Extend Android device battery life with AMOLED mnml Wallpapers
It’s been known for a long time that using dark wallpaper on devices with AMOLED screens can save energy and extend battery life. Exactly how much you’ll save depends on the wallpaper, your device and how it’s used, but typical figures are 5 to 15 percent.
AMOLED mnml Wallpapers is a straightforward ad-free Android app which provides a host of minimalist wallpapers to explore.
Google makes the mobile internet safer with reCAPTCHA Android API
On the tenth anniversary of the arrival of reCAPTCHA, Google announces the first reCAPTCHA Android API as part of Google Play Services. The API makes it easier for reCAPTCHA to differentiate between humans and bots.
Just as reCAPTCHA has evolved over the years into Invisible reCAPTCHA, the aim with reCAPTCHA Android API is to cut down on spam and abuse in as unintrusive a way as possible.
Apple now allows you to tip developers via in-app purchases -- and creams a bit off the top for itself
If you're particularly fond of an app, you may feel like showing your appreciation to the developer by throwing a little money in their direction. Apple is now making this possible by permitting tipping from within apps using in-app purchases.
This is great news for developers who had previously found Apple cracking down on tipping, but it's also good news for Apple's finances. Updated App Store policies permit developers to enable in-app tipping, and Apple takes a 30 percent commission for this privilege.
Google updates Developer Program Policies to fight incentivized app ratings, reviews and installs
Google has taken various steps over the years to try to combat dangerous apps in the Play Store, but this is far from being the only problem Google Play suffers from. There is also the ongoing issue of fake app reviews, incentivized activity, and other means of user manipulation.
Having already put in place some measures to crack down on such activities, Google is now updating its Developer Program Policies. It warns developers that they must "not attempt to manipulate the placement of any apps in the Store" and while banning the bribing of users is nothing new, here Google is aiming to provide additional clarity.
Apple completely redesigns the App Store, introduces entirely new sections and promotes in-app purchases
Yesterday at WWDC 2017 Apple not only announced details of iOS 11, the company also unveiled a completely redesigned App Store. Central to the entire iOS experience, the change is due to arrive later in the year, and when we say it's a complete redesign, we mean it's a complete redesign.
It goes without saying that Apple refers to the redesign as "beautiful," and the extreme makeover is something that has been a long time coming. But while the look of the store is markedly different to its current incarnation, it is still somewhat familiar. It borrows style ideas from iOS 10's Music and News apps.
How the automotive industry can benefit from an after sales app
In the new digital communications age it’s often the simplest, yet most elegant solutions that capture our imaginations and take off. People across the world have fallen in love with the sleek, pocket-friendly form of the iPhone, for example, or the pared-back concept of Twitter. Consumers can follow the journey of low-cost goods such as a coffee maker from Amazon or a pizza from Dominos from the warehouse to their doorstep quickly and easily via their smartphone or tablet. In London each week, 30,000 people download the Uber app knowing that this will enable them to hail a taxi with a swipe of the technology in their pocket.
The automotive industry has been among the pacesetters, of course, in embracing stylish innovation. The advent of the driverless car and the use of virtual reality and other immersive technologies like augmented reality to drive marketing and sales of vehicles provide compelling examples of how pioneering the sector can be. Car servicing has remained a stubbornly conservative low-tech industry until recently, however.
How Zombies, Run! got nearly 4 million downloads
If you’ve developed an app then the last thing you want to see is it languishing in the app stores, attracting just one or two downloads a week. The dream is to see it "fly off the virtual shelf," attracting hordes of fans who willingly pay to use your app.
So, what is the secret? Unfortunately, just having a great idea isn’t enough. For every app success, there are 10 great ideas that just never get that much interest. But why?
Microsoft releases Face Swap app for Android
After selfie taking, the act of face swapping is an incredibly common use for smartphones. iPhone users have a plethora of tools to choose from -- as, indeed, do those who prefer Android devices, and Microsoft has decided to get in on the action with the appropriately-named Face Swap app for Android.
The free app does very much what you would expect -- combining the joy of selfies with the fun of face swapping. Snap a selfie and you can then swap faces from another photo -- it's a simple idea, and Microsoft has put its own twist on it by integrating Bing Image search.
Is Apple about to release a file manager for iOS at WWDC?
It's Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) this week, and while we are very unlikely to hear anything about the iPhone 8, there's sure to be plenty of news to come. However, ahead of the start of the conference, it seems that Apple has accidentally let slip its iOS file manager.
A new, largely blank entry in the App Store was spotted by a developer. It shows a new app called, imaginatively enough, Files. The icon is Apple-y in style, would be appropriate for a file manager app, and the listing indicates that iOS 11 and up is needed.
Automatically change Android device settings with AUTOSET
AUTOSET is an interesting $2 app which enables altering your Android device settings when you run an app, when an event happens, on a particular schedule, and more. This opens up all kinds of possibilities. Choose a navigation app in AUTOSET’s list, for instance, and you could increase the screen brightness and media volume.
You could use Wi-Fi more selectively by configuring your device to turn it on when you run YouTube and similar apps, and turn it off when they close.
Microsoft unveils a massive redesign of Skype, heavily plagiarizing Snapchat
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, there's a hell of a lot of flattery going on in the world of chat and messaging apps. Such is the level of feature borrowing and design inspiration that we're entering a phase of unbridled homogeneity. This isn’t enough to put off Microsoft, of course, and today the company lifts the lid on its latest -- and arguably most radical -- redesign of Skype.
Coming first to Android -- as is becoming increasingly common for Microsoft these days -- the Skype redesign boasts a fresh new look that makes it clear from the start that things are going to be different around here. While Skype is well known for its voice and video calling capabilities, now the focus switches rather more toward messaging; as Microsoft puts it: "chatting is front and center."
Turn your phone or tablet into a mobile scanner with Adobe Scan
Adobe has released Adobe Scan 17.05.31 for iPhone, iPad and Android mobiles. The app allows users to turn their mobile camera into a scanner for various types of paper document, including receipts and magazine pages.
Apps that turn your phone or tablet into a portable scanner are two-a-penny, so at first glance Adobe Scan looks like a very late gate crasher to a party that’s already in full flow. But it claims one major advantage over its rivals: OCR support for free.
Microsoft Planner now available for Android
Nearly two weeks after introducing the iPhone app, Microsoft officially announces the availability of Planner on Android. The tool was released a year ago to help teams using Office 365 better manage and collaborate on projects.
Microsoft says that Planner is available to Office 365 subscribers on the Business Essentials, Business Premium, Enterprise E1 to E5 and Education plans.
Samsung SoundAssistant gives you more audio controls for your Galaxy device
Samsung has released a new app which is designed to give users more control over the audio on their Galaxy devices. It's called SoundAssistant and it is compatible with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 lines as well as other handsets running the latest version of Android.
There are three main features in SoundAssistant that are worth your attention. First is the option to change the behavior of the volume keys which, by default, will raise or decrease the volume for the ringtone.
Google lets developers exclude app support for rooted Android devices
Netflix is the first big name on Google Play to block Android devices that are rooted or have an unlocked bootloader from downloading its app. And it looks like it may not be the last, as now Google is officially giving all developers the option to do the same.
Developers on Google Play can enforce support exclusions based on a device's SafetyNet status, which is also what Netflix has used to restrict access. Out of the box, rooted devices or devices with an unlocked bootloader are supported, but developers have two options that they can choose to change that.
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