Android Things exits beta as Google jumps further into the IoT
Google today announced the launch of Android Things 1.0, its Internet of Things platform. There have been numerous beta versions for developers to play with, but now that the operating system has been officially launched we can expect to see it popping up on a wide range of devices.
The company says that it has been working closely with a number of manufacturers to help ensure that products will be available soon. On the horizon are smart speakers from LG and iHome, as well as smart displays from Lenovo, LG, and JBL.
Microsoft announces Your Phone, an app to view your iPhone or Android device in Windows 10
Having given up on its own mobile operating system, Microsoft has a greater interest in Android and iOS than ever before. Today at its Build 2018 developer conference, the company announces a new app called Your Phone.
The purpose of the app is to enable you to connect your computer to an iPhone or Android device and access the handset's contents without having to pick it up. As well as being able to view and respond to text messages from the comfort of your PC, you'll also be able to move files to and from your phone.
OnePlus 6 specs leak ahead of the launch later this month
The OnePlus 6 is due to be revealed on May 16 and, as with just about every OnePlus device, details of the latest flagship have leaked out nice and early.
There have already been a number of rumors relating to the OnePlus 6 -- such as confirmation of the notch -- but now full specifications have appeared on the website of Chinese regulator TENAA. So what can you expect from the A6000, and will it be enough to warrant an upgrade from a OnePlus 5 or OnePlus 5T?
Oh wow, the LG G7 ThinQ looks damn nice
Earlier today, LG revealed its latest Android flagship smartphone. It is called the "G7 ThinQ" and oh wow, it looks damn nice! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised -- LG has long made impressive smartphones. With the exception of the fairly terrible LG G5, both its "G" and "V" series have been consistently great.
This new G7 ThinQ has something that may annoy you, however -- a notch. Yeah, all the manufacturers seem to be copying the iPhone X in this regard. It's a very polarizing topic -- some folks like a notch, while others hate it. Me? I don't really care either way, to be honest. LG has taken a cool approach to handling the notch on the G7 ThinQ, however. You see, using software trickery, you can make the notch disappear -- sort of. The top of the screen gets filled in with black, so it appears there is no notch. Some may call this gimmicky. I call it clever. And it is.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ get 128GB and 256GB capacity options
Thanks to 4K video recording, movie files are getting much larger. I recently bought an iPhone 8 Plus 64GB and was excited to use the 4K60 functionality. While it worked well, I very quickly ran out of available storage, making it an overall poor experience. While 4K is great, 64GB of storage just won't cut it.
Samsung has finally seen the light, and today, it announces that it will be selling both the Galaxy S9 and S9+ with 128GB and 256GB storage options. This will make 4K video recording a much better experience. Video aside, it will also allow more apps, music, games, and other file types. Best of all, micro SD expandability remains.
Following Apple's lead from 2016, Microsoft, Facebook and Google replace gun emoji with water pistol
It is now two years since Apple decided that an image of a gun had no place as an emoji. The company replaced the handgun icon with an image of a water pistol, leading to a debate about whether it was the right thing to do.
With further serious shootings and gun crimes bringing firearms into the spotlight time and time again, more technology companies decided to follow suit. The latest names to follow Apple's lead are Microsoft, Facebook and Google, all of whom plan to kill the gun emoji and replace it with a water pistol.
Google launches Tasks app for iOS and Android, revamps web version
The big news from Google today is the launch of the redesigned Gmail, but it's not the only news. The company has also launched a new app called Tasks which -- no prizes for guessing -- allows for management of to-do lists.
The Google Tasks service is nothing new, and it has been accessible from Gmail inboxes and Google Calendar for quite some time, but this is the first time there has been a dedicated app for it. As well as the app, there's also a revamp of the web-based version of Tasks.
Google pauses development of Allo in favor of RCS Chat
Google has had no shortage of chat and messaging tools over the years, and the company just added another one to its list. Google's Chat is based on the RCS (Universal Profile for Rich Communication Services) protocol which it is hoped will succeed SMS.
The company is hitting pause on Allo -- which only launched towards the end of 2016 -- to focus resources on RCS. Google is transferring "almost all" of the team currently working on Allo to Android Messages which will ultimately feature Chat, its own RCS implementation.
AI-powered offline translation comes to Microsoft Translator apps
Having a translation app on your phone is great when you're abroad and want to be able to speak in the local lingo. But if you find yourself without an internet connection, you might struggle to find the words you need.
If you're a Microsoft Translator user, however, this now changes. Microsoft has introduced free, downloadable AI-powered translation packs which the company says brings "the benefit of neural translation technology regardless of whether the device is connected to the cloud or offline".
International Shopping experience comes to the Amazon Shopping app
Amazon is making it easier to browse for goods from international sellers and have them shipped to your home country. The company is bringing the "International Shopping" experience to the Amazon Shopping app, and this simplifies the process of accessing Amazon with local language support and to track down items that ship to your country.
The new experience is available to iOS and Android users, and there is support for Spanish, English, Simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese and German. To start with 25 currencies are supported, but more are due to be added later in the year.
Android 8.1 Oreo officially rolls out for OnePlus 5T, OnePlus 5
A little over a month after introducing Android 8.1 in the open beta channel, today OnePlus officially rolls out the latest Oreo version to OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5 users across the globe. This makes it one of the few Android makers to have its latest flagships running up-to-date software.
The official build, OxygenOS 5.1.0, on top of upgrading Android, adds a couple of interesting new features and improves security, as it comes with the latest Android security patch (for April 2018). Of all the changes listed by OnePlus, only one is exclusive to the OnePlus 5T.
Thousands of Android apps have built-in crypto keys and passwords
A large number of free Android apps suffer with flaky security because software developers are leaving cryptographic keys embedded and passwords hard-coded.
Speaking at the BSides security conference in San Francisco, software vulnerability analyst Will Dormann revealed how he had found serious security problems in thousands upon thousands of apps. After testing 1.8 million apps, he found almost 20,000 featured built-in passwords and keys, and even when a separate password store was used, user data was still open to attack from simple password crackers.
Android P could be Android Popsicle
Given the order of the alphabet, it came at no surprise that the name of the successor to Android Oreo was going start with the letter P. Until now it has simply been referred to as Android P, but now Google may have given away what the full name will be.
Over on Instagram, Google shared a series of images which were designed to be screengrabbed and used as wallpapers -- something which has become common on Instagram. One of the wallpapers features popsicles, leading to speculation that Android P will in fact be called Android Popsicle.
Is your smartphone lying to you about having the latest Android security updates?
If you thought your Android phone was patched with all of the latest security updates, it might be time to think again. A report by Security Research Labs found that some phone manufacturers were not only failing to deliver security updates, but were hiding this fact from users.
The company found that some devices suffered a "patch gap" whereby manufacturers altered the date reported to Android -- and users -- about when security updates were last installed, without actually installing any patches.
The HP Chromebook x2 with detachable screen is ready to take on the iPad Pro and Surface Pro
There's a new Chromebook on the block -- or there will be soon -- and this HP offering is determined to stand out from the crowd... and give both the Surface Pro and iPad Pro a run for their money.
Running Chrome OS, the HP Chromebook x2 supports Android apps, features a stylus, and -- importantly -- has a detachable screen so it can be used as a tablet or a laptop. The 12.3-inch device comes in at a shade under $600, and the hardware specs are impressive... for the price, at least.
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