Tinder, the extremely popular dating app, has the wonderful tagline, "Any swipe can change your life." However, if you downloaded their most recent update, your next swipe could cost up to $19.99. In an effort to chase the almighty dollar, Tinder introduced "Tinder Plus," a p ...more
Stock Android is a great experience, and it's probably one of the biggest reasons that people purchase a Nexus device over other Android phones. Without carrier or manufacturer modifications to the core software, the entire user interface feels a lot more clean and snappy, and ...more
JibJab may not ring the bell, but you've probably seen one of their personalized videos. Using your own images, JibJab will place you first-hand into silly and usually musically-inspired videos that you can view online. Currently in beta, JibJib has made it's way to iOS in the ...more
Linux may not be the most popular consumer operating system out there, but what it lacks in consumer app variety, it definitely makes up for in flexibility and security. And if you've ever tinkered with a Linux distro, you know how easy they are to install—most of the time, I ...more
The advent of the Google Nexus 4 seemed too good to be true—high-end hardware, unlocked and contract-free at a low price. As time went on, however, we began to see the compromises. The camera was "meh" at best, and most egregiously, it shipped without LTE functionality. Yup, ...more
If you have an Android device, you most definitely have the Google Play Store. It's the main hub for finding and downloading apps, games, music, movies, and more, as well as updating them. It's where all the magic happens, but you're not getting the full effect unless you're r ...more
If you have friends like mine, letting them check out one photo on your phone means they're going to check out all of the photos on your phone. Before you realize what they're doing, it's too late, and they're sending out perverted emails to your coworkers, making you look lik ...more
Apple may have unabashedly lifted their upcoming "Control Center" from Android devices, but visually speaking, it's an awesome take on Quick Settings that would look pretty good on a Samsung Galaxy S3. I've actually already covered an Android app called Control Center that mi ...more
According to WitsView, 8-inch displays will rule the tablet scene this year at 11.9% market share, compared to yesteryear's 2.6% market share. By year's end, it'll be almost 18%. Apple broke the trend for smaller 7-inch tablets with their iPad mini, which is just under 8-inch ...more
I'm not lying when I say that my iPhone is at my side at all times, and is really one of the best devices I own. My second favorite gadget would be my PlayStation 3, however, when it comes to browsing apps like YouTube, it's pretty terrible. Thankfully, I can take the awesome ...more
When the hardware buttons on your smartphone aren't working right, it can be a real pain to do almost anything. Simple tasks like accessing your home screen, opening the menu, and powering your phone on and off—normal functions you use every day—become chores, if you're even a ...more
Since iOS 7, your iPhone automatically updates all of your apps, which is a wonderful thing ... until it's not. Not only does this feature drain the battery quicker when enabled, it can also bring changes to features, settings, and user interfaces in the apps that you already ...more
I already know what you're thinking: this guide is blasphemy. I am showing you how to turn a Galaxy Note 10 or 10+ into an iPhone 11 Pro Max. And while I'd usually agree with you, hear me out. How can you know you don't like something until you try it? So here is your way of t ...more
If you use the Google Assistant on your Android device, you can easily send a text message to any one of your contacts. But even though that same Assistant is powering the Google Home, you can't use the smart speaker to accomplish the same task — at least, not without some tin ...more
Researchers have discovered a "severe vulnerability" that allows attackers to use eBay to distribute malware, and the online auction company has no plans to fix the problem. eBay users are not permitted to insert JavaScript code in their listings, to prevent scammers from ins ...more
Whether it's delivery drones or getting the U.S. Postal Service to ship packages on Sundays, Amazon continues to remain innovative and ahead of the game, as further evidenced with their mobile app, Amazon Underground. While the app can potentially replace both the Amazon Shop ...more
Amazon is currently offering over $80 in free Android apps in the Amazon Appstore, but only for Friday and Saturday, so make sure to grab them quick before they all go back to normal price. Highlights include the Fleksy Keyboard (normally $3.99), Oxford Dictionary of English w ...more
Over the past month, we've spent significant time covering Samsung's Oreo Beta program, and the detailed list of features in Oreo is extensive for the Galaxy S8 and S8+. Many of you were upset when the Galaxy Note 8 was left out of the official Oreo beta program entirely, but ...more
If you want free Poké Balls and eggs when playing Pokémon GO, you can find them at PokéStops in variation locations around your city, which are marked with towering blue icons on your map. Once you're at Level 5, they'll also grant you Potions and Revives to help you in your b ...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
While you can do a lot of things on your smartphone that were once only done on a computer, having a laptop is still necessary and critical for many tasks. Often times, the two devices work very well together. We recently covered Google's Chrome Remote Desktop, an app that al ...more
Because of Android's massive array of supported smartphones that carry vastly different display sizes and resolutions, the operating system uses a value known as DPI to determine the size of icons and visual assets that will best suit a given screen. Pixel Density (or Dots Pe ...more
While the PlayStation 3 is an awesome gaming console and the iPhone is an awesome smartphone, Apple and Sony have made two devices (that could be perfect for each other) nearly incompatible. Truth be told, this is more Apple's fault than Sony's, but we'll get into that later. ...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
Space Ape has soft-launched Go Race: Super Karts, giving you a fresh take on mobile racing games by blending in elements found within the classic Mario Kart series and RPGs for some seriously addicting gameplay. And while it's only available in Australia, Netherlands, and Phil ...more
Futureplay has soft-launched Battle Bombers Arena, giving mobile gamers a refreshing twist on MOBA by infusing it with simple but addicting gameplay based on the console classic Bomberman. Though only available in select European countries, this game can be played on your iPho ...more
The Android version of Google Chrome only shows a home button on some devices. Unfortunately, this feature isn't available to all Android phones due to several factors. But thanks to a simple workaround, you can now enable this button and set a home page regardless of what dev ...more
Whether you're a professional mechanic, a hobbyist, or someone who just wants to know why their check engine light came on, your Android device and an OBD-II adapter can provide insight as to what's going on with your car. Most adapters sell for less than $10, and once you plu ...more
With every flagship device they release, Samsung makes sure to add in at least a few little software goodies. Last year's Galaxy Note5 was no exception, because among other things, Samsung included a revamped version of their useful utility called Air Command that gave users q ...more
The internet, as I understand it, is a wonderful, magical place where people congregate to share memes and viral videos. Well, okay... there's a lot more to it than that, but let's just focus in on the good stuff. Yet viral videos are terribly fleeting, as is the nature of th ...more
A lot of things have been changing over at Microsoft recently. Not only did they acquire the ever-popular Android keyboard SwiftKey and give away Windows 10 for free, but they've started a Google X-like experimental division called Microsoft Garage, and they've actually releas ...more
The dock in Mac OS X is intuitive, customizable, and aesthetically pleasing, which is a stark difference from its clunky Windows alternative. In fact, in Windows, it takes both the Start menu and taskbar to accomplish what Apple's dock does—but it doesn't have to be like that. ...more
One of the many additions that appear on Android 5.0 Lollipop is a handy menu that lets users correct for or simulate different types of color blindness. While Google didn't flip the switch on this new feature until Lollipop was released, it turns out they had been working on ...more
If you've ever used a custom ROM on one of your devices, chances are it had a built-in feature that allowed you to kill any app by long-pressing the back button. This function comes in handy quite often, especially in situations where an app is acting up, since it stops all as ...more
When I first received my HTC One M8, I was in love with the 5-inch screen size, but the icons and font just seemed too big, wasting valuable screen real estate. Phablets, like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, have only slightly larger screens, but don't seem to have this problem sin ...more
Apple introduced Touch ID on the iPhone 5S back in 2013, which let you unlock the device with your fingerprint. While it was an impressive feature, it could only do that one thing—unlock the device. When the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were released this year, Apple added a few more ...more
With the release of the ARChon Runtime, many Android apps can now be run within the Chrome web browser. Minor changes must be made to existing Android APK files before they can be installed on Chrome, so the process isn't exactly as easy as pasting an Android app into a folder ...more
When it comes to passwords, the longer and more complex they are, the better the security. Even professional hackers say so. But if you've ever tried to type in such a password, you've surely noticed that it can be a bit of a pain. Mistype one character, and you're probably go ...more
You don't need to be a hardcore audiophile to know that Dolby is pretty much synonymous with rich and immersive sound. While we often associate them with home theater systems, Dolby has brought their surround sound processing to the mobile phone arena with Dolby Digital Plus b ...more
Honestly, Android's stock alarm icon is completely useless. It doesn't relay any information other than the fact that, at some point in the future, you have an alarm coming up. Considering how pointless it is, I normally install GravityBox or other similar mods just to get rid ...more
Even with display sizes increasing by the year, smartphone screen real estate is still at a premium. We want the content we're viewing to take center stage, and this leaves little room for functionality beyond the focused app. Sitting atop nearly all screens in the Android OS ...more
Samsung's Galaxy devices, for all the grief they get about supposed "bloatware", offer quite a few functional features that are not included in stock Android. From "Air Gestures" to a handy "Smart Alert" notification reminder, many of these features are more than just the late ...more
Android updates are a funny thing—they give us a host of new features and upgrades, but they can also change things that we're used to. And sometimes we prefer to have things the way they were. We embraced the new Google Now integration in KitKat, and some of us asked, "OK Go ...more
With over 8 million active users, CyanogenMod is definitely the most popular ROM for Android devices, which explains why venture capitalists invested $7 million last month for future development. Still, not everyone is willing to root their smartphone or tablet to install Cya ...more
By default, the One UI launcher on Galaxy phones makes you scroll all the way back to the left when you hit the end of your app list. Luckily, Samsung has its own solution to help fix this problem if it annoys you. Save yourself a bunch of extra swipes and read on to learn mor ...more
Even for those of us who enjoy spending time alone at home, at a certain point, it just gets boring. We all need social interaction, but with stay-at-home orders, that can be hard to come by. If you're feeling the itch to hang out with friends and have a good time, you should ...more
In older Android versions, you could flood your status bar with a wall of notification icons. But starting with Android 9, Google made it to where you can only see four icons by default, and it was mostly done to accommodate phones with notches. But Google's only notched phone ...more
Black Desert Mobile is one of the hottest new smartphone games around, but there seems to be something missing in the frame rate department. Gamers quickly noticed many Android phones are stuck on a 30 FPS cap when it comes to performance. It's not that the phones are too weak ...more
Pinterest, a worldwide catalog of ideas shared by over 175 million users every month, is dominated by Android users, who are now the app's fastest growing group. Pinterest has since taken notice, and has started to incorporate handy home screen shortcuts for users with Android ...more
The Google Chrome browser for Android is packed with many great features, but it definitely has a bad rep for being slow and laggy on low-end or midrange devices. Without a top-notch processor, you'll likely notice some stutter with choppy scrolling, and pages can take too lon ...more
If you're in the market for a non-root ad-blocker, developer Julian Klode has an app that you'll definitely want to check out. It uses Android's VPN system in a similar manner to alternative apps like NetGuard and AdGuard, but it's got a new twist that should save lots of batt ...more
Android's flexible operating system allows for lots of customization, and one of the most common ways to add personal flair to your smartphone is to set your own ringtones and notification sounds. On Android this feature is no only supported, but it's actually very simple. Ch ...more
Boasting over 800 million users a month, WhatsApp has quickly become one of the most popular messaging services available today. Thanks to its low price, ease of use, lack of ads, cross-platform functionality, and great features, its popularity is well-deserved. While there's ...more
When Google announced its new Android TV platform, one of the features they advertised was a home screen that automatically reorganized your apps based on how frequently you used them. Unfortunately, this feature either didn't make the cut, or is still under development, since ...more
Although lacking in megapixels, the HTC One M8's camera can be considered a top-tier, flagship-level shooter. With the Duo Camera and UltraPixel technology behind it, it can make even the most inexperienced photographer snap pictures like a pro. There seems to be little missin ...more
Owning an Android device is almost like having a PC in your pocket. Android's ability to easily navigate the file system on your phone is one of many features that separate it from the competition. Just plug your phone into a computer, drag the file over, and you're all set. ...more
Loving parents can suffer bouts of insomnia when their children leave the house. Not just when they move out, but when hanging out with friends or during out-of-town weekends. Others may worry about their significant other who has to work late all week and their only option fo ...more
The act of viewing a new notification on your Nexus 5 can feel a bit clunky and cumbersome at times. When a new message comes in, you hear the notification sound, you see the LED blinking, but you can't see what the actual notification says without waking the device and openin ...more
One of the most common complaints about the Nexus line of devices is that they don't have expandable memory. Phones like the Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8 have a microSD card slot that allows you to easily add extra storage space for movies, music, and photos. The Nexus 5 has ...more
Out of the box, your Android device can be customized in many different ways, and a ton more with root access, but adjusting the actual interface of the system is a little bit more challenging. Changing the status bar size, icon width/length, and positioning of toast notificat ...more