Atari was one of the very first video game consoles, bringing the joy of arcades right into the living room. Now gaming consoles are a dime a dozen, but there's still something about those old retro systems that makes me want to travel back in time. Thankfully, I don't even h ...more
Editing a video by trimming or adding audio is fairly simple on Galaxy devices, but if you want to include other clips or transition animations and really get those creative juices flowing, you might find the standard editing tools limited—unless you know how to unlock Samsung ...more
While TouchWiz as an Android skin isn't a favorite among many, Samsung Internet is a fantastic web browser that S9 owners should be happy to have preinstalled out of the box. But you don't need to buy Samsung's latest flagship to try their browser — Samsung Internet is availab ...more
Hi, everyone! Recently, I've been working on a pretty interesting and foolish project I had in mind, and here I'm bringing to all of you my findings. This guide's main aim is to document the process of building an Android kernel, specifically a CyanogenMod kernel and ROM, and ...more
Everyone's favorite Android modding tool is finally available for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Thanks to some hard work by Wanam and a few other developers, we can now install the Xposed Framework on Samsung's latest mid-sized flagship phones. But there are a few stipulations—m ...more
While still extremely awesome, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is limited as to what you can download on to it, especially apps. It also doesn't have its own internet access (only Bluetooth), so apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Vine have yet to make their way to the Gear ...more
From a very early age we have an intrinsic obsession with things that float. Why do you think we love balloons and bubbles so much? So, it's no surprise that our smartphones are being invaded by floating features. Facebook popularized the idea of floating on-screen objects wi ...more
Last week, NowSecure security researchers revealed that nearly 600m Samsung mobile devices are vulnerable to a type of MitM attack. Samsung devices have a virtual keyboard that automatically updates its language package. Even if you don't use the default keyboard on your Sams ...more
It's easy to run Kali Linux from a live USB on nearly any available computer, but many publicly accessible laptops and desktops will be locked down to prevent such use. School, work, or library PCs can be secured with a BIOS password, which is often an easily recovered default ...more
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) 4G LTE on Verizon has only been released for a couple months now with good reviews. It comes with dual cameras, memory expansion, and very quick 4G LTE speeds, without needing a contract. While most users are satisfied with the tablet as is, ther ...more
If you own the Galaxy S8, S8+, or Note 5, be on the lookout for a new security update. These Samsung devices are the latest to receive the December security update to patch issues from both Samsung and Android. The update appears to patch 10 issues found with Samsung's softwa ...more
With Safestrap bringing custom recovery functionality to the AT&T and Verizon Wireless variants of the Samsung Galaxy S5, it's high time we covered this process for all other versions of the GS5. If you're not familiar with the term "custom recovery", it's a piece of software ...more
Want to search through your Samsung Galaxy S III or other Android smartphone using only a web browser? Thanks to XDA-Developers member Metal Droid, you can now access and download anything from your phone through any browser on your computer using DroidXPlorer. With DroidXPlo ...more
Google may have decided to back HTML5 for YouTube, but much of the internet still relies heavily on Adobe Flash content. While the Chrome browser for Android is unable to play Flash-based content like Amazon Instant Video streams, some third-party browsers will. Now, I haven' ...more
To stand out on Instagram, you need more than just the great camera on the Galaxy S20. You have to think like a professional photographer, which means two things: using manual mode and editing your photos. It is only with the latter that what you imagine becomes a reality. Th ...more
Apple has stepped up its emoji game lately, and as a result, there are several iPhone emojis that don't show up on Android devices running older firmware. However, Google responded by adding a next-gen set of Unicode 9.0 emojis to its Android Nougat preview build, meaning that ...more
Quickness and efficiency should always be a fundamental aspect of the experience when using any Android device. Anything less, and we've got a problem. As app development continually progresses, these adjectives become much more refined and polished, making the use of a smartp ...more
Security researcher Ravi Borgaonkar from Berlin has discovered that hackers can hide an 11-digit code in a webpage that can wipe out all of the information on your smartphone—contacts, photographs, music, applications, and anything else of importance. The attack takes no more ...more
There are plenty of legitimate reasons that you might want to record a phone conversation. Let's say you operate a business and take orders over the phone, and you don't want to miss an item. Or perhaps you need to jot down some notes from a recent conference call, and things ...more
With so much Flash content still available on the web, it's unfortunate that Google no longer supports mobile Flash Player on Android. Loading a webpage only to be met with a "Plug-in Error" is never fun, and it can inhibit your mobile browsing experience as you attempt to wat ...more
Thanks to leaks and hard working developers, rooting tools for brand new Android devices are usually available right around the time of the smartphone's release, if not earlier. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are no exception. CF Auto Root, by renowned dev Chainfire, has n ...more
With over 20 million songs, Spotify has become my go-to source for music. I can stream tunes to my desktop or phone, without ever having to worry about storage space being eaten up. One key difference between the desktop and mobile version that really bugs me is the lack of o ...more
The roll-out of T-Mobile's hotly anticipated 'Digits' service is now underway. For those unfamiliar with what could be the un-carrier's next killer app, 'Digits' is basically a combination of Google Voice and AT&T NumberSync. With it, T-Mobile customers can use their number a ...more
To say that there are a lot of app switchers and launchers available is an understatement. We've covered a few ourselves, including Loopr and Switchr. But why not check out one more? Video: . Quickr (apparently Es aren't popular with devs) allows you to switch quickly between ...more
Google always sets aside a few cool software features to remain exclusive to its Pixel phones. But that's the thing about Android: software features can be ported to other devices. Developer Pranav Pandey, whose work we've covered before, took the Pixel 4a's wallpapers APK an ...more
Have you ever accidentally dismissed an important notification? Realized you didn't mean to delete an alert after hitting "Clear all?" Instead of pulling out your hair, know you can see the alert again — at least, a portion of it. There's been a hidden feature in Android sinc ...more
Google has a lesser-known Android app called Device Assist that might just be one of the most useful programs the company has ever published. It offers interactive guides and general tech support for Android, plus it can diagnose your device and help you fix any issues it find ...more
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? Besides being one of the most notorious misquotes of all time (the line is "Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all"), it's a question that men and women probably have asked themselves more than once. ...more
Written news was first delivered by an elaborate courier service used by the Pharaohs nearly 4,500 years ago. About 2,300 years later, Romans would post public announcements via bulletins carved in metal or stone. Fast forward 1,600 years to the first monthly handwritten gazet ...more
Waking up to buzzing alarm clock is so 20th century. Wouldn't it better if the first sound you heard in the morning was your favorite song? Whether it's a track to get you motivated or something to put a smile on your face, a song can do wonders for your mood and help you star ...more
Need root on your Samsung Galaxy S3? Phone not getting the Jelly Bean update? Stuck on the Samsung screen? Phone bricked? Need to restore back to stock? Odin can help! What is Odin? Odin is a Windows-only program, designed by Samsung themselves, used to root, flash, upgrade, ...more
The Pixel 2's camera is one of the best you'll find on an Android phone. Among its standout features is the incredible Portrait Mode, which Google accomplished with some impressive software processing. Thanks to a few clever developers, you can now enjoy the Pixel 2's Portrait ...more
Notifications, while certainly helpful, can at times be overbearing. There are banners plastered every which way on your smartphone for almost every application. While many of the notifications can simply be swept away or turned off, the same can't be said of persistent notifi ...more
You've probably see this a million times on your Nexus 7 tablet: On some streaming sites it's "You need to upgrade your Adobe Flash Player to watch this video," and on others it may be "You need to install the Adobe Flash plugin." Whatever it is, you have the same problem—Flas ...more
I'm all about safety in my life. I even put on safety goggles when someone opens a bottle of champagne—high life problems. But when it comes to driving, you have to be double safe, because the other drivers on the road may not have your safety in mind. We all know that smartp ...more
Cheap Chinese knockoffs have been around for ages, but recently, skyrocketing demand has led to a massive influx of counterfeit smartphones. Sellers on Craigslist seem to have no trouble getting ahold of these fake devices, then passing them off as the real deal and turning a ...more
Samsung's Galaxy S9 is a powerhouse, driven by the Snapdragon 845. Still, this SoC lags behind the A11 Bionic chip that's inside the iPhone X — meaning you'll need a few tricks in order to squeeze out some extra performance from your phone. Fortunately, there's an app made by ...more
The new Moto X may not have a lot going for it when it comes to hardware, but there are some pretty cool software features that makes it a tempting device. One of these cool features is its Active Display notifications that appear on the lock screen. This feature gives immedi ...more
While the legality of secretly recording phone calls varies in each country, sometimes it's useful to have audio documentation of conversations you have on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2. There are plenty of reasons you'd want to be able to record phone calls, from important conv ...more
My first encounter with a phablet was late last year with the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, having never touched or even seen its highly-acclaimed and pioneering predecessor. Initially, I was a bit overwhelmed by the enormous screen and taken aback by the dated st ...more
QR codes are like smart little cubes of data. To unlock this data, you will need a QR reader. These are annoying because you typically have to download a third-party app, and some of these apps are shady. Luckily your Samsung Galaxy running One UI has a hidden QR scanner built ...more
If you've ever prematurely dismissed all of your push notifications before you got a chance to read each one, you know how annoying it can be to dig through all of your apps to try and find the one with the missed notification. Android does have a built-in notification histor ...more
Last week marked the announcement of LG's new G3 smartphone, and with it came a ton of new features and improvements to their Optimus UI. While most manufacturers put little effort into their keyboards—probably due to the attraction of third-party alternatives—LG has made thei ...more
With the Samsung Galaxy S III being a hot commodity, it's no surprise that your friends might try unlocking your fancy password-protected phone. While some friends have good intentions when using your phone, there are those certain friends who get into the phone to do this... ...more
In the midst of furious finger typing on a small non-tactile screen, you're sure to make mistakes—so the majority of keyboards have autocorrect. Generally it works pretty well and is a welcomed feature. Until autocorrect decides to screw you over. Example: My mom asks what I ...more
AT&T and Verizon customers, it's finally happened. After many long months of waiting, and a fairly significant bounty up for grabs, your Galaxy Note 3s can finally be rooted! Best of all, it may be the simplest method for achieving root we've ever encountered. Towelroot is th ...more
While the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the world's best selling smartphone, there a few people that find the device just a bit too large. With a 4.8 inch display and 136.6 x 70.6mm dimensions, the phone can be slightly large for kids—and adults with small fingers. It can even be a has ...more
In the realm of Android mods, none is more powerful than a custom recovery. This is installed in place of the stock offering, and it lets you back up your entire system, flash mods, and install custom ROMs. Recently, the guys over at Team Win Recovery Project released a versi ...more
After the limited initial release of the massively popular game on the Android platform, many users have been stuck waiting to play Fortnite. That's because, initially, Epic Games only released the game to Samsung Galaxy devices, and asked non-Samsung users to join an invite l ...more
Screen timeouts serve mostly as security measures and energy savers, but they can also interrupt you when you're reading a book or editing a document. There is no built-in way to manage screen timeouts on a per-app basis, but if you've got root access, you can do just that usi ...more
Samsung Internet offers excellent features that enhance the mobile web browsing experience, often through its extensions. A QR code scanner, ad blockers, tracker blockers, and more work directly in the browser, so you can do exactly what you want to do on the web. Don't feel ...more
Changing an app's name on your home screen is not something you can do on stock Android or TouchWiz, but it should be. If you think of it merely from a customization angle, sure, it's not a big deal, but having the ability to alter an app shortcut's name can do wonders for cle ...more
I still remember when I had to get up from my comfy spot on the couch to change the channel on my old television. So for me, the remote control may be one of the most underrated inventions of the last century. These days, remotes take on all sorts of shapes, not just the typic ...more
Apple added the option to install custom fonts and use them in different apps on iOS 13. The rollout has been a bit confusing, with Apple announcing partnerships with vendors such as Adobe, but also limiting the feature to work with only certain apps. Nonetheless, you can now ...more
You have read How to Draft a Basic Pant Pattern. It's a most useful guide, but the image is hard to read and the steps many and complex. That's why I wrote a little software program to do the hard work for you. Just enter your measurements and click the button. Once you're sa ...more
Android M doesn't even have an official name yet, but that doesn't mean you can't test out of some of its new features today. If you're the lucky owner of the right Nexus device, you can install the new operating system right now using either Fastboot or the Nexus Root Toolki ...more
In an attempt to keep things simple, Snapchat has a limited amount of editing features, made up of "smart" photo filters, drawing pens, and special text captions. If you want more editing capabilities, you'll be pleased to know there's a way, no thanks to Snapchat, but you wil ...more
Newer smartphones are more power hungry than ever before, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a mighty appetite for amps that only Jenny Craig could possibly curb. On average, your Note 2 (or other Android device) lasts for what, a day, maybe two days before dying. Mine barely l ...more
As great as Google's own Play Music app is, your MP3 library is restricted to Google's own app. There are much better music players that give Google Play Music a run for its money, but duplicating music files on your device for this reason alone is a waste of storage space. B ...more
The iPhone X was released in November 2017, and the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus dropped right before it, but the hottest news right now revolves around the 2018 iPhone releases. The rumor mill regarding the iPhone X's successor started churning out speculations on names, cameras, disp ...more