunted Play Store. OoooOOOoooo, scary. The cursed deals below will only be available for a limited time. Don't be afraid, grab your goody bag and come on in. Certainly nothing terrifying will happen to you!
Apps
iCountTimer...
Top 5 most popular Android apps from last week: AutoTools, Tango
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...
'Chrome Home' flag hidden in Chrome Dev/Canary, moves address bar to bottom
In a world of large phones, it makes sense to move commonly-used actions to the bottom of the screen. A new flag in Chrome Dev and Canary, only described as 'Chrome Home,' moves Chrome's address bar to the bottom of the screen when enabled.
This is clearly unfinished, as the space where the address...
That annoying Chromecast notification is coming from the Facebook app - here's how to fix it
Over the past few days Android users have been noticing an annoying notification that pops up after using the Facebook app and watching any video. It says "Cast Device Not Connected," and includes a play and close button... and that's it. The notification opens the Facebook app when it's tapped, but...
Twitter's latest alpha brings support for app shortcuts, Nougat multi-window, and a round icon [APK Download]
Android 7.1 launched with the new Pixel phones and became available in beta form for the Nexus 5X and 6P not too long ago, but many apps are already introducing support for the new features that 7.1 brings. With its newest alpha build, Twitter has become the latest app to do so by adding...
Action Launcher makes Quickcuts free, implements more of the Pixel and Android 7.1's features
It's fun to see developers duking it out — peacefully — over who adds the most new features first. Action Launcher's and Nova Launcher's devs are a great example. And it's all for the good of the platform and early adopters. Take Android 7.1's launcher app shortcuts. Action Launcher was the first...
Hands-On with MUVIZ Nav Bar Audio Visualizer: Really neat if you are into this sort of thing
Music is definitely everywhere. From our own personal libraries and streaming stations to advertisements and entertainment, it is a fundamental part of who we are as individuals and as a culture (for better or for worse). Since music is just noise (how's that for a scientific breakthrough), I...
Allo 2.0 has hidden chat themes, can be enabled on rooted devices
The first major update to Allo, version 2.0, added a number of much-needed improvements. However, WhatsApp users may note that chat themes are still missing in Allo. 9to5Google has managed to enable some hidden themes included with the update, which can be enabled on a per-user basis.
These...
Google celebrates Halloween with ghosts, ghouls, witches, pumpkins, and more in Android Pay
To most people, Halloween means witches, ghosts, and ghouls. Google's obviously gone with this definition too, since the animations on Android Pay have been updated to include a range of the undead, pumpkins, witches, wizards, ghosts, ghouls, and skeletons.
There seem to be a lot of these so we've...
Motorola offering $150 off the Moto Z
Do you want a Moto Z, whether it’s the unlocked model or a Verizon model? Now is the time to pick one up, as Motorola is offering a $150 promo code for the Moto Z and Moto Z Force in both unlocked and Verizon form.
The Moto Z and Z Force are both great devices made even better by the...
Barnes and Noble’s upcoming Nook Tablet 7 may feature Google Play Store
Barnes and Noble started off with its Nook tablet line with a heavily skinned version of Android. Since then, the company has dropped that effort and optioned to put the Nook brand on other company’s tablets, like from Samsung.
But it looks like Barnes & Noble may be going back to its old ways...
Samsung Unveils Coral Blue Galaxy S7 Edge in Singapore and Taiwan
One of the many color options for Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 was Coral Blue, which gave it yet another eye-catching shade, especially when it hit direct sunlight. Unfortunately for the Galaxy S7 lineup, that particular hue wasn’t included at launch.
But, now that the Galaxy Note 7 isn’t available to buy,...
DoubleTwist Player update brings a fresh UI and support for Chromecast, Android Wear, and Android Auto
DoubleTwist got its start way back in the early days of Android, when users wanted an easy way to sync music from iTunes to their non-Apple phones. (And also, this was back when human beings still used iTunes.) The scope of the music player has broadened and generalized since then... and truth be told,...
Pocket Casts updated with audio effects, shared playlists, and more
Pocket Casts is one of the most popular podcast apps on Android, and for good reason. It's fast, well-designed, has built-in backups, and has always been fast to support new Android features. In the latest update, Pocket Casts hops on the split-screen hype train, adds audio effects, and launches a...
Google Assistant Gets Even More Useful via IFTTT Integration
The Google Pixel and Pixel XL have started to arrive in customers’ hands, with the exclusive new digital helper called Google Assistant.
The feature is meant to provide users with smarter, more conversational interactions than what “Okay, Google” was capable of providing.
And now Google just...
Sony’s PlayStation Vue Now Available For Android TV
Sony’s TV streaming service is no longer an exclusive for Sony products, as the PlayStation Vue app has just been made available for Android TV.
So if you have a NVIDIA Shield or Xiaomi Mix Box lying around the house, all you need to do is get a PlayStation Vue account and make sure you’re Android...
Androbench updated to v5.0 with a less ugly UI and fixed Pixel benchmarks
If you need to benchmark the storage in a device, Androbench has long been the go-to way to do it. One major drawback: it was horrendously ugly. It has just been updated to v5.0, and I wouldn't say it's not ugly, but it certainly less ugly. That's a win in my book.
Here's the changelog for Androbench...
Google adds Stranger Things stickers to Allo
You know what people like? Stickers, both real and virtual. Also, the Netflix series Stranger Things. Now you can like them simultaneously if you use Allo. Google has announced a new sticker pack, which is not something Google usually does, but apparently the Stranger Things tie-in was important enough...
PinOut is a modern and retro, vibrant and dark, take on Pinball from the makers of Smash Hit
You think you know pinball, right? There are hundreds of variations on the game, thousands of themed layouts to freshen up the experience, and millions of dollars in IAPs to unlock this ball or that theme or that bonus. But PinOut is different, and the first sign is that it comes from the same guys...
Top 10 Android app updates this week: Todoist, Fly Delta
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...
