Don't miss out on the sales for Leo's Fortune, Distraint: Deluxe Edition, and Hexologic
Welcome to Wednesday, everyone. Things are cooling down now that the rash of sales influenced by Valve's Steam sale has tapered off. Luckily I still have some standouts to share with everyone today. First up is Leo's...
Google’s free drone safety app comes to the US
OpenSky hops from Australia to help pilots fly the friendly skies... safely
It can feel a little overwhelming to begin flying drones when you're just getting started. Not only do you have to get registered and learn how to actually operate a drone, but you need to learn where you can legally fly....
How I set up a self-hosted replacement for Google Photos
Synology Photos is a free Google Photos clone, but you'll need hardware to host it
Update
Updated with more current info
Google Photos stopped its free unlimited photo backup service earlier this month. To ease you through the change, we've been taking a look at the various options you can consider....
Samsung Good Lock: SoundAssistant gets new features and better integration with Theme Park
Bluetooth Metronome is now front and center
SoundAssistant has improved a lot this year, with new features like Bluetooth Metronome making it an even more valuable part of the Good Locks suite. The module is getting even better now, with tighter Theme Park integration and plenty of new customization...
WhatsApp gives you a new reason to ditch Snapchat
Disappearing messages and videos are here, oh no, wait, they've gone again
There are times where you want to send across a message or a video but you don't want the recipient to see it more than once. That's pretty much the reason why Snapchat was invented. However, the concept has since been picked...
Get this app to check out Android 12's wallpaper-based themes on any phone right now
The complete rewrite of the dark mode enforcer app also packs significant technical improvements
Update
Text updated with details on Android 12 compatibility and Monet.
Android introduced a proper system-wide dark mode back in 2019, but many app developers still haven't come around implementing...
Google Play Store is making app bundles a requirement this summer
Only for new apps, at least
Update
Deadline
Google first introduced app bundles a few years back, allowing developers to distribute their software by splitting up the individual components of their apps, and then having the Play Store only send users those parts that their specific phones or tablets...
Google Home resurrects some of the features killed in Google Wifi
The update includes a much-needed redesign of the device menu
Google Home has been absorbing functionality from the old Google Wifi app for a while now, and back in April we got word that Wifi was being wound-down for good. But in order to fully replicate everything it was capable of, Home still had...
Chrome for Android is rediscovering widgets now that Apple made them hot again
The browser is in for a new widget with yet-to-be determined quick actions
Android has had widgets long before they came to iOS in any form, but it looks like Apple's recent inclusion of the age-old Android feature is only now making widgets fashionable again. After the Chrome team introduced absolutely...
Baba Is You is a total blast on Android, here's what the first 20 minutes look like
If you're looking for an Android-specific gameplay video, you're in the right place
Baba Is You is considered one of the best indie games from 2019, and since it recently landed on Android, I figured I'd take it for a spin while recording my findings. This is an indie puzzle game that has found tons...
Google Messages is learning to auto-delete OTPs
But only in India for now
Back in May, some detective work revealed that Google Messages would soon organize its texts into different categories, making it easier to find the conversation you're looking for. Included in this was the ability to auto-delete one-time passwords (OTPs) after twenty-four...
You can now share YouTube timestamps from the Android app (sort of)
So long as the video has timestamped chapters
It hasn't been possible to easily share timestamped video links from the YouTube Android app, which is a bit of a pain if you're used to doing so from the desktop site. This is now something you can do, although there are some significant caveats — the...
The new Zoom PWA for Chrome OS is now available on the Play Store
You can even access it on Windows or install it on Android
Update
And it's out
It's odd that after a year of both video conferencing apps and Chromebooks having an absolute boom, the official Zoom app for Chrome and Chrome OS is still so much of a bust. Users frequently complain of missing and...
Samsung's Good Lock changelog name-drops One UI 3.1.1, seemingly confirming the update
One UI 4.0 could be closer than we think
Update
Good Lock changelog mentions One UI 3.1.1
Samsung has continued to improve its update speed every year since One UI first debuted, and the way it rapidly releases security patches each month is the standard by which all other (non-Google) Android...
Google Phone beta is making it easier to find that number you dialed that one time
Previously-dialed numbers that haven't been saved to contacts are appearing in the dialer
There's a small quality of life tweak we've been waiting for in Phone by Google for a long time. When you're entering a new number from the dialer, the search function automatically populates with items from...
How Google Photos pulls, pushes, and polyblurs your pics to perfection
The tech behind Google Photos new denoise and sharpen tools is crazy and counter-intuitive
Photography has many enemies, but two of the biggest issues smartphones with their tiny sensors face are noise and blur. See, you can't just crank your smartphone's camera aperture wider in low-light or when...
Here's how to get rid of those 'suggestions' on Chrome's new tab page
Rolling out to some people on stable Chrome for desktop right now
Chrome for Android and iOS has been showing you article suggestions as part of its Discover feed on the new tab page for ages, and now, desktop Chrome is in for a similar treatment. As discovered by 9to5Google, Google has started rolling...
Gmail’s supercharged search experience could save you a ton of time
And what's more valuable than time
With thousands of emails in your inbox, it can sometimes take a while to find the one you're looking for. However, if you're using Gmail, Google has added a sprinkle of zip zap zoom to make the search experience substantially quicker.
When you search for emails...
I helped my uncle swap his printer cartridge using this AR video calling app
Finally, you can help your family fix their tech long before coming home for the holidays
Sometimes, remote tech support involves more than just taking over your parents' computer using TeamViewer and co, like when the laptop just won't turn on or when the TV doesn't automatically default to the right...
YouTube TV solves all those 'not expensive enough!' complaints with new 4K add-on
'4K Plus' also includes offline DVR downloads and unlimited streams
YouTube TV may have started as an affordable alternative to traditional cable, but these days, it's starting to look a whole lot more like Spectrum or Comcast. Not only have subscription costs continued to climb for the service, but...
Marvel Future Revolution is the sequel to Future Fight, and it's finally available for pre-registration
Netmarble sure took its time to list this on the Play Store
Update
The follow-up to Marvel Future Fight is gearing up for release
Marvel recently revealed at PAX East 2020 that its next game is coming to mobile as an open-world RPG called Marvel Future Revolution. This title will serve as a sequel...
NieR Re[in]carnation expands across the globe next month
Arriving July 28 on Android and iOS
Latest update
NieR Reincarnation finally has a release date in the US
Square Enix has been hinting at a Nier spinoff for mobile titled NieR Re[in]carnation since March (2020), but up until recently, it was unknown if this Japanese-developed title would...
21 temporarily free and 50 on-sale apps and games for Monday
Don't miss out on the sales for Dragon Quest V, Doom & Destiny Advanced, and XCOM: Enemy Within
Welcome to Monday, everyone. After a busy weekend for sales, we have some stragglers for Monday, and I have a few standouts. First up is Dragon Quest V, one of the better releases in the popular JRPG...
Netflix now lets you start watching stuff while it's partially downloaded
We've all been there, frantically downloading media just before the signal cuts off, you get out of Wi-Fi range, or the plane starts taxiing out from the gate. And it's a bummer if your download doesn't finish in time. Thankfully, if it's a Netflix download that gets interrupted, now you'll still...
Square Enix brings Trials of Mana to Android, and teases a new Mana game for next year
Echoes of Mana is slated for a 2022 release, and Trials of Mana is now available for pre-registration
Square Enix recently held a livestream celebrating the 30th anniversary for the Mana series, and so some fresh announcements are on offer. We've learned that remastered action-RPG Trials of Mana is...
Dark mode enforcer DarQ is among the first apps to work with Android 12's theming engine
The complete rewrite of the app also packs significant technical changes
Android introduced a proper system-wide dark mode back in 2019, but too many app developers still haven't come around implementing proper dark modes for their apps — even Google didn't update Google Maps until earlier this year....
Gmail doesn't let you edit labels and filters on mobile, but this third-party app fixes that
eLabels is every organization freak's godsent solution
One of my digital organization workflows involves labeling email as it reaches my inbox and archiving it, either manually or through automated filters. On the desktop, Gmail allows me to create these labels and rules, but the Android app lacks...
WhatsApp voice messages will soon look like those on Telegram
Waveform look incoming
WhatsApp's interface is starting to look dated, especially now that Google has announced the latest iteration of its design guidelines during its developer conference, Material You. But the messenger app is making small adjustments here and there to keep things fresh, like new...
SHIELD TV users are mad as hell, and they're taking it out on the Play Store
The Android TV Home listing has been bombed down to 1 star
Google is an advertising company. Most of its products make money either by serving up ads, or by collecting data to make those ads more effective. But throwing ads into a product that people pay actual money for is something that they tend...
Uber Pets lets your dog take advantage of gig economy workers too
Though it might be tricky to find an Uber Pets driver near you
Traveling with pets can be a major hassle, and it doesn't help if you're somewhere without access to your own vehicle. Uber is here to help. The app and service now allow pets to come along on at least some rides, for a nominal fee. Of...
10 new Android games from the last week: The best, worst, and everything in between (6/21/21 - 6/27/21)
Baba Is You, Unmaze, Railroad Ink Challenge, plus more
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today's list is broken up into several segments, ranging from best, average, to mediocre. So whether you're...
The Zoom app for Chrome sucks, but a better PWA is on the way
The new Progressive Web App will be available later this week
It's odd that after a year of both video conferencing apps and Chromebooks having an absolute boom, the official Zoom app for Chrome and Chrome OS is still so much of a bust. Users frequently complain of missing and relatively simple features,...
Use this Gmail trick to organize your overflowing inbox and weed out spam
Helping you separate the wheat from the chaff
⋮
Inboxes overflowing with newsletters and other irrelevant stuff are probably among the worst things when it comes to email management (disregarding people who don't know how threads or subjects work). But there's a simple way to get around some of this...
Don't let these 'easy to get back on Instagram' emails freak you out — your account hasn't been hacked
No, you're not being spearphished
It's an email we all dread seeing in our inbox. Maybe it's from Spotify, maybe it's from Facebook. And while the subject line can read almost anything, it's the implication that sends chills down our spine: someone's been trying to mess with our account. Going back...
Spotify remembers its widget exists, tests new version in latest beta
Now that iOS has widgets I guess Spotify cares about them again
Spotify sometimes seems to forget that its Android app actually has a widget to control music playback. A couple years back, the company even took it away for a little while, and its design is pretty dated. But now that Apple has invented...
Group video calls and animated backgrounds are finally here in Telegram 7.8
Plus new send animations, emoji effects, and more
Update
Stable
Video chat has been around for the better part of forever, but it really came into its own over the course of the past year. With the surge in popularity, a whole host of new players have been coming out of the woodwork, many adding...
'Clone Phone' isn't just OnePlus's smartphone strategy, it's the new name for the OnePlus Switch app
The OPPOfication of OnePlus continues (beyond simply releasing OPPO clones as its own devices). The latest indicator of that blending is the OnePlus Switch app, used to set up devices when transitioning with a OnePlus phone. An update to the app renames it to "Clone Phone," matching OPPO's name for...
TeamViewer for Android finally adds support for biometric authentication
Prevent unwanted access to your saved machines
TeamViewer for Android is a handy way to control computers, tablets, and smartphones remotely. However, it can prove to be a double-edged sword. Anyone with access to your unlocked phone can request remote control of saved systems and potentially access...
Over 131 temporarily free and on-sale Android apps and games you can snag today
Don't miss out on this massive amount of game sales taking place over the weekend
Welcome to Friday, everyone. Thanks to the recent launch of Steam's Summer Sale, we've seen a massive amount of game sales hitting the Google Play Store, and so we have a huge list of sales for the weekend, including...
Here's how to add a bookmark bar to the Samsung Internet browser
Access your frequently-visited websites quicker
Update
Now available in stable
Samsung phones come pre-loaded with not just Google Chrome, but also with the Samsung Internet browser. While you might be inclined to disregard the latter, you may want to give it a second thought, especially if you...
Twitter is still trying to be Facebook 😂
Tweet reactions have been spotted in development
It's annoying the way that pretty much every single social network will eventually try to become every other social network. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, NextDoor, even those that are ostensibly about something else, like TikTok and LinkedIn: once...
A Google Drive update is going to break a bunch of your links
Have fun updating those URLs, folks
A big Google Drive change coming down the pipe will prevent people who want to look at a file for the first time from doing so unless they get a hold of a special link. What does this mean for your shared and public files? And what options do Workspace administrators...
Baba is PC? Baba is Switch? No, Baba is Android now
The indie puzzle hit Baba is You comes to the Play Store today
Baba is You was one of the best games of 2019, but if you have yet to play it, it's finally coming to Android and iOS. A clever puzzle game where you win by changing the rules, it's a perfect fit for smartphones, and it's out on the Play...
Chrome for Android channels the spirit of Google Reader — try it now
Currently available behind a flag in the Chrome Beta 92
Google Reader used to be the pinnacle of RSS news consumption before it was discontinued in 2013, and many people are still bitter about its demise. While Google probably won't ever properly resurrect the service, it's currently working...
