Posted by Ritesh Nayak M and Ronald Ho, Product Managers
Today we're announcing Fast Pair, a hassle-free process to pair your Bluetooth devices on all supported Android devices running Google Play services 11.7+ with compatibility back to Marshmallow (Android 6.0). Fast Pair makes discovery & pairing...
Nokia 2 now official with 8MP camera and 4100mAh battery
Nokia and HMD Global are back with another entry in their Android lineup, this time with a handset that is focused almost entirely on the battery.
The Nokia 2, announced today at a launch event in India, is an entry-level smartphone which features a 5-inch 720p HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon...
First µTorrent beta release adds torrent streaming
The µTorrent client on Android has hundreds of millions of downloads, but that's not surprising. People love downloading Linux ISOs, right? Starting today, there's a beta program for the µTorrent app, and it'll let you stream your "Linux ISOs" immediately instead of downloading them.
Here's...
[Update: It's official] Deleting messages on WhatsApp for all recipients starts rolling out
Update 1: 2017/10/31 7:22am PDT
WhatsApp has officially announced that deleting a message for everyone is now rolling out to users globally on Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, and desktop. You'll need to be on
Message recalls have been rumored on WhatsApp for months now and every couple of...
Humble Bundle's Halloween selection includes 8 gruesome games
It's Halloween everyone, and that means spooky treats galore. As well as gorging on candy, it's also a time to indulge in scary films and TV shows (I know I'm going to continue binge watching Stranger Things). But what about games? Thankfully, Humble Bundle has got us covered with a Halloween-themed...
YouTube's Android app now lets you schedule livestreams
Livestreams are all the rage these days, with some people even making a handsome career out of the business. Nowadays, they're available on virtually every social media platform, and that includes YouTube. Now, YouTube's Android app has added scheduling functionality for livestreams, just in case...
New, cleaner overflow menu design in Google app is rolling out more widely
Oh Google, you and your server-side tests. You cause so many people to have different interfaces on their Google apps and create mass confusion, yet we still love you. This latest server-side test involving the overflow menu popup in the Google app appears to be rolling out to many more people now,...
Amazon offering Echo Dot discount for a limited time
If you’re interested in trying Amazon’s Alexa assistant on the cheap, Amazon’s got a deal for you.
The Amazon Echo Dot is being discounted today, October 30. This deal applies to new Echo Dot units, and it’s one of the better deals we’ve seen on the mini smart speaker.
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Google Calculator v7.4 switches to blue accent color, improves history screen and main display [APK Download]
Green is gone, blue is new. That's the mantra for today's update to Google's Calculator app. But it's not just a palette swap on the agenda, there are actually several other little changes scattered around the UI. There are changes to the history screen, RAD/DEG toggle, and there are even a couple...
17 new and notable Android apps from the last week (10/24/17 - 10/30/17)
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so.
Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.
Looking for the previous roundup editions?...
Essential Phone update adds fingerprint gesture, improves touch scrolling and more
Essential Phone owners have a new software update to look forward to which should be rolling out wide beginning today.
As pointed out by users over on Reddi and subsequently confirmed by the official Essential Twitter account, a software update (build NMJ20D) is now rolling out to the...
Google Maps v9.65 beta may be preparing for a new rating system, new services for Reserve with Google, and more [APK Teardown]
A new version of Google Maps has been rolling out over the weekend, but there's not much to see in terms of big changes. There are a couple of minor additions to be found, including a more obvious link to the offline settings screen and a switch in commute settings to allow for better results with...
Android Pay adds 11 new banks, offers more detail on support for Synchrony
Android Pay has grown substantially since the original launch to cover all the major banks in the US. However, there are a lot of small banks and credit unions. It's hard to even believe there are so many, but here we are with yet another list of new financial institutions. There's a twist this...
SoftBank might stop the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint
That planned merger between Sprint and T-Mobile, which was reportedly in its “final stages” back at the beginning of October, may be on the chopping block.
According to a report from Nikkei, SoftBank — parent company of Sprint — wants to off the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. The reason comes...
YouTube TV apps rolling out to Android TV, Xbox One, and Apple TV
YouTube TV has been on a steady rollout ever since its debut earlier this year, and now Google is making it easier to watch the service on more devices.
New YouTube TV apps will make it easier to watch the streaming TV service. Google is launching a new TV-centric app which will see the light...
ASUS bringing ZenFone 4 family to North America
Known for its computers, ASUS is a company that has ventured into smarpthones with moderate success. It has struggled to gain traction in the States, but its high-end devices and low prices are starting to attract attention. The company is keeping the momentum going with the release of the ZenFone...
OnePlus 5T appears in leaked image
OnePlus is a company that exemplifies the belief that where there’s a will, there’s a way. The underdog smartphone manufacturer built itself into a significant player in just a few years, garnering a loyal fan base with premium devices and strong post-purchase support. Part of the company’s strategy...
ZTE’s foldable Axon M can be ordered from AT&T beginning November 1
Earlier this month, ZTE and AT&T announced the Axon M, a foldable smartphone with two touchscreens.
Now AT&T has announced that the handset will go up for order on Wednesday, November 1. It will cost $24.17 per month for 30 months, which equals out to $725 full price. If you’d rather to...
GNSS Analysis Tools from Google
Posted by Frank van Diggelen, Software Engineer
Last year in Android Nougat, we introduced APIs for retrieving Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Raw measurements from Android devices. This past week, we publicly released GNSS Analysis Tools to process and analyze these measurements.
Android...
Samsung Internet v6.2 now available with night mode, tracking blocker, and more
Some of Samsung's apps feel like an afterthought; something it develops simply because there should be a Samsung version of one app or another on Samsung phones. The browser isn't like that. It gets regular updates, and people seem to actually like the app. Even folks with non-Samsung phones use it....
Top 5 most popular Android apps from last week: Chomp SMS, PUSH
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...
Action Launcher v30 update includes 'At a Glance' widget and colored search box icons
Action Launcher is one of Android's most popular replacement launchers, and this has a lot to do with how quick Chris Lacy has recently been to update his app with the latest features of Google's Pixel Launcher. It's much more than just a port, however, and also has original features that its loyal...
Google Photos v3.8 has a fancy new Lens animation [APK Download]
Google Lens is taking its sweet time getting ready for its full-fledged debut. The juiced-up version of Google Goggles is already available to those who use the first- and second-generation Pixel smartphones, but it's cooped up in the Photos app and has yet to appear in Assistant, as promised back...
Sony uploads Xperia Assist app to the Play Store
It's pretty common practice for manufacturers to upload their custom system apps to the Play Store. This way, the individual apps can be updated outside of a system upgrade. Sony has done this for many of its applications, and the 'Xperia Assist' app is the latest one to be uploaded.
If you're...
SwitKey Beta's new Photo Themes lets you use your own images to create custom keyboards
One of SwiftKey's many virtues is its abundance of themes, which are all free to users. By my count – I hand-counted them twice for you, dear reader – the Microsoft-owned keyboard has 125 themes available to download. That number officially jumps to infinity with the latest SwiftKey Beta...
XDA's One-Handed Mode app makes it easier to use your giant smartphone
While large displays can be beautiful, using them in everyday scenarios can be anything but. This is particularly the case if you're holding yourself steady on a bus or train with one hand while browsing your smartphone with the other on a daily basis. To address this potential hazard, Samsung, LG,...
eBay adds AI-powered image search to its mobile apps
Google has just started to roll out Google Lens, the company's new AI-powered image search. Simply take a picture of something, and Google's incredibly advanced algorithms will try to figure out what it is and give you search results for it. eBay has now added a similar (but less advanced) function...
30 of the best Android Games to get you in the mood for Halloween
Halloween is a special time of year when the temperature outside is just right, the trees are displaying their full fall foliage, and pumpkin flavored everything can be found on your store shelves. In order to incorporate the holiday into Android gaming I have decided to hunt down some of the better...
Facebook releases Halloween effects and mini-game for Facebook and Messenger apps
More than carving pumpkins or gobbling down candy or dressing up in costumes, Halloween is a great excuse to set free your inner dad and go all out on bad puns and cheesy jokes. Facebook is obviously no stranger to a well-placed corny joke, so it's announcing a bunch of "spook-tacular" new effects...
Google extends Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL warranty to two years
The problems that have plagued the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have been quite concerning to those who have purchased the devices. With how much Google has messed up in a short time, and the problems older Nexus devices experienced over time, could the phone we a bad long term purchase?
The...
Top 10 Android app updates this week: Chomp SMS, Pocket
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...
