In this week’s top stories: What’s new in the Android N Dev Preview 4, the official OnePlus 3 launch and first impressions, Android apps come to Chromebooks in Chrome OS Dev 53, and much more. Head below for the handy links to these and the rest of this week’s top shared stories.
There are dozens of great launchers for Android, however going back in time a few years, our choices were a bit different. One of the biggest players, and likely one many of us remember fondly, was ADW Launcher. It had tons of great features, but above all else it was fast, fun, and powerful. However that was a long time ago. ADW hasn’t seen an update since mid-2013, but now it’s back with a new design and some great new features.
Announced at Google I/O 2016, Androids apps and the Play Store are now officially on Chromebooks. Chrome OS 53 is rolling out now to all devices in the developer channel, but the Play Store is only showing up on the ASUS Chromebook Flip. Early users are reporting bugs, but reactions are generally positive with performance improvements over Android apps installed via ARC Welder.
In April, Google Calendar for Work and Education received the ability to “find a time” when your coworkers are free for a meeting. Now an update to the Android app adds a similar “when you’re free” feature to all personal Google accounts when scheduling an event.
Twitter has updated both iOS and Android apps with a Live button that starts a Periscope broadcast. It’s actually a bit of a cheat, though, as all the button does is open the Periscope app – or prompt you to download it if you don’t already have it installed.
Pinterest has today announced that they have acquired the team behind the popular keyboard app Fleksy. Pinterest is solely acqui-hiring the developers behind this application, not the technology or app itself. The app will remain live on both Android and iOS ‘for the foreseeable future’ and app updates will be very minimal.
Over the past few months, Google has rolled out several new features powered by machine learning. Announced at an enterprise event today, Google Springboard allows users to search through Google Apps and acts as a day-to-day work assistant, providing “useful and actionable information and recommendations.” The company also announced a major revamp to Google Sites.
In this week’s top stories: We breakdown the best Android phones you can buy right now, get a closer look at upcoming Android devices including the OnePlus 3, Galaxy Note, and Project Tango devices, and give you the latest app news and updates alongside our picks for the best 5 Android apps you should download this month.
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There are nearly 1.5 million applications currently on Google Play and with so many to choose from, finding interesting new experiences can be a hassle. That’s why today we’re kicking off a new series here at NewGeekGuide highlighting 5 different Android apps each month that are worth checking out.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at our picks for the month.
With Chrome 51 rolled out to browsers, mobile, and Chromebooks, version 52 is now in the beta channel. The release adds many developer focused features that should improve the overall performance of the browser.
Offline video is one of the main benefits of a YouTube Red subscription. In developing countries, downloads are actually available for free as a means to work around connectivity issues. Now YouTube is rolling out a new Smart Offline feature in India that downloads videos during late night hours when carriers offer discounted data.
It wasn’t that long ago when creating 360-degree photos that you could share with others online required special camera kit, and you had to post them on websites that supported the feature. It’s since got much easier, and as of the latest update to the Android Facebook app, you don’t need anything more than a Samsung Galaxy phone and the stock camera app.
Simply take a panorama with your phone […] and then post it on Facebook as you would a normal photo. From there, we’ll convert it to an immersive 360 photo that people can explore, similar to how people experience 360 videos on Facebook …
Messaging apps are among the most important — and indeed most used — by millions and millions of users every day, so it is only logical for them to implement new features as they evolve.
WhatsApp, despite being used by over a billion users, has remained a fairly simplistic chat app over the years, but things seem to be changing…
One of Google’s approaches to the Internet of Things involves placing low-energy Bluetooth beacons that can communicate with devices. Google is announcing new partners today who have updated Android apps that can talk to beacons placed in stores, museums, and airports.
One day after announcing availability of its Vive VR headset for consumers following a few delays, HTC today announced an enterprise edition of the product.
Street View is now a feature we take for granted in all our mapping services, but in 2007 it was a very ambitious effort by Google to photograph the world. The feature on the latest version of Google Maps on Android received a slight revamp to make navigation on mobile easier.
Fears that terrorists may be planning attacks in Paris during the Euro 2016 football tournament have led the French government to create an app that sends location-based terrorism alerts to users, helping them steer clear of affected areas.
Google’s latest photography app — following behind others such as Google Photos and Snapseed — stabilizes iOS Live Photos and turns them into shareable GIFs and short movie clips. The app can create still images by freezing the background of a Live Photo and makes short videos that feature sweeping cinematic pans. The free Motion Stills app comes to us from Google Research and is only available on iOS…
Despite being announced over a year ago, the revamped Google Contacts web app remains in preview and is still lacking some legacy features. A new feature rolling out today, however, will list verified business information from Google Maps directly in a contact.
With Microsoft almost out of the consumer phones business, it’s working harder to find a new home for its intelligent assistant, Cortana. After initially making it available to Android users six months ago, it has now updated its health app so that you can access Cortana through the Band 2 fitness wearable.
With Cortana on your Band, you can access your personal assistant for instant notifications of important events, communications, and voice-active info without reaching for your phone. Speak into the mic on your Band to Cortana to take actions for you …
