Google Clock now supports Spotify for alarms

If you use the Google Clock app for your alarm and have grown tired of the standard options to help you wake up or remember to do something, then you may be in for a treat with the app’s newest addition.

Google has announced the Clock app now supports Spotify. You will need to make sure that the latest versions of both the Clock app and Spotify are installed on your device. Once you have that taken care of, just open the Clock app and you will be able to choose from Spotify’s own curated morning playlists, search for a specific soundtrack, or play your own recently played music.

Google-Clock-Spotify

Now when your alarm goes off you can hear the music you chose from Spotify instead of the built-in sounds. And once you turn off the alarm, you’ll have the option to continue to listen to Spotify. This new feature for the Clock app is available for both the free Spotify users and the folks who subscribe to Spotify Premium.

The feature starts rolling out globally this week. It’s supported on Android 5.0 and newer devices.

Is this a feature you’re going to use?


Android Match

Google Clock app now supports Spotify for alarms

Most people don't like to wake up to the grating whine of a regular alarm clock, and a lot of the "alarm" sounds on phones are scarcely better. Now, the Google Clock app offers an alternative. In the latest version, you can use music from Spotify for your alarms. Play Music and YouTube Music? Nope, because Google.

You can connect the Clock app to a free or premium Spotify account, and then search for songs, playlists, or access your recently played tracks.

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Google Clock app now supports Spotify for alarms was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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Premium SimCity-like 'Pocket City' is out for Android

If you haven't yet heard about Pocket City, boy are you in for a treat. It's a premium single purchase simulation city-builder from Codebrew Games - a one-person indie studio from Toronto, Canada. It's your job as a new city mayor to strategically erect residential, commercial, and industrial zones, all while completing quests to gain XP and level up. If you are a fan of the classic SimCity PC games and are tired of all the nickel and diming free-to-play antics of the mobile gaming industry, you are going to want to give Pocket City a proper look as soon as possible.

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Premium SimCity-like 'Pocket City' is out for Android was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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Mozilla's Indonesia-exclusive Firefox Rocket browser is now Firefox Lite

Mozilla started messing around with a pared down version of its Firefox browser specifically for Indonesia late last year. It's got the data-saving features you'd come to expect in a bare-bones mobile browser, like options to not load images or save web pages to read offline. Now, the project has a new name: Firefox Lite.

What Lite's new handle lacks in uniqueness, it makes up for in practicality. Rocket didn't really let on what the app was all about; with Lite, you know what you're getting into.

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Mozilla's Indonesia-exclusive Firefox Rocket browser is now Firefox Lite was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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Google Calendar adds 'Propose a new time' option to meetings

Google Calendar is a pretty good way to manage your time, but since it's a core app in G Suite, "pretty good" isn't good enough. One of the many things potential meeting attendees might expect to be able to do in a business calendar app is suggest a different time, due to a conflict perhaps, but that hasn't been possible in Google Calendar up to now.

Thankfully, Google is finally adding an option to meetings that will allow you to 'Propose a new time.' It's nestled behind the little expansion arrow that sits next to the "Yes, No, or Maybe" attendance selector, alongside side the option to add a note.

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Google Calendar adds 'Propose a new time' option to meetings was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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Chrome 68 Beta bug gives the tab switcher a very basic look, but it should be temporary

According to several reports we've received over the past couple of weeks, a bug appears to be happening for Chrome 68 Beta users that transforms their neat card-based tab switcher into a super basic list of open tabs. If you're affected, you only need to give it some time, it should revert back to the regular switcher after a day or two.

The layout these users are seeing is nothing out of the ordinary.

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Chrome 68 Beta bug gives the tab switcher a very basic look, but it should be temporary was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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ARCore v1.4 adds support for its first Chromebook, Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, and many more [APK Teardown]

Every month or so, an update to AR Core rolls out with support for a whole new set of phones, tablets... and now Chromebooks? Yes, the first Chrome OS device has been found among the list of profiles included in the AR Core APK, and that is the recently released Acer Chromebook Tab 10. Also joining the list are the codenames associated with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, blueline and crosshatch, which are due out this Fall.

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ARCore v1.4 adds support for its first Chromebook, Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, and many more [APK Teardown] was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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WhatsApp starts showing a 'Mark as read' button on notifications for some users

Not to be outdone by Telegram's new "Mark as read" button on notifications, WhatsApp is rolling the same feature out to some users now. Not everyone is able to see this shortcut, even those of us on the latest beta, so it appears the function is enabled via a server-side switch.

We've received several reports from users on the most recent beta v2.18.232 who are seeing this new "Mark as read" option on WhatsApp notifications.

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WhatsApp starts showing a 'Mark as read' button on notifications for some users was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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[Update: Pulled] Latest Google app beta (v8.14.12) repeatedly crashing for many

Developer previews aren't always the most stable, and they aren't meant to be. They are the process by which a stable is created. Because of that, sometimes it's possible to run into a few issues when using them, and it appears many are seeing a repeated force close problem with the latest version of the Google app beta (v8.14.12).

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[Update: Pulled] Latest Google app beta (v8.14.12) repeatedly crashing for many was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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Ecobee introduces Peak Relief pilot program to save money during peak price hours

If you own an Ecobee thermostat, you may be eligible to join a new program Ecobee calls “Peak Relief.” This pilot program aims to save you up to 10 percent on your heating bill (on top of the savings you’re already used to thanks to a smart thermostat) by avoiding turning the heat or A/C up during peak hours.

This program is only available in certain areas in California, Ontario, and Arizona and only works if you have electric heating. Once you’re enrolled, the thermostat will either heat or cool right before peak hours to keep you comfortable without wasting money during peak hours.

It’s definitely an awesome idea made even better by the option of selecting “basic savings” or “super savings” if you’re up for giving up a bit of comfort for saving money and easing the stress on the power grid. If your electricity provider charges based on time of day and you reside in the aforementioned locations, hit this link to be notified when the pilot program is available to you!


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Google Chrome now accessible with Daydream VR

Google Daydream is Google’s virtual reality system and can be used with either a phone in a headset or standalone headsets like the Lenovo Mirage Solo. If you were using the former, you could fire up Google Chrome and use it in the VR headset. However, this was impossible with standalone headsets.

Fortunately, Google has announced that Chrome can now be launched with the Daydream launcher. It’s a fully-featured browser with bookmarks, voice commands, and even incognito mode if you really need it. Google also added a “cinema mode” to optimize viewing content in Chrome using a VR headset.

If you have a VR headset, check to see if you can update Chrome in the Play Store. If you received the update, throw on the headset and give it a shot!


Android Match

AMC TV now has its own Android TV app

We talk a lot about cord-cutting — "skinny bundles" and the like — but there are still plenty of cable holdouts. Cable boxes are largely terrible, though, so any opportunity to not use them is a boon. To that end, AMC has just released an Android TV app.

AMC has had an Android app for years, but this one is specifically for Android TV. The app requires a cable provider login, but provides ad-supported full episodes of AMC's hits like "The Walking Dead," "Preacher," and, er, the other "Walking Dead." There's also a movies tab (if you'll recall, AMC stands for "American Movie Classics") and the option to watch live programming. If you want to pay an extra five bucks a month, you can get AMC Premiere, which unlocks additional content and removes most ads.

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AMC TV now has its own Android TV app was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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Top 5 most popular Android apps from last week: Pluvius, Alto’s Odyssey

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 Android apps from last week. These apps are ones that are most likely new and haven’t appeared in the top five list more than three times.

1. Alto’s Odyssey

Alto Odyssey

App info: Just beyond the horizon sits a majestic desert, vast and unexplored. Join Alto and his friends and set off on an endless sandboarding journey to discover its secrets. Soar above windswept dunes, traverse thrilling canyons, and explore long-hidden temples in a fantastical place far from home.

 

2. Pluvius

Pluvius

App info: Pluvius is an all-in-one theming framework that works on top of Android Overlay Manager System. Pluvius detects when you change wallpaper, then it fetches the palette and recolors the system following that palette. All of this is happening in instant and seamlessly.

 

3. Bling Launcher

Bling Launcher

App info: Free Themes for Android Phone: Amazing themes free for your phone. Live Wallpapers: Awesome and pretty live wallpapers and 3D wallpapers for your choice. Call Screen Themes: Stylish incoming call screen, shining and real eye-catching.

 

4. HERE AR City Model

HERE AR City Model

App info: Using just a simple printout and a tablet or a smartphone (see the list of compatible devices below), you can produce a dynamic representation of predictive navigation with self-learning capabilities that will support the autonomous driving of tomorrow.

 

5. T-Mobile NAME ID

T-Mobile NAME ID

App info: The T-Mobile NAME ID application lets you choose who to talk to before you answer. It identifies incoming callers even when they’re not in your address book. It also lets you block unwanted calls including known scam callers.

 

Note:  To ensure that all apps receive a fair chance to make the list, we will retire any app that has made the list for three consecutive weeks and identified with an * after the name.


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Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium now available with 5.8-inch 4K HDR display

The LG Signature Edition isn’t the only premium smartphone that’s launching this week.

The Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium is now available from Amazon. It’s being sold as a GSM unlocked device, meaning it’ll work with carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S. There are two color options available: Chrome Black and Chrome Silver.


No matter which color you choose, you’ll get a smartphone with a 5.8-inch 3840×2160 HDR display, which is a higher resolution than many other smartphones on the market. The rest of the Xperia XZ2 Premium’s spec list is just as high-end, boasting a Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB of RAM, a dual rear camera setup with a 19MP color sensor and 12MP monochrome sensor, and an ISO of 51,200 for super low light shooting.

Rounding out the Xperia XZ2 Premium’s spec list is 64GB of built-in storage, a microSD card slot, a 13MP wide angle front-facing camera, USB-C, and a 3540mAh battery. Unfortunately, one thing that this Android 8.0-powered smartphone doesn’t have is a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The super high-res screen on the Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium makes it kind of intriguing, and it’s good that Sony threw in a bunch of other high-end specs to go along with that impressive display. It is kind of a bummer that there’s no headphone jack on a phone this pricey, but it’s also not too surprising since ditching the headphone jack has become a bit of a trend in smartphones lately.


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WhatsApp group audio and video calls are now rolling out to everyone

After leaks and teardown revelations aplenty, WhatsApp group calls were finally formally revealed at Facebook's F8 developer conference in early May. By the end of the month, the feature had started showing up for some. Now, WhatsApp has announced that group audio and video calls are rolling out to all users.

The functionality is pretty straightforward: you and up to three other users can all talk to each other at once, with or without accompanying split-screen video.

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WhatsApp group audio and video calls are now rolling out to everyone was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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Supporting display cutouts on edge-to-edge screens

Posted By Megan Potoski, Product Manager, Android System UI

Smartphones are quickly moving towards smaller bezels and larger aspect ratios. On these devices, display cutouts are a popular way to achieve an edge-to-edge experience while providing space for important sensors on the front of the device. There are currently 16 cutout devices from 11 OEMs already released, including several Android P beta devices, with more on the way.

These striking displays present a great opportunity for you to showcase your app. They also mean it's more important than ever to make sure your app provides a consistently great experience across devices with one or two display cutouts, as well as devices with 18:9 and larger aspect ratios.

Examples of cutout devices: Essential PH-1 (left) and Huawei P20 (right).

Make your app compatible with display cutouts

With many popular and upcoming devices featuring display cutouts, what can you do to make sure your app is cutout-ready?

The good news is, for the most part your app should work as intended even on a cutout device. By default, in portrait mode with no special flags set, the status bar will be resized to be at least as tall as the cutout and your content will display in the window below. In landscape or fullscreen mode, your app window will be letterboxed so that none of your content is displayed in the cutout area.

However, there are a few areas where your app could have issues on cutout devices.

  • Watch out for any sort of hard-coding of status bar height -- this will likely cause problems. If possible, use WindowInsetsCompat to get status bar height.
  • In fullscreen, be careful to consider when to use window vs. screen coordinates, as your app will not take up the whole screen when letterboxed. For example, if you use MotionEvent.getRawX/Y() to get screen coordinates for touch events, make sure to transform them to the view's coordinates using getLocationOnScreen().
  • Pay special attention to transitions in and out of fullscreen mode.

Here are a few guidelines describing what issues to look out for and how to fix them.

Take advantage of the cutout area

Rendering your app content in the cutout area can be a great way to provide a more immersive, edge-to-edge experience for users, especially for content like videos, photos, maps, and games.

An example of an app that has requested layout in the display cutout.

In Android P we added APIs to let you manage how your app uses the display cutout area, as well as to check for the presence of cutouts and get their positions.

You can use layoutInDisplayCutoutMode, a new window layout mode, to control how your content is displayed relative to the cutout. By default, the app's window is allowed to extend into the cutout area if the cutout is fully contained within a system bar. Otherwise, the window is laid out such that it does not overlap with the cutout. You can also set layoutInDisplayCutoutMode to always or never render into the cutout. Using SHORT_EDGES mode to always render into the cutout is a great option if you want to take advantage of the full display and don't mind if a bit of content gets obscured by the cutout.

If you are rendering into the cutout, you can use getDisplayCutout() to retrieve a DisplayCutout that has the cutout's safe insets and bounding box(es). These let you check whether your content overlaps the cutout and reposition things if needed.

<style name="ActivityTheme">
  <item name="android:windowLayoutInDisplayCutoutMode">
    default/shortEdges/never
  </item>
</style>

Attribute for setting layoutInDisplayCutoutMode from the Activity's theme.

For devices running Android 8.1 (API 27), we've also back-ported the layoutInDisplayCutoutMode activity theme attribute so you can control the display of your content in the cutout area. Note that support on devices running Android 8.1 or lower is up to the device manufacturer, however.

To make it easier to manage your cutout implementation across API levels, we've also added DisplayCutoutCompat in the AndroidX library, which is now available through the SDK manager.

For more about the display cutout APIs, take a look at the documentation.

Test your app with cutout

We strongly recommend testing all screens and experiences of your app to make sure that they work well on cutout devices. We recommend using one of the Android P Beta Devices that features a cutout, such as the Essential PH-1.

If you don't have a device, you can also test using a simulated cutout on any device running Android P or in the Android Emulator. This should help you uncover any issues that your app may run into on devices with cutouts, whether they are running Android 8.1 or Android P.

What to expect on devices with display cutouts

Android P introduces official platform support for display cutouts, with APIs that you can use to show your content inside or outside of the cutout. To ensure consistency and app compatibility, we're working with our device manufacturer partners to mandate a few requirements.

First, devices must ensure that their cutouts do not negatively affect apps. There are two key requirements:

  • In portrait orientation, with no special flags set, the status bar must extend to at least the height of the cutout.
  • In fullscreen or landscape orientation, the entire cutout area must be letterboxed.

Second, devices may only have up to one cutout on each short edge of the device. This means that:

  • You won't see multiple cutouts on a single edge, or more than two cutouts on a device.
  • You won't see a cutout on the left or right long edge of the device.

Within these constraints, devices can place cutouts wherever they want.

Special mode

Some devices running Android 8.1 (API level 27) or earlier may optionally support a "special mode" that lets users extend a letterboxed fullscreen or landscape app into the cutout area. Devices would typically offer this mode through a toggle in the navigation bar, which would then bring up a confirmation dialog before extending the screen.

Devices that offer "special mode" allow users to optionally extend apps into the cutout area if supported by the app.

If your app's targetSdkVersion is 27 or higher, you can set the layoutInDisplayCutoutMode activity theme attribute to opt-out of special mode if needed.

Don't forget: larger aspect ratios too!

While you are working on cutout support, it's also a great time to make sure your app works well on devices with 18:9 or larger aspect ratios, especially since these devices are becoming increasingly common and can feature display cutouts.

We highly encourage you to support flexible aspect ratios so that your app can leverage the full display area, no matter what device it's on. You should test your app on different display ratios to make sure it functions properly and looks good.

Here are some guidelines on screens support to keep in mind as you are developing, also refer to our earlier post on larger aspect ratios for tips on optimizing. If your app can't adapt to the aspect ratios on long screens, you can choose to declare a max aspect ratio to request letterboxing on those screens.

Thanks for reading, and we hope this helps you deliver a delightful experience to all your users, whatever display they may have!


Android Match

LG Signature Edition phone costs $1800

Smartphones have been becoming more expensive over the years, and it looks like LG wants to go ahead and jump as far ahead of the pack as possible.

This isn’t a super rugged phone or a device that’s rocking some Lamborghini branding. LG calls its newest smartphone the “Signature Edition”, and it boasts a remarkable $1,800 price tag. It appears to be a luxury edition of the LG V35 ThinQ.

For that price tag you’ll get a phone with a 6-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2800×1440 and a 18:9 aspect ratio. There is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor under the hood, 6GB of RAM, and 256GB of built-in storage. There is a microSD card slot included, too. LG’s new Signature Edition phone offers a pair of 16MP cameras on the back, one of which is a 107-degree wide angle lens. Also included is Android 8.0 Oreo and a 3300mAh battery.

lgsignatureedition2018aam1

The Signature Edition has audio tuned by Bang & Olufsen, and the phone comes with a pair of Beoplay H9i wireless headphones which retail for $499 in the United States. The back of the phone is made of Zirconium Ceramic and features a fingerprint reader.

There are only 300 units of the LG Signature Edition smartphone being made, and it’s on sale right now. It’s priced at 1,999,800 won ($1,790 USD). If you do buy one, LG will let you have your name engraved on the back of the handset and on a leather wallet case.

So, who’s forking over the cash to pick up LG’s new Signature Edition phone?


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Huawei MediaPad M5 tablet review

The tablet market isn’t nearly as competitive as it used to be. Apple rules the market with the iPad and many Android manufacturers have given up on tablets entirely.

However, Huawei is still pushing out well priced, solid tablets for those of us who would like to stay away from iOS. Android isn’t really optimized for tablets, but how good is the final experience?

Hardware

The Huawei MediaPad M5 is equipped with relatively modern specifications. It features a last gen (yet top of the line for its time) Kirin 960 octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage with a microSD slot (in a SIM-like aluminum tray on the left side), a 13MP camera, a 5,100mAh battery, Bluetooth 4.2, a USB Type-C connector, and dual speakers tuned by Harman Kardon.

Huawei_MediaPad_M5_4

The dual speakers are a great piece of hardware facing backwards. Though it’s annoying having speakers facing back, they sound pretty great for a tablet and get really loud without getting too tinny. Unfortunately, it’s easy to cover them with your hands (the grilles are strips along the top and bottom) so you need to adjust your grip. But once you do, the speakers are awesome. There’s no low end, and they’re pretty sharp at the top end, but the added sound quality is really useful for a device made for consuming content.

But if audio is important, why is there no headphone jack? It’s a somewhat (not really) understandable sacrifice to make on a slim smartphone, but on a tablet designed specifically for consuming content? It’s absolutely ridiculous and inexcusable. A headphone jack is absolutely a must-have in a tablet, and having to carry around an adapter sucks. There is no reason a jack wouldn’t fit in here, nor is extreme thickness is important enough in a tablet to get rid of it. Yes, you can tell this frustrates me.

Huawei_MediaPad_M5_3

The fingerprint sensor is located under the display and is well positioned both in portrait and landscape. It’s just as quick as any flagship and unlocks the device almost instantly with no inaccuracies or problems.

Display

The display is the star of the show here. The Huawei MediaPad M5 features an 8.4-inch 2560×1600 IPS LCD. It’s very pixel dense and plenty bright with vivid colors. It’s also super thin and feels like it’s right on the surface of the glass, much like most flagship smartphones. The bezels around the screen are very thin as well, but thick enough to let you hold onto the tablet adequately.

The blacks aren’t as dark as the best of the best IPS displays and certainly not as good as AMOLED, but overall it’s a great panel with relatively good blacks.

The display is 16:10 ratio, which some will love and some won’t. Many prefer the 4:3 form factor in a tablet so that portrait view is easier to use. However, the widescreen form factor is great for landscape games and videos. I prefer it this way.

A tablet is all about consuming content, so the display is the key element here.

Build quality

Huawei spared no expense when building this tablet. The front is a sheet of glass with rounded edges and the back is a solid piece of metal softly curved around the edges. The only things interrupting the back are two plastic antenna lines and a camera bump.

The buttons on the side are stiff and clicky with no wiggle room. There’s a polished edge on the bezel. The tablet doesn’t flex and the back panel doesn’t bend in. It’s very well built, and it looks fantastic too!

Software

The Huawei MediaPad M5 runs Android 8.0 Oreo with the EMUI 8.0 skin on top. The skin is almost identical to what you’d find on one of Huawei’s smartphones. It adds a lot of features, some useful and some gimmicky, while taking away from the clean look of AOSP. Of course this is subjective, but EMUI isn’t a bad skin by any means.

The software problems don’t really lie in Huawei’s implementation of EMUI, but in Android itself. Android still isn’t “made” for tablets, and most apps don’t really take advantage of the big display very well. Many apps are blown up, while others have more optimized UIs but no extra functionality to justify using them on a tablet.

Nonetheless, the software experience on this tablet is good. Things run smooth and don’t crash, software features work as intended, and apps that do take advantage of the tablet form factor are quite good. Plus, Android rocks at media consumption with its wide selection of apps to do exactly that. Whether is Netflix or VLC, there’s no shortage of apps. We just wish Google would make a stronger push for tablets, but that probably isn’t happening anytime soon.

Performance

What do you get when you mix last year’s top-end processor, a decent amount of RAM, and a big screen with an Android skin? Surprisingly, you get a relatively smooth and fluid experience.

EMUI has been excelling with making devices smooth (at least in most cases) and the MediaPad M5 is no different. It runs very well, animations don’t often stutter, and apps open very fast.

Various things like network speeds, touch latency, and overall speed were never a problem thanks to the pretty good specs. The display does take a bit of a harder tap than a phone but touches were always quick and accurate.

Camera

Honestly, this is the last thing that matters in a tablet. The camera is there as a technicality and really shouldn’t be used. Especially at concerts.

This is reinforced by the fact that Huawei put a pretty terrible camera in here. It’s a 13MP unit that can do 1080p video at 30 frames per second. Nonetheless, photos are blurry and lack any sort of detail. Minimum focus point is pretty far so macro shots are impossible. Just don’t use it.

Battery life

Inside is a 5,100mAh battery, about average for a tablet of this size (though many phones below 6 inches are now packing 4,000mAh units). Paired with the EMUI software, the battery life is excellent.

EMUI tends to kill apps in the background unless explicitly told not to. This results in missed notifications if not set up properly. Once set up it is a fairly beneficial (though occasionally annoying) system, but setting it up is a pain and only those who know what they’re doing can do so. For the everyday person, there might be problems for use with tons of apps.

Overall this means for amazing standby time. You can leave it unused for a few weeks with ease. When it comes to use, it still lasts a long while despite the display and speaker setup. It also features Huawei’s proprietary fast charging. Thanks to this it’s a fantastic travel companion.

Honor 88.5 / 10

Huawei_MediaPad_M5_5

The MediaPad M5 sells for $319, and it’s hard not to recommend the tablet at this price point. With nearly flagship hardware, good battery life, an awesome display, and solid speakers, it’s a fantastic device for content consumption and travel.

Major flaws like the lack of a headphone jack and software that could be greatly improved definitely hurt the overall experience, but it remains a solid pick and a good user experience. For the price, this may be one of the best Android tablets on the market!


Android Match

Epic Games may distribute Fortnite for Android on its website rather than the Play Store

Fortnite is supposed to come to Android this summer, but developer Epic Games hasn't offered any firm timeline yet. A recent report suggested that Fortnite would launch as an exclusive on the Samsung Galaxy Note9, and that may not be the developer's only trick. The game may never come to the Play Store at all. Instead, everyone would need to download it from the Epic Games website.

Instructions to download and install Fortnite Mobile on Android are hidden in the code on Epic Games' website.

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Epic Games may distribute Fortnite for Android on its website rather than the Play Store was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T will receive Android P update

In May of last year, OnePlus made OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T owners happy by announcing that their devices would be updated to Android Oreo. Now there’s even more good news.

OnePlus has confirmed that both the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T will be updated to Android P. The two handsets will skip the update to Android 8.1 Oreo, though, so if you have been hoping that update would arrive soon, go ahead and count it out. The reason being is that OnePlus wants to focus on the Android P update instead, saying that there are “more exciting features and improvements” in this update than the Android 8.1 software.

There are some things to be aware of: First, OnePlus is going to update the OnePlus 6 to Android P first. The OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T will get it next, and then the OnePlus 3 and 3T will get the Android P update after that. Of course, OnePlus isn’t saying exactly when any of those software upgrades will take place, so there’s nothing to circle on the calendar just yet.

This is great news for OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T owners out there. If you own either one of these handsets, are you looking forward to the Android P update?


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Fortnite may not be available in the Play Store when it launches

At some point in the near future, Epic Games is going to launch their mega popular game Fortnite Battle Royale for Android. But when it arrives, there may be an important caveat to be aware of.

Thanks to the folks over at XDA, we have learned that when Fortnite arrives on Android, it may not actually be available to download from the Google Play Store. According to the report, which reflects information ascertained from the source code on Epic’s website pertaining to the battle royale game, Epic is planning on having folks download the game’s APK file directly from the website.

Epic has instructions there, which you can see pictured above. It indicates that Epic wants Android users to download the game through their browser rather than the Play Store. If that is indeed the case, Android users will need to switch on the ability to download content from unknown sources, something that some Android users might not be willing to do.

This is just one of the more surprising things we’ve heard about Fortnite recently. Last week we heard that the game may be an exclusive launch on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which could last up to 30 days. If that is indeed the case, this latest revelation may be how Galaxy Note 9 users will download the game during their exclusivity window.

If it isn’t available in the Play Store, will you download Fortnite?


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22 new and notable augmented reality apps and games from the last four months (3/24/18 - 7/30/18)

There was a huge uptick of augmented reality apps and games released on the Play Store back in March that was a result of ARCore's expanded device support. AP covered both the games and apps published at the time, but I wanted to keep track of further releases just to see if we could keep these AR roundups going. It may have taken four months, but I finally have a solid AR roundup for all of our readers.

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22 new and notable augmented reality apps and games from the last four months (3/24/18 - 7/30/18) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Latest Honor 10 update brings AIS for better camera performance, GPU Turbo mode

The Honor 10 is a great budget device with a camera that punches way above its class, but without OIS the image quality suffered in low light. Even with EIS, the device had to add a lot of noise to compensate for movement.

The latest update that was recently released includes a new “AIS” feature, or AI Image Stabilization. This feature has significantly boosted the quality of images in lower light by taking multiple photos and stitching them together, much like Google’s HDR+. Very dark environments will still cause a lot of noise, but semi-dark environments create some amazing photos. Here’s an example:

Honor_10_photo_sample

Also added is the new GPU Turbo feature, which creates a better gaming experience by optimizing the software for games. It can create up to 60% better graphics processing efficiency while using 30% less power. Honor advertises a 13% boost in framerate in PUBG. For a mid-range phone, this is pretty cool.

If you own an Honor 10, EMUI has likely prompted you to download the update by now. But it’s great to see low light photography get such a big boost in performance since the release of the device.


Android Match

Google Chrome now available on Daydream VR

Chrome has been able to view web VR content for some time now, but there has always been one problem - you couldn't launch Chrome from the Daydream launcher. In other words, you had to navigate to the desired page on your phone, then put your phone in a VR headset. That's not a great experience, and it leaves out standalone Daydream headsets (like the Lenovo Mirage Solo) entirely.

Google announced today that Chrome is now fully compatible with Daydream, meaning you can open and use Chrome entirely from the VR headset.

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Google Chrome now available on Daydream VR was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

29 temporarily free and 26 on-sale apps to start the week

Welcome to the final days of July and our last app sales roundup for the month. We have some good items on offer today, and my personal recommendations are in bold below. Enjoy and I'll be back again in August.

Free

Apps

  1. Engineering quantity estimate $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 2 days
  2. Root Checker Pro $2.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 5 days
  3. Quick Notes $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 5 days
  4. Drugs Dictionary $2.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  5. RememberNote Pro $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  6. Scientific Calculator | Complex Number Calculator $1.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days

Games

  1. Hexasmash Pro - Wrecking Ball Physics Puzzle $3.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 1 day
  2. Hexasmash 2 - Physics Ball Shooter Puzzle $3.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 1 day
  3. Hook $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 1 day
  4. PUSH $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 1 day
  5. Super Dangerous Trap $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 2 days
  6. Dots puzzle $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 4 days
  7. League of Stickman 2018- Ninja Arena PVP(Dreamsky) $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 4 days
  8. The Ball Reach $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 4 days
  9. DeepAbyss $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 5 days
  10. Spacewatch - A Solar System Explorer $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 5 days
  11. Planetarix $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  12. Infinity Dungeon VIP $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  13. Stone Of Souls $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  14. Buff Knight Advanced - Retro RPG Runner $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 7 days

Icon packs & customization

  1. 3D Waterfall Pro lwp $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 9 hours
  2. Boekt Icon Pack $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 9 hours
  3. M A M B O Icon Pack $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 9 hours
  4. POLYGON Icon Pack $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 9 hours
  5. Tibet 3D Pro $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 1 day
  6. Chicago 3D Pro live wallpaper $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 2 days
  7. Flax - Icon Pack $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 2 days
  8. Olmo - Icon Pack $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 2 days
  9. Pure - Icon Pack ( Flat Design ) $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 5 days

Sale

Apps

  1. WiFi Mouse Pro $3.99 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 9 hours
  2. Dog Anatomy : Canine Anatomy $4.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  3. The 8051 Simulator Pro $3.79 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 4 days
  4. PingTools Pro $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 5 days
  5. Diseases Dictionary $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  6. GCodePrintr - The 3D Print App $4.50 -> $2.49; Sale ends in 6 days
  7. Home Budget Manager $2.99 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 6 days
  8. Interwebz Browser $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  9. Medical terms (OFFLINE) $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  10. My Dictionary: polyglot $3.99 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  11. Signal Care $8.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days

Games

  1. Formula Fast Race $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 9 hours
  2. Second grade Math - Addition $2.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 4 days
  3. Codeword Puzzles,Cipher Games $4.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 5 days
  4. Doom & Destiny Advanced $4.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 5 days
  5. Multiplying Fractions Trainer $2.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 5 days
  6. Note Fighter Unlimited $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 5 days
  7. Warhammer Quest $4.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 5 days
  8. ACE Academy $9.99 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  9. First grade Math - Addition $2.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  10. Mini Golf Arena $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  11. The Dew $1.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  12. The Last Dream (Full) $4.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  13. Volt $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  1. Vital Tones Focus Pro $5.49 -> $2.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  2. Vital Tones Insomnia Pro $9.99 -> $4.99; Sale ends in 3 days
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29 temporarily free and 26 on-sale apps to start the week was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Google promises to stop suggesting 'my face' when you type 'sit on' in Gboard

Applying machine learning to everything under the sun can be tricky. Case in point: Gboard's text prediction has been suggesting people type "my face and" after the words "sit on," resulting in a reference to a sexual act. Google says it's an accident, though, and it's working on a fix for the errant suggestion.

The keyboard makes predictions based on both individual users' typing habits and more general language training. By default, it doesn't suggest words or phrases that could be construed as offensive (the option exists, but it's buried five taps into the settings menu), and it generally errs on the side of caution.

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Google promises to stop suggesting 'my face' when you type 'sit on' in Gboard was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

[Pssst, Gmail, You Listening?] Telegram 4.9 added a 'Mark as read' button in notifications

When you get bombarded by notifications throughout the day, the most useful tool at your disposal is a "Mark as read" button. Because most notifications these days can be expanded, it's easy to read the entire content of a message sent through SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, or Gmail. But dismissing the notification doesn't mark the message as read: it will show as unread if you open the app or, worse yet, will resurface if you get other notifications from the same app.

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[Pssst, Gmail, You Listening?] Telegram 4.9 added a 'Mark as read' button in notifications was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Gboard's spell check is now working for some users on v7.4.18 (beta) [APK Download]

Gboard's history with spell check isn't a good one. For months and months, users complained that spell check wasn't working, then version 7.4 of Gboard gave us false hope that it was fixed by surfacing a new banner for the spell checker. Unfortunately, it still wasn't functional and was nowhere to be seen in the settings. Now, however, after the recent update to v7.4.18 (beta), spell check seems to be properly doing its job for some users.

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Gboard's spell check is now working for some users on v7.4.18 (beta) [APK Download] was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Long press the back button to bring up your tab history in Chrome Canary v70

One of my most wanted features in Chrome is a quick way to access a tab's history, or even pull up my complete browsing history, to go back to a page or article I was checking earlier. Starting with Chrome 70, which is now in the Canary channel, there will be a flag that will let me do just that.

If you're on Chrome Canary, you can pull up the chrome://flags page and enable #long-press-back-for-history.

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Long press the back button to bring up your tab history in Chrome Canary v70 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Google Pixel 3 XL leaks again, this time in white

It’s been about a month since we last got any rumors or leaks about the Google Pixel 3 XL, but now that drought is coming to an end.

Photos that allegedly show the Pixel 3 XL have made their way online. Shared by xda-developers forum user “dr.guru”, the shots depict a device with an all-white backside that has a single camera, fingerprint reader, and a logo we’ve seen on previous Google prototype hardware. Around front we can see a chin below the display and a notch up top that may house dual front-facing cameras.

Unfortunately, dr.guru says that their Pixel 3 XL doesn’t boot because it was remotely erased by Google, so we don’t get any images of the software. The fastboot screen does include the codename “crosshatch”, though, and it also mentions that the phone has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

googlepixel3xlphotosleak2

Rumors have also suggested that Google will offer a product called the Pixel Stand for its Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. According to Android Police, the accessory will utilize the glass near the top of the phone’s backside and will let you use Google Assistant to ask questions and perform actions while the phone is locked on the Pixel Stand.

Details on Google’s new Pixel 3 XL are still light, but rumors have said that it’ll have stereo speakers. It’s also rumored that the new Pixel phones will launch in October and that Verizon will once again be the exclusive U.S. wireless carrier for them.

Nothing is official until Google says it is, but it’s looking increasingly likely that the Pixel 3 XL will jump on the notch trend. That may be disappointing for some people, but it’ll be interesting to see what Google does with the dual front-facing cameras that’ll be housed in that notch. And hey, if you really don’t care for the notch, it’s expected that the smaller Pixel 3 will be notch-less.


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