#Android
498 Stories
Google Proposes to End Mandatory App Bundling on Android in Antitrust Case
Arjun Sha
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In the antitrust case, Google is proposing some remedies to end its monopolistic practices. It will unbundle Google apps and Android device manufacturers will have the freedom to choose Google apps individually. However, Google also maintains that it must be allowed to do deals with companies like Apple and Mozilla.
Microsoft will soon discontinue it in March 2025. However, for those who still want to use Android apps on Windows, there are many ways to do so other than WSA. You can download the Play Games Developer Emulator, use Phone Link to stream apps directly from your phone, or use WSABuilds project till WSA remains up and running.
Android 16 Developer Preview 2 Released for Pixel Phones: Here’s Everything New
Anshuman Jain
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Google is rolling out the second Developer Preview for Android 16, and it is available for Pixel 6 and above devices. The update brings along minor improvements that are mainly targeted towards Pixel devices like the ability to unlock the phone with the screen off, and enhanced Now Playing feature. It also includes several under the hood improvements.
Android 16’s New API Will Make Your Night Mode Photos Look Much Better
Anshuman Jain
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The upcoming Android 16 update will introduce a Night Mode Indicator API, allowing apps to detect ambient light situations and adjust their camera settings accordingly. This feature will improve low-light photo quality in apps like Instagram and Snapchat, with three distinct values for different lighting conditions.
Android 16 May Help Tame Your Notification Chaos with Gmail-Style Categories
Abubakar Mohammed
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Bundled Notifications on Android will silence and group notifications with similar themes will for a quieter and cleaner experience. Notifications will be categorized just like Gmail categorizes emails across — Promotions, Social, and Recommendations.
Gemini on Android now lets you perform local actions quickly, thanks to the Utilities extension. You can also perform multiple local actions at once. For example, you can say, "Turn off battery saver and take a selfie with a 10-second timer."
Google’s New Play Integrity Changes Could Lock Out Banking Apps for Millions of Android Users
Abubakar Mohammed
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Google has announced that devices with Android 13 and above will have new verdicts starting May 2025. This means apps, especially from the banking and government sectors, could require you to be on the latest security patch for them to function normally. If not, your Android devices will be demoted to meets-basic-integrity, which may lead to banking apps ceasing to work
Looking for the best Cyber Monday deals on the top Android phones out there? Then, you've come to the right place, and will find a comprehensive list of the best such deals and discounts right here!
Android Is Solving One of My Biggest Headaches with Switching to a New Phone
Abubakar Mohammed
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Android is getting rid of the need to sign into Android apps after transferring your data onto a new smartphone using a new Restore Credentials feature. The feature is a part of the Credentials Manager API and will be available on all Android devices running Android 9.0 and above.
Google is working on a high-end Pixel laptop codenamed "Snowy". The project was approved recently and the development has moved past the concept phase and Google has assigned a team to work on it.
Google May Kill ChromeOS in Favor of Android on Tablets and Laptops
Abubakar Mohammed
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Google plans to merge ChromeOS into Android, meaning that future Google-branded laptops will ship with Android instead of ChromeOS. This move is aimed at helping Google penetrate a market where they haven't been successful -- tablets -- largely due to Apple's dominance.
Google's Digital Wellbeing is getting a new feature called Screen Time Reminders. This feature shows a pop-up in iOS-like fashion and alerts users when they've spent a lot of time on distracting apps. The feature is currently rolling out to a select group of users and will be available for everyone later down the line.
This Google App Helps You Verify If You’re Chatting with the Right Person
Abubakar Mohammed
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How do you know the person you're texting is actually the person you intend to text? Google has introduced a new system app called Android System Key Verifier that aims to solve just that. It can be used to scan the opposite party's QR code and verify keys to ensure you're texting the actual person and not an imposter.
Android 16 Release Date Has Already Leaked and It’s Much Earlier than We Thought
Abubakar Mohammed
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The release date for Android 16 is set to be June 3, 2025. This time, Android 16 will be released on the same day on both AOSP and Pixels, unlike Android 15, which rolled out much later after hitting AOSP. The development also means the next flagship from Google - the Pixel 10, will come with Android 16 out of the box.
In our benchmark testing, we find that Snapdragon 8 Elite's Oryon CPU performs better than Arm's Cortex cores, available in Dimensity 9400. That said, on the GPU front, Dimensity 9400 outranks the Snapdragon 8 Elite narrowly. To find out all the benchmark numbers, go through our in-depth comparison.
We have compared the Snapdragon 8 Elite and A18 Pro by running various benchmarks including Geekbench, 3DMark, AnTuTu, and more. In our Geekbench test, the A18 Pro beats the Snapdragon 8 Elite in single-core tasks, however, in multi-core, the Snapdragon 8 Elite outranks the A18 Pro. In GPU performance, the Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers a stellar performance.
We have conducted several benchmarks on the Snapdragon 8 Elite to evaluate its performance and efficiency. The 2nd-gen Oryon CPU is truly impressive and the new Adreno 830 GPU hits it out of the park. Go through our article to check all our findings.
There are plenty of third-party file managers on Android but not all of them are great. The built-in file managers are great but if you want a more feature-rich app, Files by Google, Astro File Manager, and Total Commander are some of the best file managers you can download on Android.
Podcasts can be heard without much effort and require significantly less data and if you're on Android, you'll be spoiled by the choice of podcast apps because there are plenty of them. Some of the best podcast apps you can use on Androiid are Spotify, YouTube Music, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, and CastBox.
In the upcoming Android 16, Google could introduce resizable toggles and a separate page for notifications, similar to iOS. The quick settings panel will be able to fit more toggles, up to 16, with resizable tiles. The final version of the QS panel in Android 16 is subject to change, as Google has previously removed features in beta versions.
For the Tensor G5, Google is moving to TSMC's 3nm (N3E) process node. However, it still packs the older Cortex-X4 core. For GPU, Google has picked Imagination Technologies's 2-core GPU.
Many smartphone manufacturers have already announced their upcoming devices with the 8 Elite platform. OnePlus, Samsung, iQOO, Realme, Xiaomi, HONOR, ASUS, and REDMAGIC are all launching a device with 8 Elite SoC in a few months. Some of the popular phones include the OnePlus 13, Galaxy S25 series, iQOO 13, and Realme GT 7 Pro.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: MediaTek Outshines Qualcomm in One Way
Sagnik Das Gupta
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The Snapdragon 8 Elite does better than Dimensity 9400 in CPU performance. However, in graphics tests, the Dimensity 9400 narrowly beats the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset brings the second-gen Oryon CPU. It delivers powerful multi-core performance, however, in single-core tasks, Apple still takes the lead. The Adreno 830 GPU is very performant and outpaces the 6-core A18 Pro GPU.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Brings Apple-like Precision to Android Location Tracking
Anshuman Jain
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The Snapdragon 8 Elite Processor will include an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) chip as part of the Fastconnect 7900 connectivity suite. This integration could increase UWB chip adoption in Android smartphones, currently lacking in most models. The UWB chip, known for accurate location tracking, could improve finding lost or stolen devices.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Makes 8 Years of Android Updates a Reality; Can Qualcomm Deliver Though?
Anshuman Jain
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Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset promises up to 8 years of Android updates, a significant increase from the current 4-year limit. This change is expected to enable device manufacturers to offer longer software support for their products. While it's not guaranteed that all brands will provide extended support, this move by Qualcomm could lead to longer-lasting Android smartphones.
Qualcomm has released its most powerful smartphone chipset yet with the 2nd-gen Oryon CPU cores. The Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers a massive 40% faster CPU performance. And the new Adreno 830 GPU promises 40% performance improvement. Overall, the new chipset is 27% more power-efficient.
Google Chrome for Android Just Stole a Cool Feature from Safari
Abubakar Mohammed
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Google is rolling out a server-side update to Chrome 130 users that now enables the Listen to this page feature to work even if you switch to other apps or turn your phone's screen off. It's similar to Safari's Listen to Page feature, which has had background playback capabilities since its inception.
This article contains all the new features, improvements and other changes that Android 15 has brought to the table . Some of the key features that are new to Android include Private Space, App Pairs, Audio Sharing, and more.
Android 15 update brings a new app archiving feature on the system level. This feature allows users to archive apps they don't use often, saving space and preserving their data, just like iOS's Offload App feature. App archiving is not new, the feature already available from the Google Play Store.
Android 15 is finally out and it brings many small improvements and features that make it a pretty significant release. Some of the new features include App Pairs, Private Space, Notification Cooldown, Partial Screen Recording, and lots of security and UI enhancements and features.
The US DOJ has submitted a proposed framework of remedies to the court in order to end Google's monopoly in the search engine market. The Justice Department seeks to split Android and Chrome, among other things. Google calls the proposed sanction "radical" and says it may hurt end consumers.
Here’s How to Access Android Phone Storage Directly in Windows 11 File Explorer
Arjun Sha
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You can now access your Android phone's storage directly in Windows 11 File Explorer. You just have to set up Phone Link and enable "Show mobile device in File Explorer" in Windows Settings. You can access all the directories and copy files even when your phone is locked.
In this article we have discussed different ways of how you can reboot your Android smartphone or tablet. The first method involves the traditional way of pressing down the Power + Volume Up button, then you can bring down Android quick settings and using the Power menu, restart the device. You can also long press on the Restart option to boot your phone into safe mode.
Google Boosts Android Security in India with Enhanced Fraud Protection
Anshuman Jain
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Google is introducing an Enhanced Fraud Protection feature for Android users in India, following a successful 6-month trial in Singapore. This feature will block the installation of apps that attempt to capture sensitive information, aiming to prevent financial scams. It's part of Google's Digi Kavach program and will work with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.
Android 16, codenamed "Baklava" breaks Google's more than a decade long desert-naming tradition. This change is due to Google's trunk stable project, which started with Android 14 QPR 2 and used 'A' as the first build ID. This new naming scheme may indicate a shift in Android's development direction. The official version will still be denoted by a number.
Google's Phone app is reportedly testing a redesign, taking inspiration from iOS' call screen interface. The new layout features two buttons for accepting or declining calls, with the decline button on the left and accept on the right, similar to iOS.
The process of retrieving deleted messages may differ from platform to platform. While most platforms do not have a means to recover deleted messages, you can restore them from backups or from Archived messages and Trash.
According to a report, Google could release the stable version of Android 15 next month, on October 15. Compared to previous release, this is a bit late, but because Google reportedly wants to ensure there are few to no bugs on day one. The update should hit Pixel 6 and newer models followed by devices from other manufacturers.
Android Will Soon Let You Sync Notifications Across Multiple Phones
Abubakar Mohammed
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Google may soon add a Sync Notifications feature to Cross-platform services which will allow notifications to sync across two or more Android devices. The option will appear in the Notification settings and Cross-device services in Google Play Services.
Android will soon get a feature similar to the Apple Stolen Device Protection, further improving the security of your apps. Once the new protection feature rolls out, Android will ask for your fingerprint before accessing important data like credit card info and passwords.
The latest Android 15 QPR 1 Beta 2 introduces desktop window support for Android devices, allowing apps to run in free-form window mode, which can be resized and moved around the screen. This feature, available in the Developer Options, is particularly beneficial for tablets and foldable devices, enabling multitasking and better use of large screen real estate.