Features Editor
Feb 13th - According to Mo Versi from HTC, the phone is now receiving Android 8.0 Oreo via an over-the-air update, but only the Sprint model. Those with other carrier models will still need to wait.
Feb 12th - We don’t have any official sales numbers, but research firm IDC is reporting that Essential sold 88,000 phones in the first six months. Obviously, those numbers are less than ideal, but it’s easy to forget that Essential is a brand new company.
Feb 12th - Nest devices are already closely integrated with Google’s Home system, but this new relationship would bring them closer together
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
