You probably already know by now that a custom Android ROM can change your user experience and give you what feels like a new OS on your device, and there's no shortage of them out there to try out. A great perk of being a Nexus 5 owner is that devs tend to commit resources t ...more
Google inconspicuously announced an Android update yesterday, and while it's not quite the overhaul that the initial Lollipop release was, version 5.1 brings plenty of bug fixes and new features. This new version is currently on a staged rollout for Nexus devices, so the upda ...more
One little known feature on Android devices is TalkBack, which provides you with spoken feedback and vibrations in order to help you navigate your device. Obviously, if you're not blind or visually impaired, this isn't a feature you're likely to use. Nonetheless, curiosity ge ...more
Whether it's bad timing, or some trying-to-be-funny photobomber, it sucks having a photo ruined by someone or something getting in the way. While you can always retake the photo, it's simply impossible to capture the moment you intended, no matter how much restaging you do. Bu ...more
There are plenty of ways to customize your stock HTC One (or any Android device), from playing retro games to adding rotating live wallpapers. But to get the most out of your device, you need root access. After rooting, the floodgates open and you have free reign over the dev ...more
Recently, Sprint announced a partnership with Harman Kardon to deliver exclusive sound FX technology to their variant of the HTC One M8. The joint effort between the two companies is both to entice customers to switch to Sprint as well as improve the overall audio quality comi ...more
There really isn't any custom manufacturer skin, like Sense, that can match the clean look and fluidity that comes with stock Android. HTC knows this, and they, just like Samsung, include a Google Play Edition version in their flagship lineup. In effect, these GPE variants pu ...more
Sense 6 came with a ton of new features for the HTC One, but for some reason, HTC decided to keep one of them hidden to all non-Harman Kardon editions. Music Channel is a music visualizer that can also link into the GraceNote music catalog and display lyrics for any compatibl ...more
During E3, many major game developers announced plans to bring console and PC franchises to mobile. These titles are designed for more serious gamers with competition in mind. All of this points to a shift in mobile hardware priorities — soon, gamers will need gaming phones ju ...more
You've unlocked your bootloader and rooted your HTC One running KitKat, but there's still one lingering aspect of security you've yet to rid yourself of—S-On—the extra security measure HTC implemented into Sense. S-Off stands for Security Off and allows you to update your One ...more
Despite having the UltraPixel branding, the M7's camera can leave you feeling a little let down. The picture quality is clear and the low-light shots are decent, but when looking at the same shots taken on a friend's iPhone, you may feel a little inadequate. You could always ...more
With most of HTC's staff working on getting Sense updated to Android Lollipop, their piecemeal approach to individual app updates now comes to their Gallery app. The new update is available for all HTC devices running KitKat, but if you have the HTC Service Pack installed, it ...more
The headphone jack is becoming outdated technology in smartphones — that's what many manufacturers would have you believe. For the convenience of the audiophiles out there, we recently published our list of all phones that have removed the 3.5 mm jack. But what did each compan ...more
Sometimes, stock just doesn't cut it. When you're sick of the limitations in Sense on your HTC One, a new ROM can be a ray of sunshine. By installing a custom ROM, you can add or unlock new features in Sense, or you can get a pure Android experience instead. It's all up to you ...more
Chances are that you're living in a city and/or state that's banned using your phone while driving, and because of that, many manufactures have added a "car mode" to their devices. In most instances, this mode is simply an app that simplifies your phone to its basic parts so y ...more
One of the hardest tradeoffs when installing a non-Sense-based custom ROM on an HTC One is the loss of Beats Audio. Due to a patent restrictions from Beats and compatibility issues, it's currently impossible to port it to a non-Sense ROM, but with ViPER4Android you can get alm ...more
There's a lot of cool features rumored to be included in next year's HTC One 2 (M8), the follow up to the flagship HTC One smartphone, including a fingerprint scanner, Android 4.4 KitKat, and Sense 6.0, but it's just too far away to get really excited about yet. Besides, that ...more
When rumors first emerged of Sony's Xperia XZ3, many of us wondered why. With the Xperia XZ2 just releasing in April of this year, why is Sony already releasing its successor? But now that it is officially announced, it makes a bit more sense, as what Sony is calling the XZ3 i ...more
Returning your device to stock, whether it is because you need to sell it or just want to receive OTAs again, is not always a simple process. Since HTC has released countless variations of both the M7 and M8 HTC One, it can be a pain in the ass finding the right files and tool ...more
Ever since the announcement of the Razer Phone, a wave of gaming smartphones started to hit the market. With ASUS being such a big name in gaming, it made sense for them to throw their hat in the ring. The result is the ROG Phone. And with this first try, ASUS has topped the r ...more
After a few unforeseen delays, the Android Lollipop update is finally here for Google Play Edition HTC Ones. This means that if you have an official GPE M7 or M8, or if you have simply converted your HTC One from a carrier-specific, Sense-based model to a Google Play Edition, ...more
After a lengthy video and a series of leaks got us a good look at what we can expect from the new HTC One, codenamed M8, the guys over at GSMArena have brought it full circle. The New HTC One's Design Not only did they get their hands on the full spec sheet, but also what ap ...more
For many of us, our work phone and our personal phone are one and the same. Just any old phone isn't going to cut it when you need to meet a deadline — a phone with built-in features that make it easier to get things done is almost a must. For this article, we defined product ...more
Sense 6 is great, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I start to miss the vanilla Android experience that comes with Nexus devices. You can always convert your M8 to the Google Play Edition, but then you'd have to ditch all the Sense exclusive features, and we wouldn't want that ...more
Rumors are what Apple dreams are made, so most of the time it's best to ignore the juicy ones -- but some Apple rumors demand a least a little attention. Such is the case with the latest tantalizing breadcrumb that claims that the Cupertino, California-based company is workin ...more
I don't know of a pain greater than of the one felt after cracking the screen of your phone. After I managed to crack my screen, rendered unusable, I immediately began to panic as to how I was going to recover all of the photos, videos, and documents stored on my device. After ...more
Flashing ROMs can be a tricky process, and sometimes you can end up leaving yourself without a ROM at all, often referred to as a soft brick. If you accidentally wiped your internal memory before a flash or forgot to download the ROM before wiping your system partition, don't ...more
All you Sprint customers still rocking the HTC EVO 4G LTE got some good news last night. Per Martin Fichter, a US Vice President at HTC, the once flagship Sprint device has been issued a final update, taking the device from Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) to Android 4.3 (Jell ...more
Via Twitter, HTC, the Taiwanese device manufacturer, announced today that their barely 18 month old flagship phones will not see official updates for anything past Jellybean. HTC went on to elaborate, saying: "We can confirm that the HTC One X and One X+ will not receive furt ...more
If you are using the the AT&T variant of the HTC One, you are well aware that the carrier opted not have the HTC Backup app pre-installed on the device. Luckily for us, HTC said "screw it" and put the app on Google Play, allowing anyone with an HTC One, regardless of carrier, ...more
Starting on Android 4.2, a new feature called Quick Settings was integrated into the Notification tray, which allows you to quickly turn on and off certain device features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, etc. These toggles also provides a shortcut to the feature's more advanced ...more
Rooting your phone is one thing, but to truly be in control of your device, you need to be S-Off. S-Off allows you to flash, mod, and tweak just about any aspect of your phone, including the ability to run custom recoveries and flash kernels, which are vital tools for power-u ...more
You've seen the Samsung Fingers and the Emoji Translator, and I know you spent a good part of the day catching Pokémon, but now that April Fool's Day is officially upon us, the flood of gags has reached a tipping point. Here's the best of what we've seen today. Auto Awesome P ...more
Thanks to HTC's new policy on updating their apps through Google Play, we can now get new features without having to wait for a full Sense OS update. Today brought the introduction of a new UFocus tweak that allows you to adjust the amount of blur you want added to your photo ...more
You did it! You got your hands on the much coveted all new HTC One (M8). Last year's M7 model, also named the One, was very well received critically, and HTC continues its smashing design here with stereo speakers that kick and curves that don't quit. Simply put, there's a lo ...more
Once you unlock your bootloader and root, you're left with one more hurdle to overcome, and that's getting S-Off. By default, HTC has included security measures into the HTC One's bootloader, which prevents you from installing custom firmwares or other tweaks. By obtaining S- ...more
What happens when a entrepeneur/theme park creator and special effects artist/magician team up? You get a team crazy enough to create the first true virtual reality theme park (sorry, Six Flags). They only have a single experience so far, but it's already taken a giant leap be ...more
As you may have noticed, many of our tutorials cover topics that require you to have root access. When your phone is rooted, backing up apps doesn't require you to connect to your computer, and installing custom ROMs lets you get more useful settings. Rooting also lets you get ...more
Now that ARCore is out of its developer preview, it's time to get cracking on building augmented reality apps for the supported selection of Android phones available. Since Google's ARCore 1.0 is fairly new, there's not a lot of information out there for developers yet — but w ...more
Most smartphone manufacturers focus on megapixels when it comes to cameras, but HTC took a different direction with the HTC One. Instead of trying to compete with the 13MP camera on the Samsung Galaxy S4, or the 20MP camera on the Sony Xperia Z1, or even the newer iPhone's 8MP ...more
If you're reading this, chances are you're a softModder, someone who doesn't let anything stand in his or her way from ultimate customization. That means you've probably rooted and unlocked the bootloader on your HTC One to upgrade to the Google Play Edition ROM or CyanogenMo ...more
Self portraits are a wonderful way to give viewers a sense of a photographer's taste and personality. And contrary to popular belief, they do not have to be as cliché as using the reflection of your bathroom mirror. There are plenty of different creative approaches one can tak ...more
During last week's D11 event, Sundar Pichai, head of Google's Android division, announced that a Google Edition of the HTC One would be available for sale on June 26th in the Google Play store. Just like the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition, the new HTC One will run stock And ...more
LG's new KnockOn feature for the G2 wakes the phone up just by tapping on the screen twice, in lieu of using the power/lock button. This is something that would be equally as helpful on the HTC One, as it's sometimes a pain to use the power button, especially if it's worn out ...more
Samsung may not be the best when it comes to redesigning their devices (hopefully that will change with Galaxy Note 4), but they do have a knack for including some pretty awesome features into their TouchWiz software. In its latest version, the one that shipped with the Galax ...more
LG has really made their new G3 handset something to drool over. The hardware and software behind it can be considered as good, or even better than most flagships out there, and it has left me second guessing my decision to stick with the M8. Just kidding, I love this thing, ...more
HTC is entering the augmented reality market through the back door by giving developers access to the stereo front-facing cameras on the Vive and Vive Pro VR headsets. The company announced on Wednesday, April 11, an update to the OpenVR camera API that will enable developers ...more
Most virtual and mixed reality headsets offer unnatural controls, making you use awkward movements or physical devices to control the holographic elements in your direct view. This doesn't make a lot of sense because using your hands is more natural, so Manus developed a set o ...more
As the world becomes increasingly more connected, there's been a rise in translation solutions. Whether it's Google Translate or Word Lens, there is an ever-growing need to understand and be understood, no matter what your native tongue is. There are plenty of extensions you c ...more
Google announced several new devices (as well as updates to existing devices) that will take advantage of the company's augmented and virtual reality platforms. During their keynote presentation at Google I/O, David Bavor, vice president – virtual reality at Google, shared th ...more
Computer vision technology maker uSens, Inc. has unveiled uSens Fingo, a camera module that enables tracking of hand and head movements for PC-based, mobile augmented, and virtual reality platforms. With an embedded dual-lens camera, uSens Fingo attains accurate inside-out 6D ...more
Three variants of the Pixel 2 have appeared in Google's Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code, confirming various suspicions about which processor will power the Pixel 2. The AOSP code mentions that the devices will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, which makes sense, as Goo ...more
As carriers finalize their variations of the Android 4.4.4 update, we're left with only brief glimpses of what the new "Eye Experience" holds in store for us while we wait. However, thanks to a system dump of an updated European HTC One M8 and some clever hackery by donmarkoni ...more
Sony's latest flagship, the Xperia Z3, comes with some pretty high-end hardware, but what really draws me to it are the aesthetics of its ROM, Xperia UI. Even though my HTC One M8 can still go toe-to-toe with the Z3 in a performance matchup, there is something about Sony's UI ...more
Keeping prying eyes off your device isn't always the easiest thing to do, especially once you lend somebody your phone to make a call. Seems that whenever someone is scrolling through your pictures or checking out your new phone, they always end up somewhere you don't want the ...more
Veering from common practice, XDA commenter, "the_commenter", discovered a changelog for the upcoming version of Android 4.4.3 tucked away on Google's servers. While the 5,000+ lines of text are still being digested, a couple of interesting nuggets of information have already ...more
Confirming a lot of what we already knew, now we have a physical walkthrough video on HTC's new flagship, the M8. Or, maybe the "New HTC One", but let's hope that's not the name of the final product. Before we get to the video, here's what we already know: Dual rear cameras w ...more
BlinkFeed completely changed the way I access new updates from Facebook and Twitter, but when I switched to the Google Play Edition of the HTC One, I lost access to the launcher. BlinkFeed is available in the Google Play Store, but HTC has not opened it up yet for all devices ...more
In recent months, HTC has decided to start breaking its proprietary apps out of its own ecosystem and into the Google Play Store. Along with the benefit of allowing its users to update their system apps more easily, this move also means that other folks can get a glimpse of wh ...more
Aside from the newer HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5, the Nexus 5 still has one of the fastest processors on the market today. However, despite its superpowers, some graphically intensive games can still have a bit of lag to them during gameplay. This lag is mostly due to in ...more