As you embark on a brand new decade of self-empowerment, there's never been a better time to turn over a new leaf in favor of a happier, healthier you. For many people around the globe, smoking cigarettes or puffing on vape pens is still a very real hurdle that must conquered, but there is a...
The best free and open-source alternatives to Google Calendar on Android
We started our new series of open-source alternatives to Google apps with a list of Gmail-type applications, and now it's time to check out ones that mirror the functionality of Google Calendar! If you're looking for something more privacy-conscious, or if you just want to see what independent Android...
43 temporarily free and 72 on-sale apps and games for Monday
Welcome to Monday, everyone. Last week we saw many game sales offered through the Play Store, and this week is starting out with a generous selection of app sales. As always, I've highlighted the more interesting titles in bold to make discovery easier. So without further ado, here are 43 temporarily...
Google Search gets Watchlist to save movies and shows you want to see
Google Search was once merely a place that listed relevant websites depending on your queries, but these days, the engine provides many details right within the results, saving you a few taps and clicks. Google is constantly improving these so-called Knowledge Graph cards, and has now expanded movie...
15 new Android games from the week of December 23rd, 2019: Vodobanka Pro, Mission Ammunition, and Age of Civilizations II Europe
Welcome to the roundup of the new Android games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today I have an intriguing tactical game where you'll take control of a swat team, a delightful run-and-gun platformer, and the latest release in Łukasz Jakowski's Age...
Google Stadia: Subscription cost, games list, free games, compatibility requirements, and more (Update: January's free games)
In fall 2018, Google made its interest in gaming known with Project Stream, a beta that let users play the high-end Assassin's Creed Odyssey from a humble Chrome tab. The following spring, it announced Stadia, a full-fat gaming platform that would leverage the company's computing and networking prowess...
Google is testing floating conversations in Messages, uses Android 10's "bubble" feature
Android has been experimenting with floating bubble notifications for some time now, but there have been no apps with which to use the feature despite the option being available within the developer menu. XDA had uncovered that Google was testing the new bubble functionality in its Messages app, and...
42 temporarily free and 77 on-sale apps and games for Friday
Welcome to Friday, everyone. Now that the many Christmas sales from the last week are dying down, the sales roundup is now back to its regular size. As always. I've highlighted the more interesting titles in bold to make discovery easier, including a few notable stragglers that have recently gone on...
Here are 330 apps and games available on Google Play Pass right now (Update: 6 more)
People have been wondering about the full roster of launch titles featured in Google Play Pass — supposedly, we've got over 350 of them to go through. Here's the thing: Google doesn't make it easy to suss out all of the apps participating in the program, whether through the Play Store or external...
Arlo now supports voice assistant PIN and in-app access to local recordings
Arlo rolled out a major update to its mobile app a few months back, and it's still adding new features. In the latest update, Arlo gains support for voice assistant PINs, allowing you to disarm the system by voice. The app can also show videos from your local camera storage rather than only from the...
Google Photos might soon let you pinch-to-zoom on videos
Just like any other image viewer, Google Photos has always supported pinch-to-zoom on images. You've never been able to zoom in on videos, though — that long-requested ability is absent from Google's software. Now, the first evidence has surfaced that the company is working on this functionality.
XDA...
Messaging app ToTok pulled from Play Store following reports of government surveillance (Update: New ToTok statement)
Update 1: 2019/12/25 2:52pm PST
ToTok has released a follow-up statement that continues to dance around the claims that its app is spyware. In the statement, ToTok cofounders Giac and Long first misrepresent criticism of
If you've been using ToTok on any of your devices, you should consider...
Google Drive passes 5 billion installs on the Play Store
Only a handful of apps have passed 5 billion total installations on Android, mostly as a result of pre-installations by phone makers. The latest application to pass that milestone is none other than Google Drive, joining Chrome, Gmail, and Facebook in the 5 billion club.
The Play Store listing for...
Google reveals pricing for first Stadia games, Pro subscribers get discounts (Update: RDR2 and Rage 2 deals)
Update 1: 2019/12/25 11:34am PST
Part of the selling point for Google Stadia's Pro subscription service is monthly price reductions on games, exclusive to subscribers. December has already brought us sizable discounts for several games,
Google Stadia's pricing model is better than a lot of...
55 temporarily free and 158 on-sale apps and games for Christmas
Welcome to Christmas Day, everyone. I told myself I wouldn't work today, but then I woke up and saw how many apps and games were on sale. So I've torn myself away from my family for a few moments to get the latest sales roundup out, just in case there's anyone out there looking for a couple of quality...
Best Android games of 2019 for your new phone, tablet, or Chromebook
Christmas is almost here, and with another year having passed us by, it's time to pore through the best Android games released on the Play Store in 2019. Just like the previous two years, I've ordered the roundup by price so that everyone can easily find the titles that best appeal to them, whether...
Speedtest now has a VPN in its mobile apps, because why not?
At this point, there are more VPN services than anyone can reasonably keep track of, all offering roughly the same features — with varying levels of security, anyway. In case you really needed another option, Speedtest.net has now added a VPN function to its Android and iOS apps.
Speedtest has plans...
Messaging app ToTok pulled from Play Store following reports of government surveillance
If you've been using ToTok on any of your devices, you should consider uninstalling it immediately. The new messaging platform that was one of the most downloaded apps last week was swiftly removed from the Google Play Store (and Apple's App Store) before the end of Friday. The abrupt decision...
YouTube TV guide now shows 7 days of upcoming programs instead of a few hours
Today, YouTube TV announced the addition of a new feature to the service's Live Guide, the cord-cutting app's list of upcoming programming, which will now allow users to browse content seven days in advance of airing. Interested users can try out the revamped programming guide now by visiting the...
Sling increases prices, adds free DVR and more channels
Good news and bad news, Sling subscribers. The good news is that your package, be it Orange or Blue, is getting new features. But they're also both increasing in price, from $25 to $30 per month. If you've got both, you'll pay an additional $5, too: that plan is now $45.
Both Sling packages now include...
Gift yourself Nova Launcher Prime for $1 (or less) this holiday season
With over 50 million installs, Nova clearly leads the launcher clan, and the reason for that general approval is nothing short of its plethora of customization options. If you’ve been patiently waiting for a deal to unlock more premium-tier features, now is the time to hit that buy button, as the...
35 temporarily free and 117 on-sale apps and games for Monday
Welcome to Monday, everyone. With Christmas only a few days away, there just so happens to be more than a few sales available on the Google Play Store. As always, I've highlighted the more exciting titles in bold to make discovery a little easier, with the majority located under the Sale Games section....
YouTube tests 'featured in this video' section on Android
Over the last few years, the YouTube creator community has grown closer together and collaborations have become a regular occurrence. To make it easier for you to find out which YouTubers participate in a video, Google is A/B testing a new 'featured in this video' section on Android. In it, you'll...
Action Launcher v45 adds Android 10 gesture navigation support, ActionDash enhancements, and more
The initial Android 10 release wasn't playing nicely with third-party launchers — to use the new navigation gestures, you were forced to stick with Google's Pixel Launcher. The December feature drop (which sadly still hasn't arrived on all Pixel phones) changed that and finally added gesture navigation...
Electronic music radio DI.FM finally adds Android Auto support
Electronic music fans must've been particularly nice this year as the popular electronic music radio app DI.FM gave them an early Christmas present: The latest update to the application finally adds Android Auto support, a feature some people have been wanting for more than a year already.
...
20 new Android games from the week of December 16th, 2019: Snowman Story, My Winter Album, and Little White Rocket
Welcome to the roundup of the new Android games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today I have a fantastic adventure game that's perfect for Christmas, a relaxing puzzler that contains a winter theme, and a planet-orbiting arcade game that's perfect...
YouTube on Android now acts as a voice remote for the TV apps
Earlier this week, YouTube introduced several new features to its app with the hopes of making it more accessible and easier to use. The most noteworthy addition was that viewers can now use voice search when casting the YouTube app to their smart TV.
The new function is extremely straightforward...
Paid Cerberus 'lifetime' licenses are expiring, customers are mad (Update: Complaints deleted from forum)
Update 1: 2019/12/20 3:06am PST
It turns out that back when Cerberus deactivated free lifetime licenses, it actually recommended those customers to switch to the paid lifetime subscription, saying, "We never made, and we will
Update 2: 2019/12/21 3:03am PST
Cerberus deleting complaints...
Chrome Beta 80 removes experimental Reader Mode and gesture navigation, deprecates FTP support, and more
After a short rollout delay, Chrome 79 is now widely available on desktop and mobile platforms. That means Chrome 80 has moved up to the beta channel, and while there are a few new features, there are far more removed features. Let's dive right in!
Removed features
It seems like spring cleaning is...
56 temporarily free and 179 on-sale apps and games for Friday
Welcome to Friday, everyone. Today's sale roundup is a big one, but as usual, I've highlighted the more interesting titles in bold for easier discovery. The majority of sales today are for premium games, though it would appear that a few devs still don't know how to properly list a sale on the Play...
Achievement unlocked: Stadia finally supports achievements on web and Chromecast
When Google rolled out Stadia Pro in November, it quickly became obvious that the service was still partly a glorified beta. Many features that were promised to be ready at launch only slowly trickled into the platform, like Google Assistant support, Stream Connect, Buddy Pass, and family sharing....
Paid Cerberus 'lifetime' licenses are expiring and customers are mad (Update: False promises)
Update 1: 2019/12/20 3:06am PST
It turns out that back when Cerberus deactivated free lifetime licenses, it actually recommended those customers to switch to the paid lifetime subscription, saying, "We never made, and we will
Four years after Cerberus made headlines when it invalidated free...
Fossil just fixed the biggest problem with its Hybrid HR smartwatch
Fossil released its new hybrid smartwatch earlier this year, and I reviewed it last month. The greatest problem with the watch isn't its lack of features or poor design — it's that the companion app only sends notifications to the watch from a handful of supported apps. Thankfully, Fossil has finally...
Here are 320 apps and games available on Google Play Pass right now (Update: 10 more)
People have been wondering about the full roster of launch titles featured in Google Play Pass — supposedly, we've got over 350 of them to go through. Here's the thing: Google doesn't make it easy to suss out all of the apps participating in the program, whether through the Play Store or external...
Netflix and Disney+ content now appears in the Google Play Movies app
Netflix has been one of the largest movie and TV streaming services available since pivoting from its DVD-rental model in 2007. Despite mass popularity throughout the greater half of this decade, Netflix has managed to completely avoid integrating with the Google Play Movies app — at least,...
The Google Translate app is now 12% more accurate in offline mode for many languages, adds more transliteration support
For those who frequently visit foreign countries, a reliable or affordable data connection can be hard to come by. Thankfully, Google's Translate app has a robust offline mode that should be getting even better soon. Today, Google announced improvements to offline performance that will increase the...
Google acquires game dev Typhoon Studios to beef up Stadia team
A year ago, many of us were enjoying a free test of Google's game streaming technology known as Project Stream. That test has morphed into Stadia with games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Mortal Kombat 11, and Borderlands 3. Google wants to make its own games, too. That's why it has acquired Montreal-based...
Star Wars ships arrive on Earth, visible with the help of Samsung Galaxy phones
Augmented reality has emerged as simple way to get amazing effects into the hands of users, and advertisers have only been too willing to jump on the opportunity that presents. Alongside the new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker film coming to theaters, Samsung is pushing just such an AR promotion...
Mario Kart Tour online multiplayer beta coming next month for Gold Pass subscribers (Update: Now available)
Update 1: 2019/12/19 7:41am PST
Mario Kart Tour's multiplayer beta now live for Gold Pass subscribers
The much-anticipated release of Mario Kart Tour this September (after an extended period of testing) was a bit of a letdown. The game was riddled with excessive in-app-purchases, had a questionable...
Pokémon GO working on cross-platform AR-multiplayer Buddy Adventure (Update: Out now)
Update 1: 2019/12/17 8:02am PST
Niantic reveals the all-new Buddy Adventure feature will land by 2020
Update 2: 2019/12/19 6:53am PST
Buddy Adventure is now available in Pokémon GO
Niantic has revealed today that a new multiplayer feature tentatively titled Buddy Adventure should be...
YouTube's experimental Explore tab begins testing on Android (Update: Still testing, new look)
Update 1: 2019/12/18 1:37pm PST
More than a year since Google first announced the experiment, the YouTube's Explore tab is somehow still in testing — although now with a new look.
Back in July, YouTube began testing a new Explore tab on the home page of its iOS app. Not many people saw it...
Firmware update enables Stadia on some existing Chromecast Ultras (Update: Official)
Update 1: 2019/12/18 11:40am PST
Now official
Stadia was largely touted as a cloud gaming service that’s supposed to work across screens, but with a big asterisk. For streaming games on a TV, you need a Chromecast Ultra unit shipped inside the Founder’s or Premiere Edition packages, at least...
