'QuadRooter' vulnerability affects 900 million Android devices -- the sky is falling!
As a Linux desktop user, you'd think I'd be a big Android proponent. Actually, I rather detest Google's mobile operating system lately. Other than Nexus devices, most Android devices fail to get regular updates, leaving users exposed to vulnerabilities. That is unacceptable! It is why I own an iPhone now, but I digress.
Sadly, yet another set of vulnerabilities have been discovered for Android. Dubbed 'QuadRooter', all Qualcomm devices are affected. In other words, this is really, really, bad, folks. You see, 900 million phones and tablets are impacted, and most of them will probably never be patched. The Android sky is falling!
Use Windows 10 Anniversary Update's Connect app to cast your Android phone to your PC
If you have installed Windows 10 Anniversary Update, you now have an incredibly easy way to cast your Android phone to your PC. There's a new app built into Windows called, appropriately, Connect -- and this is all you need.
Casting from phone to desktop or laptop is a great way to watch videos or share content without the need to transfer files from one device to another. Here's what you need to do to get started.
Ballistic unveils Jewel, Urbanite Select, and Tough Jacket cases for Samsung Galaxy Note7
Android phones are rarely exciting nowadays, save for a few flagships from the major players. No manufacturer of devices running Google's mobile OS is more popular or celebrated than Samsung. It is not hard to see why -- the company listens to users and creates elegant devices to meet needs.
Some of that company's most popular such smartphones are the Galaxy Note line of productivity-focused phablets. The company recently announced the Note7 and it looks downright amazing. If you choose to purchase it, however, you will probably want to protect it with a case. Luckily, today, Ballistic unveils its new line of cases for the Samsung Galaxy Note7.
Google tells Android developers how to squeeze the most money out of mobile gamers
Mobile apps, particularly games, are not just about providing functionality or entertainment to users, they are about making money for developers. This has been the case for some time, and people's reliance on free apps has seen a huge surge in alternative income streams, such as advertising and in-app purchases.
But it's not just developers that reap the financial rewards of micro transactions within apps and games, as Google takes something of a cut. To help improve the flow of money for both parties, Google has shared a number of tips with Android developers that reveal how to "improve game-as-a-service monetization".
Meet Samsung Galaxy Note7
Samsung today unveils one of the most hotly anticipated smartphones of 2016 -- the Galaxy Note7. As the latest flagship in the popular series it builds upon the success of the Galaxy S7 line, featuring similar top of the line hardware, while boasting software enhancements that accommodate the now-famous S Pen.
Quite frankly, no one would blame you for saying that the Galaxy Note7 looks like a stretched out Galaxy S7 edge that has an S Pen at the bottom. Many of the specs are basically the same and, as a first for a device in this series, even the body is waterproof. So what does it bring to the table?
Chrome 52 for Android massively reduces battery and data consumption by video
Google is pushing out Chrome 52 for Android, and the big news with this release relates to video. With video being such a massive component of internet traffic, it is perfectly natural for Google to focus on this area, and the company says that improvements have been made to battery consumption and loading times.
There is a marked shift of focus to speed and power efficiency -- compared to the desktop where the focus has long been quality over everything else.
Google rolls out native notifications to Android users when new devices sign into their accounts
Google continues to take steps to improve the security of Android, and the latest addition starts to roll out today. Lengthily referred to as "Android notifications for newly added devices", the feature does exactly what you would expect it to do.
Whenever a new device is added to an account, a native Android notification will appear. This gives users the opportunity to review the device and determine whether it is something suspicious.
Microsoft launches beta version of IFTTT competitor Flow for Android
Automation tools for mobiles were something of a craze a little while ago, with the likes of IFTTT proving incredibly popular. Last month, Microsoft released its own automation tools, Flow, to iOS users, and now a beta version has been launched for Android.
Microsoft's take on automation is very much what you would expect -- it's all about connecting different cloud services and apps, and getting them to work together in a helpful way.
First Android 7.0 Nougat smartphone to be LG V20
LG must know something about its competitors' plans for the next version of Android, because it wants everyone to know that it will be the first vendor to ship a new smartphone with Nougat on board.
The smartphone in question is called V20, and it is the successor to the V10 that LG unveiled nearly one year ago. It will reach store shelves in the coming quarter -- or at least two months from now.
Android 7.0 Nougat could launch on August 5 -- without Nexus 5 support
We waited for an age to find out what Android 7.0 (or Android N) was going to be called -- Nougat, as we all now know -- and the next natural question is: when will we get it?
If the usually-reliable Evan Blass is correct, it might only be a matter of days before the rollout starts. In a tweet over the weekend, the tipster said that Android 7.0 will be released at the same time as the August security patch -- on August 5.
The SwiftKey keyboard app is busy leaking email addresses and phone numbers to strangers
Who doesn't love a good AI-driven keyboard, eh? Well, people who have discovered that the keyboard is sending their email address and phone number to strangers, for starters. And that seems to be precisely what's happening with SwiftKey.
The Microsoft-owned company has disabled the syncing of data between devices after users complained not only about the appearance of unknown email addresses and phone numbers in suggestions, but also suggestions in unknown foreign languages. The problem became apparent when users who saw the random email address suggestions contacted the owner of the address.
Google brings add-ons to Docs and Sheets on Android
With a desktop word processor and spreadsheet, you have great power to create a range of documents. The move to the cloud and mobile means that popular Office suites have been ported to mobile platforms, and this usually means missing out on key features -- like add-ons.
Today, this changes as Google has announced that Android add-ons for Docs and Sheets are now available. This means that Google's mobile office tools can be extended with add-ons like DocuSign, Scanbot and Zoho CRM.
At last! Google Play Family Library lets you share purchased apps, games and movies with others
It's something that Android users have been begging for -- the ability to buy an app once, and share it with members of the family. Until now, one way around the problem was to create a shared family account that could be used to download everything, but now Google has a better solution: Google Play Family Library.
This new feature not only lets you share purchased apps with up to six family members, but also games, movies, TV shows and books. It's something that could save Android-using families a good deal of money, and it's rolling out right now.
BlackBerry claims its second Android smartphone is 'world's most secure'
BlackBerry's Priv, hasn't quite been a huge hit with consumers, but the company is not ready to give up just yet as it has introduced its second Android handset, called DTEK50. The selling point? BlackBerry claims that it is the "world's most secure Android smartphone".
The market for privacy and security-focused smartphones seems to be quite small -- insignificant, really -- if we are to look at how poorly Priv and Silent Circle's Blackphone have been selling so far. And it is hard to see how the new DTEK50 will change that.
Microsoft boosts the intelligence of Office with Zoom for PowerPoint, Focused Inbox for Outlook, and more
Microsoft today announced a series of updates for its Office apps which help to make the suite more intelligent than ever. There's a strong focus on workflow and efficiency, and things kick off with the Researcher tool. This provides context-sensitive research materials that can be accessed from within Word and quickly added to a document complete with properly formatted citations.
Microsoft says that Researcher will continue to expand to include "sources like national science and health centers, well-known encyclopedias, history databases and more". But this is far from being the only new tool to be added in the latest monthly update.
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