I've been playing around with iOS 7 for a while now, and for the most part, I dig it. It's a nice update for a stale OS, and there are a lot of great new features. But like any good piece of tech, there are a few things to be disliked. Some of these are big issues, and some co ...more
I'm constantly browsing the web, taking pictures, and playing games on my Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but there's one thing that I'm always doing—playing music. No matter what I'm doing on my smartphone, I'm always playing my music in the background at the same time. However, ther ...more
An average user's smartphone tinkering doesn't go much further than taking their phones out of the box, signing into their account, and installing apps. But some of us want more functionality and customizability than the basic experience provided by Android and iOS. Thankfull ...more
If your mechanical home button or capacitive navigation keys are on the fritz, doing something as simple as navigating your phone's interface becomes a tedious chore. In this situation, some users have turned to root mods that enable Android's software navigation bar to solve ...more
With as much creativity and freedom that we have on Android, it feels a little underwhelming that the only gesture we can perform on the status bar is a downward swipe to expose the notification tray or quick settings. Maybe this is a field for Android to expand on in the futu ...more
When Snapchat first hit it big, people just assumed it'd be used for seedy activities. And while that's not completely true, it's definitely true sometimes. For those moments when you need to take a sneaky screenshot that doesn't notify the sender, Android has plenty of ways t ...more
Google Play Services has been near the top of every Android user's list of battery-sucking apps for years now. It's a core system app, so you'd expect some battery drain, but for many folks, it runs rampant. This is partly due to the fact that Google has exempted Play Service ...more
Perhaps the best thing about Android is the endless amount of customization you can add to your device. From icon packs to custom launchers and even custom ROMs, there's truly something for everyone. One of the most popular options among Android enthusiasts is adding a system ...more
Any parent with a rambunctious child who may have at one point racked up a hefty bill on their Kindle or Android device can now breathe a sigh of relief. One, Jack Black has had it happen to him too, and two, Amazon will be refunding up to $70 million of in-app purchases made ...more
It seems like each day our phones become more integrated into our lives. School, work, shopping — so many tasks either require a phone or heavily benefit from one. But our phones are a double-edged sword that can easily distract us and harm our mental health as well. This is ...more
Spotify is a great music subscription service, but constantly streaming songs can really run up your monthly mobile data. Fortunately, you're able to download music from Spotify on Android and iOS in order to preserve your precious data cap. Overall, Spotify Premium, which yo ...more
OnePlus has now officially upgraded both the 5 and 5T to Android 8.1 Oreo. As implied by the version number, this isn't a huge update from Android 8.0 Oreo. However, OnePlus has included a few of their own features as well. Android 8.1 Oreo acts more as a revision to Android ...more
Android's Quick Settings menu gives you easy access to certain actions from any screen, but the tiles available are largely dependent on your phone's OEM skin. For instance, the Google Cast button that can cast your entire screen has been exclusive to Nexus and Pixel devices, ...more
What makes YouTube such a special platform is that anyone and everyone can upload their own content. Big players upload their videos to the same site that the little guy does. But what if you're a little guy who has never uploaded a video before? Or, what if you're a regular ...more
For years, there has been a disconnect between the Chrome app on your smartphone and the Chrome browser on your computer. The latter was a powerfully fast browser which could be enhanced with extensions to add new features and functionality, while the former was just a fast br ...more
More often than not, when you find an app that offers a particular functionality, there are ten other apps on the Google Play Store that offer virtually the same features. But the reason we choose one app over the alternatives is mainly due to one thing—a preference for the us ...more
Dolby may have made a lot of Android users angry by only offering their Atmos surround sound equalizer to Lenovo and Amazon, but we all know that exclusivity is only temporary in the Android world. Thanks to worstenbrood, we now have a ported version that can be installed on a ...more
If you recently received your new Galaxy S9 or S9+, you're probably excited to try out all of the features the flagship offers. While many of the features are self-explanatory and easy to access, there are a handful of very useful items that Samsung has buried in the settings ...more
Popular chat apps like Messenger allow us to communicate with friends and family across iOS and Android phones alike. However, that interconnectivity doesn't mean both apps are the same. While Facebook has made strides to close gaps between these two platforms, chat heads rema ...more
After several Android phones started incorporating the iPhone X's notch, the online community was vocal, with many expressing hatred for the trend. Well, thanks to XDA Forum Moderator Zacharee1, we already have an app to undo the incoming wave of notches. As we wait for the a ...more
If you enjoy modding your Android device with root utilities, custom ROMs, and Xposed modules, then there's a good chance you've had to factory reset your phone when something went awry. Plus, when you're switching ROMs, it's always recommended that you wipe all data, so us mo ...more
With all of the Pixel 2 excitement the past few weeks, many Samsung fans are feeling left out on that new software hotness. If you're anxiously awaiting the Android Oreo update on your Galaxy S8 or S8+, that wait may come to an end this week. Users over on Reddit decompiled th ...more
Sharing your Wi-Fi password is like giving an unlimited pass to snoop around your network, allowing direct access even to LAN-connected devices like printers, routers, and security cameras. Most networks allow users to scan and attempt to log in to these connected devices. And ...more
The beauty of Android is that nearly everything can be customized. But sometimes, we get so caught up in tweaking functionality and other minutiae that one of the most important interfaces gets neglected—the home screen wallpaper. Well, developer Gianluca Spadazzi has come up ...more
I love finding new artists on SoundCloud and listening to the tracks they put up. While some artists allow fans to download their tracks, others don't, leaving you to constantly load up their webpage to have a listen. I use the official SoundCloud app a lot, but without the o ...more
In 2018, there are more ways than ever to watch your favorite sporting events. You can stream them with a number of services, or you can simply watch it on a TV. Many fans will even watch it at a sports bar. The problem with a sports bar is that you won't be able to hear the g ...more
So you're thinking about downloading the Galaxy S8 Oreo beta, but you're not sure if it's stable enough to use. It is a beta, of course, so you might want to wait for others to give it a try. Over the past ten days I've used the Galaxy S8+ running Android Oreo as my daily driv ...more
If you're a Twitter user, it's a safe bet to assume that you've used a hashtag. On all social networking sites that have the capability, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Google+, the pound (#) symbol is used to mark and designate specific keywords or topics in order to make it ...more
The idea of a perfect phone is a myth. There are lots of pros when it comes to OnePlus devices, but there are also a few things that could be better. And even if there were a phone without flaw, there are still things that you might want to customize for personal preference. T ...more
While we shouldn't rely on it, every so often we need to hit the snooze button to get a few additional minutes of precious sleep. Depending on which OEM skin is running on your device, this could be either five or ten extra minutes of dozing. However, some of us need a differe ...more
When you're gaming on your Android phone, does it sometimes feel "slow" and you can't figure out why? That means a drop in performance, which is when the frame rate dips, causing some noticeable stutters and lag. There's not really a way to know what's wrong unless you made th ...more
You don't have to be hearing impaired to appreciate one of Android's best audio accessibility features. This one can notify you when a baby is crying, a smoke alarm is going off, or when various nefarious sounds such as breaking glass are heard. It's a native feature for most ...more
Amazon thinks that by simply removing an app from their Appstore, that they will stop users from accessing it. But with Android OS powering their Fire TV Stick and Fire TV, there really isn't anything they can do to prevent us from sideloading an APK onto the streaming media d ...more
When the Nexus 5 debuted, one of its coolest features was the fact that you could say "OK Google" any time you were on the home screen to launch a Google Voice Search. This feature was ultimately made available for other devices by way of the Google Now Launcher. Recently, Go ...more
While AT&T and Verizon may not have had a chance to screw Note 2 owners with unrootbale devices—mainly because they've screwed us over by not issuing KitKat updates—it's safe to say that they can in the future. And while Sprint and T-Mobile subscribers have been able to root, ...more
Android has released a new application called ezNetScan, which is a free app that scans the wireless network you're connected to and gives you a full log of all of the devices connected to that network. This isn't new for smartphone users, let alone Android users. Fing has bee ...more
Do you know when you're going to die? Your iPhone or iPad does. That's the premise behind Death Mask, an experimental app developed by Or Fleisher and Anastasis Germanidis. The experiment is influenced by death masks, sculptures cast from people's faces that, in some culture ...more
We have seen Kickstarter-launched wearables before, but this one is particularly unique and may even have you blinking a bit in wonder when you see how it functions. Startup GWD Bio-Intelligence has just launched pre-sales for its HiiDii glasses, a device that allows the user ...more
With a simple web-based tool, you can hide secret messages for family, friends, and fellow spies inside of plain text communications, and anyone that intercepts the messages will be none the wiser. Steganography is the art of hiding secret messages comprised of text, code, au ...more
Android is moving away from navigation buttons. Even with the transparent navigation bar on the Galaxy Note 10+, it still takes up space on the screen that could otherwise be used to show content. What's great about the Galaxy Note 10+ is that you can remove it, without instal ...more
I'm a notification minimalist. When I get alerts, I want to deal with them ASAP. If the time is not right and I want to reference the notification later, snoozing was always the best course of action. But in Android 10, Google tucked away snoozing, so here's how to get it back ...more
Portrait mode works with any dual-lens iPhone, as well as the single-lens iPhone XR, and lets you take impressive portraits with blurry, bokeh-filled backgrounds. Portrait selfies, on the other hand, are only available devices with Face ID. But that's only for Apple's Camera a ...more
Scrolling through Instagram, you're going to come across a lot of photographs and videos that you "like." But sometimes, you're going to want to remember a photo, and naturally want to save it to your device so you can look at it for forever and ever. Unfortunately, there is ...more
About a year ago, Abode decided to discontinue support for Flash on the Android platform. With its security concerns, it's understandable why some people would want to disable Flash on their devices, but there are still some things you can't do without it. Amazon Instant Video ...more
While IKEA is collaborating with Apple for its ARKit furniture app, Marxent is ready to help the rest of the interior decorating and home improvement crowd with their apps. The company already counts Ashley Furniture, Lowe's Home Improvement, and AZEK among the companies that ...more
We recently lost Grooveshark, the free music streaming service that supplied users with a huge catalog of free music anytime, anywhere. Since its shutdown, I have been scrambling to find a half-decent alternative, and my expectations were more than exceeded when I found NetEas ...more
Google made a huge splash this year in their annual Google I/O with an awesome announcement regarding their Photos app. Although I was primarily interested in the details surrounding Android M, my ears instantly perked up when Google announced that their Photos app will now of ...more
As if telemarketers weren't bad enough, now we have robocalls and spoofed numbers to deal with. Many of us get a least one spam call per day, if not much more than that. Google's Phone app has always been great at managing these calls, but it's been exclusive to their Pixel ph ...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
Change is something everyone needs every now and then. President Obama used it as his campaign slogan and adult movie stars use it to hide their real identifies. Change is in itself versatile. You never want to have the same thing day in and day out, and that's why us Android ...more
If you own a Google Pixel 4a or newer, there are new live wallpapers for you to explore that other Android devices can't have. Since launching its Pixel Feature Drop in December 2019, Google has gifted Pixel owners with new features once every three months. The new Live Bloom ...more
On Twitter, quote retweets are a great way to share someone else's tweet with your view of their message. Twitter has expanded on this idea by giving us the ability to attach images, video, and GIFs to quote retweets. With these extra options, you should have no problem adding ...more
While Instagram users can attach links to images, they can only do so in stories, and only if they meet the special requirements that most users cannot obtain. Snapchat, on the other hand, lets anyone add a link, and it can be done in regular snaps and in your story. This feat ...more
The updated Messages app for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS has creative new ways for you to format and send messages, from standard text formatting to fun text effects. But Apple also includes another way to make your messages appear precisely as you want: more control over how links ...more
Handwritten notes are no doubt useful at home, work, and school, but digitizing them with your smartphone will make them easier to edit, organize, and review. You'll also always have a digital copy ready if your handwritten notes get lost or erased. And Google Keep for Android ...more
There are modded Spofity APKs floating around that essentially give you a Spotify Premium account for free, but the music streaming giant has been aggressively banning users who go this route. So if you're tired of listening to ads, but you don't want to do anything illegal, y ...more
To say that I am disappointed with the new Maps application in iOS 6 is an understatement. And it seems like the rest of the world is with me, so I needed to find a solution—and quick. Installing the Google Maps web application is a nice quick-fix, but those looking for a beef ...more
Many of you are ready to capture the litany of 4th of July fireworks that will litter the night sky, but if you're using a phone to capture the burst of fire in midair, it can get a little tricky. Don't worry, though — you'll be fine if you use these tips. While pro and semi- ...more
Whether gabbing via cloud chat or Secret Chat, there's no denying that private messaging is one of Telegram's strengths. Communications can often occur at night, where Telegram's default bright white theme can be a bit uncomfortable to use, but Telegram supports dark mode on A ...more
If you or someone you know has younger kids and you're looking for an augmented reality toy, Pai Technology has just the educational option for you. For $199, the toy maker offers Augie, a spherical robot that uses augmented reality to teach children the basics of programming ...more