App Ops Android

While HBO Now does not support offline viewing yet, your smartphone is the perfect way to watch your favorite shows and movies on-the-go. Whether you're in a hotel running off Wi-Fi or you have an unlimited plan and are on the bus, if you want to binge some Game of Thrones, th ...more

When the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge came to market in 2016, they were universally praised as being the pinnacle of Android smartphone design, even topping Consumer Reports' smartphone ratings. Why? Well, for once, we finally had a smartphone, or in this case, a pair of sma ...more

One of the first orders of business after purchasing a new smartphone is to load up your shiny new toy with phone numbers, email addresses, and general contact information for all the important people in your life. Don't Miss: Android Basics: Get Started with Your New Smartph ...more

With the Android 4.4 KitKat update slated for release sometime in October (according to Nestle), I'm sure you're excited to get your hands on and test out all of the new features of Google's latest mobile operating system. One such feature is the blended status bar, which inc ...more

One of Android 8.0's best features is also one of its most subtle — customizable lock screen shortcuts give you more control over the two functions you care about most. Your Galaxy S9 has the Phone and Camera apps in those spots by default, but you can quickly and easily chang ...more

It looks like the dust is finally starting to settle on Google's POLED PR nightmare. The Pixel 2 XL — one of the most hotly-anticipated phones of the year — has been plagued by screen issues and worries. While it is certainly not without its faults, Google has created several ...more

Legacy Games, developer of mobile games for children, has just updated Crayola Color Blaster, an augmented reality Android adventure for Google Tango devices, with new content. "Paint My Dragon," a new storyline available as an in-app purchase ($2.99), brings dragons, ogres, ...more

Ever since the update that turned Google Keyboard into Gboard rolled out, a lot of people have been noticing that word suggestions and auto-correct features are downright slow. The issue seems to affect users with multiple languages installed more than anyone, though it can al ...more

S Health is one of the biggest selling points for newer Samsung Galaxy devices. It offers a centralized place to view and manage data collected by all of the various sensors like the heart rate monitor. As wonderful as this service is, all of its features are not available in ...more

In our society, multitasking is an obsession. Whether it's driving while using your phone (DON'T DO IT) or drinking a cup of coffee while typing up some work, we multitask at every turn of the day. People that work all day in front of a computer are especially prone to multita ...more

We regret to inform you the former king of third-party keyboards, Swype, has officially retired on both Android and iOS. A few weeks ago, we noticed Swype's mysterious disappearance from the iOS App Store but had hoped it was just pulled temporarily, not gone forever. Unfortun ...more

Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 have Oreo beta software available in the wild at this point. We devoted a number of articles to covering what's new in Oreo and went into detail about the bugs and hiccups on both the S8 and the Note 8. Still, many people are left wondering ...more

Many midrange phones are being manufactured without a gyroscope sensor—the Moto X Play, third-generation Moto G, and several of Samsung's Galaxy Grand models, among others. It's not exactly an essential smartphone sensor, and leaving this out keeps the phone's price point down ...more

While its hardware may already be a little outdated compared to newer flagship phones, the OnePlus One is still a great value thanks to the dedicated community that continues to develop ROMs for it. Cyanogen 12 and Oxygen OS are the two most popular ones, but neither offers th ...more

The future of game night is digital. Your Chromecast is great for watching Netflix or YouTube, but get more use out of it by making it the centerpiece for your next fun get-together. The beauty of using a Chromecast to cast games on a TV is that there's no need to write down ...more

Sending and receiving files between Android devices has no shortage of options—Bluetooth, email, MMS, and Wi-Fi are just a few of the more popular ones that we use. While the choices for this functionality are plenty, problems can arise with connectivity issues and file size ...more

If you're quarantining with other people, consider yourself lucky — but it's not always easy. Staying in one space for so long with too many people can be challenging, so you need to find things to do to make the time go by (and to keep everyone sane). Our advice? Try out thes ...more

Say you're sending a snap to a friend at a restaurant, bar, store, what have you, but you're curious about the song that's playing in the background. You could leave the app to Shazam it, or you could ask screen-hogging Siri or Google Assistant what the track is, but why not j ...more

NFC, or near-field communications, is a hardware feature that has been built into most Android phones for the last four years. It's essentially a low-power data connection that can be used to initiate a quick command by bringing your device within range of a compatible receive ...more

For all intents and purposes, Google could have called its 2023 developer conference A/I instead of I/O. Capitalizing on the artificial intelligence hype, Google devoted most of its keynote address to AI research, experiments, and developments. But there's some substance behin ...more

After teasing the feature in Android 10, Google finally added proper native screen recording to Android 11. But when you start a capture, you'll see a small red indicator in your status bar as long as recording is ongoing, which can really distract from your video. Thankfully, ...more

Smartphones and dark mode go hand in hand. Screens can be bright, causing eye strain and battery drain, and dark mode can take the edge off both. It's perfect for nighttime browsing, but also for general use, especially on OLED displays with inky blacks. Dark mode, aka night m ...more

The Google Feed is a great source for relevant news articles from your search history, package delivery updates, and much more. Now known as the "Discover" page, many Android users turn to this useful menu on a daily basis. However, as Google recently pointed out, the all-whit ...more

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are the first Samsung flagships to use virtual buttons, which means this is the first time we're seeing Samsung's design style applied to Android's software navigation bar. Even though the on-screen keys look fairly different from what other OEMs have put ...more

Apple's music streaming service just got a major update on Android devices. The Spotify competitor has implemented some changes for users on non-Apple phones that have been available to iOS devices for some time now. Nevertheless, Apple Music users on Android should welcome t ...more

Google is pushing out an update for its namesake Google app that lets you get a little creative with the way the Google logo appears. You'll be able to add your own color scheme to the Google logo, and include colors beyond the traditional blue, red, yellow, etc. Now when you ...more

Your smartphone has a GPS chip inside of it that can pinpoint your location down to the nearest 4 meters, and this little device stays in your pocket or purse all day. Combine those two facts and you start to realize that your phone knows exactly where you've been during every ...more

There's a lot you can access from the Notification tray on your Galaxy S4. Quick settings toggles, brightness controls, and of course, notifications. However, despite the power this simple pull-down gives you, you're still left with a boring, black background for the shade. I ...more

It's been a great week for Chromecast owners. First, Google released the development kit, allowing devs to install the casting code into their apps. Then, CyanogenMod dev Koush updated his AllCast app to support the Chromecast. That means you can shoot personal movies, music, ...more

For new Android users, rooting an Android phone can often be an intimidating process, especially since there are so many different ways to gain root access, depending on your model and firmware version. I've previously covered a way of doing it for the AT&T version of the Sam ...more

Customizing isn't all rooting and ROMs—there are plenty of ways to customize your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or other Android device without gaining superuser access. One of the easiest ways is to install an Android launcher, sometimes called a home launcher, that matches your styl ...more

With the V30, LG has really delivered an amazing smartphone that hits all the major features consumers want. Amazing camera, beautiful edge-to-edge display, great battery life, water resistance, and smooth performance — there isn't much not to like about the LG V30. Unfortunat ...more

Running diagnostics on your Android phone can be a very tedious process. More often than not, you need to key in dialer codes to see if your device's hardware is functioning properly, though you can also download apps — but these are often hard to understand for a layperson. W ...more

UPDATE: This post is outdated, the latest version with the correct links and updated instructions can be found UPDATE: This post is outdated, the latest version with the correct links and updated instructions can be found at my blog, here - at my blog, here - https://techkerne ...more

Android has gotten significantly better at handling intrusive ads over the years. Things have gotten to the point to where these nuisances are largely a non-issue for most of us. However, there are still a few ad-laden apps that fall through the cracks — particularly the kind ...more

A new feature in Android O is making it incredibly easy to multitask while you're watching a video. It's called Picture-in-Picture mode, and if you've ever used a TV with this option, you should already have a pretty good idea of how it works. PiP mode is fairly intuitive, an ...more

Google Maps does a lot of things well, but one feature it's always been lacking is an on-screen speedometer. Well, now you can add one with Velociraptor, and you can even set it to alert you when you're traveling above the speed limit. While Velociraptor works in other naviga ...more

Android Debug Bridge (or ADB for short) serves as a remote terminal interface for executing shell commands on any Android device. Put simply, ADB lets you send commands from your computer to your phone or tablet, some of which would require root access if they were performed o ...more

Overall, I love the Nexus 7 tablet, but one thing that I truly dislike about it is having to press the Power/Lock key to lock my screen. To begin with, it's on the right side of the device, and I'm accustomed to it being on the top on other devices, like my phone. Secondly, i ...more

Picture it: you wake up in the middle of the night and check your phone. Maybe you want to check the time (your phone is your alarm clock, after all) or see if that person ever replied to your message. You double-tap or lift to wake it, and the screen lights up. You flinch at ...more

If you want to root, it's step one. If you're a tinkerer, it's vital. It's Android's hidden "Developer options" menu, and it's definitely worth taking 30 seconds to unlock. Open the Settings app on your Pixel 4 or 4 XL and scroll down to the bottom. Tap "About phone," then sc ...more

The Galaxy S9 is truly a sight to behold. With a class-leading display, the best camera ever put into a smartphone, and Samsung's cutting edge design, it might just be the best piece of hardware on the market. Having said that, some of the most useful additions are actually in ...more

Snapchat is an app built on sending quick-to-disappear pictures to your friends and family. Sure, this is the primary function of the app, but sometimes users want longer-lasting Memories while interacting with Snapchat. While My Story allows snaps to stick around for 24 hours ...more

Just as we started running through the features packed into the Android Oreo beta for the Galaxy S8, Samsung has started pushing out the second beta to eligible devices. According to DroidVendor, the update is rolling out as build G955USQU1ZQK1 for the Galaxy S8 Plus. The roll ...more

Whether you're in a movie theater, driving, or just want to temporarily unplug from the grid, you need to ignore or completely silence your phone. You'll still receive calls and texts during this time, but in a world where people expect instant gratification, you'll end up loo ...more

Maybe it is narcissistic to take selfies, but it has become a socially accepted norm, no matter how stupid you might look doing it. Since so many people are seemingly in love with themselves and mobile photography, I thought it was about time to show you how to step up your se ...more

Besides having an awesome name, widgets are nice little additions that help make your phone more functional and customized. There are plenty of Android widgets available in the Google Play store and from other third-party sites and developers, but XDA forums member Roymam deci ...more

Google's feature drops for Pixel devices have added fun and useful new abilities, such as AR effects for Duo, Call Screen automation, scheduling Dark Mode, and Quick Access Wallet for Google Pay, that are exclusive to the company's line of smartphones. The latest feature drop ...more

Media subscriptions are all the rage these days. Between Netflix, Apple Music, HBO Now, and countless more, your TV, movie, and music options have never been better. Unfortunately, all these choices weigh heavily on your wallet. So, when there's an opportunity to snag not just ...more

Coinbase has become the most popular mobile wallet app due in large part to its user-friendliness. The app takes the hassle out of buying and selling Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC), letting Android and iPhone users alike trade their favor ...more

When you post a photo or video on Instagram, it's always nice to see positive comments from friends, family, and even fans. On the other hand, it's never fun to see spam or hate messages underneath your posts. Before, you'd have to delete these comments one by one, but now you ...more

Your Skype contact list might contain a sea of names that make it tough to find a specific person you're trying to reach. The same goes for your loved ones and colleagues, especially if you have a common name like Jennifer or John. Knowing that, you might want to change your S ...more

Following in iOS 11's footsteps, Android 9.0 Pie will include a security feature that lets you immediately disable the fingerprint scanner as well as extended Smart Lock features. After initiating the feature, you will be required to insert your PIN, pattern, or password befor ...more

Snapchat is in the midst of a massive redesign — one that not everyone loves. Still, it's clear that this is a decision fueled by money, and Snap Inc. believes this redesign will help attract more advertisers. Even so, Snapchat has a few more tricks up their sleeves to make a ...more

The Pixel 2 has a number of new unique features. One of the most interesting is the Now Playing option to identify songs you hear on a daily basis. Now Playing displays the artist and title of songs playing in the background of your day and shows this information on the lock s ...more

Chris Brogan is no stranger to using multiple social media platforms all from the comfort of his phone. In fact, not only does he have over 350,000 followers on Twitter, but he's also an avid YouTuber, Instagrammer, podcaster, and blogger. That's just his online world too. Ch ...more

Say you're on a train to work, but you forgot your headphones. You'd normally listen to music to pass the time, but given the circumstances, your choices are to sit silently like a considerate adult, or to blare songs out of your phone's main speaker like a jerk. Thankfully, t ...more

Even though the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are only just now being released to the public, the software leaks have been rolling in for a while. Everyone seems to have gone crazy for the new look Samsung is pushing out with Samsung Experience, the successor to TouchWiz. As a result, the ...more

Skype is one of the most popular messaging and video chat services for a good reason—it's packed to the brim with tons of cool features. But one bit of functionality that Microsoft left out is the ability to block friend requests from people that aren't in your contacts, which ...more

If you have any group chats going, you're surely familiar with this scenario: One person sends a picture, then, within 30 seconds or so, all other participants chime in with one-word responses like "Cute," or "Awesome." It's a social nicety, so you have to expect this behavior ...more