Essential Phone camera update brings Auto HDR Mode and more
Feb 9th - To Essential’s credit, they have been working hard on improving the camera through software updates. The latest update brings Auto HDR Mode to the phone.
Joe Fedewa
Features Editor
Google is working on a web interface for Android Messages
Feb 9th - Most of the popular services, such as Facebook Messenger and iMessage, have some sort of method for people to use them on desktop PCs. Allo recently received this feature and now Android Messages could follow.
New leaks reveals fabric and kickstand cases for the Galaxy S9
Feb 8th - The interesting thing about these cases is they appear to be styles that Samsung has never offered. One of the cases is a woven fabric called “Hyperknit.” The second style includes ridges and a kickstand, which always comes in handy on larger phones.
Emoji 11.0 will add 157 new emoji, including superheroes, curly hair, and cupcake
Feb 8th - Some of the most notable emoji include redheads, superhero and supervillain, a roll of toilet paper, cupcake, teddy bear, skateboard, and many more.
Google is rumored to be working on a game streaming service
Feb 7th - Google is a massive company that has eggs in many different baskets. Hardware, software, music, books, movies, and of course, search. The next basket could be a streaming game service like PlayStation Now or NVIDIA GeForce Now.
Dead Zebra reveals Android Mini for Year of the Dog, goes on sale today
Feb 7th - This year’s zodiac symbol for the Chinese calendar is the Dog, and you can bet Dead Zebra has made a fine stylized Android robot to commemorate the sign.
Moto Z2 Force owners report ShatterShield screen peeling issue
Feb 6th - The top layer of the ShatterShield display is essentially a built-in permanent screen protector. “Permanent” is the key word here. It’s not mean to be removed, but some users have noticed it coming up around the edges.
Oreo finally passes 1% in latest Android Distribution numbers
Feb 6th - Oreo has finally pushed past 1%. Last month, Oreo was at 0.7%. This month it’s a whopping 1.1%. Only Ice Cream Sandwich and Gingerbread have lower distribution.
Google finally fixes Android Wear lag caused by “Ok Google” detection
Feb 5th - Users discovered that disabling the “Ok Google” voice detection drastically improved performance. Obviously, “Ok Google” is one of the main ways to interact with Android Wear devices. Disabling the feature is not something you should have to do.
Samsung shows off Experience 9.0 with an insanely long infographic
Feb 5th - Samsung phones have been receiving Oreo, but we don’t have a ton of information about what Samsung Experience 9.0 includes. This is Samsung’s “skin” on top of Oreo.
30+ Best Android Games of the Month [February 2018]
Feb 4th - Hundreds of great games arrive in the Play Store each month. Some are from big-name gaming studios, others are from small indie developers. It can be hard to keep up with them all.
30+ Best Android Apps of the Month [February 2018]
Feb 3rd - A lot of apps are released in the span of one month. It can be near impossible to keep track of them all. In order to help you find only the best apps that have been released in the last month, we have assembled this list.
Google Now Launcher search widget gets a weird home button
Feb 2nd - The often-overlooked launcher just got a new feature in the latest update. The search bar at the top of the home screen has a new Home icon that launches straight to the Google Feed.
Google says device shipments doubled in 2017, revenue up 38%
Feb 2nd - Google has shared their financial numbers from Q4 of 2017. A massive company like Google includes various departments and divisions. Some areas saw growth, others reported a loss.
You can now use music as an alarm for the Google Home
Feb 1st - According to the Google support page, a new feature allows you to use music for the alarms. All you have to do is ask Google to “set a music alarm at (time).” Google will then ask what song you’d like to play.