#Android
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Google is transitioning Android development entirely to an internal branch. While the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) remains accessible, developers will face challenges in tracking and contributing to progress. This move aims to streamline Android developement processes but may limit transparency.
The process of scheduling text messages is much easier now, thanks to Google solving Android's messaging fragmentation. Google Messages is now comes built-in on almost all Android smartphones, which means there's only one size fits all method to schedule text messages on Android. All you need to do is click the "+" icon > Schedule message send > type your text > select date and time > click paper plane icon. Besides, you can also use third-party apps like Textra, SMS Organizer, and Auto Text.
In a feature request on Android's IssueTracker where a user asked the developers to open-source Debian VM tweaks and tell them the exact purpose of the VM, a Google engineer replied he main purpose of the Linux terminal feature is to bring more apps (Linux apps/tools/games) into Android, but NOT to bring yet another desktop environment. This more or less confirms that Google wants Android users to be able to run Desktop Linux apps, just like on ChromeOS. Adding to the statement, the engineer also said that Google's not against users or manufacturers installing or shipping another Linux Destop Environment like GNOME or KDE. Linux apps, for the most part, will use Android's native desktop windowing system.
Google Is Retiring Assistant on Android, Will Be Replaced by Gemini This Year
Abubakar Mohammed
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Google has confirmed in an official blog post that it's killing Google Assistant on most devices later this year. All the Android devices with Android 10 and above and 2 GB+ RAM will switch to Gemini and no longer have the option to use the Assistant. The inherent switch is all thanks to the number of features Gemini on Android has gained since its launch. It supports various app extensions like Google Workspace, WhatsApp, Spotify, YouTube/Music, and many utilities. Google also rolled out Gemini Live on the app for a natural conversation feel, and will be rolling out more in the coming months.
With version 1.2025.070, the “Default digital assistant app” page in the Settings app shows ChatGPT as one of the options. All you need to do is select ChatGPT to set it as your default assistant. Besides, you can also assign the long-press power button shortcut to ChatGPT for easy access. The feature might not be rolling out to all Beta users, though, as using the latest Beta, we couldn't see the option in settings. The overlay bubble clearly needs some polish as the animations are still far off from what Gemini or Perplexity offer.
Android 16 Beta 3 Is Here with Battery Health, Outline Text, and a New Easter Egg
Abubakar Mohammed
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Android 16 Beta 3 is now rolling out to all Pixel 6 and above devices and fixes a few issues with the previous builds. The update also incorporates the latest March security patch, and the changelog highlights fixes for issues such as battery drain, outdated At a Glance information, performance, and Bluetooth pairing. Besides, it brings a few new features like Auracast support for Pixel 9 series, Outline text, which makes the text easier to read, and Local Network Protection, alongside an easter egg teasing Android 16's Live Activities.
In an FAQ published on the Android Developers Blog, Google has confirmed that lock screen widgets are coming to AOSP for tablets and smartphones after Android 16 QPR1. For those wondering when the update will hit AOSP, it's scheduled for late Summer 2025, which probably means sometime in September this year. Android expert Mishaal Rahman enabled Lock Screen Widgets on his device. The widgets can be accessed by swiping right on the lock screen, just like on the Pixel Tablet.
The latest Android 16 Beta 2 update reveals a potential battery health feature, allowing users to view their battery's current capacity compared to a new one. The feature will be available in Settings > Battery > Battery health, and also includes options for charging optimization and recalibrating battery measurements.
While enthusiasts were expecting big UI improvements like the revamped Quick Settings panel to hit Android 16, that's unfortunately not the case. Android 16 Beta 2 brings a few features but they are mostly minor like a switch user widget, changes to the measurement system, and double press power button to open Wallet.
While there's no direct option to disable voicemail on Android, there are still a few ways to do so alongside a few workarounds. You can ask your carrier to disable voicemail, fill up the voicemail storage by recording your own voicemails, or use/disable call forwarding to forward them or stop voicemails from accommodating.
Android’s New Identity Check Feature is Rolling out to Pixel Devices
Abubakar Mohammed
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Google is finally rolling out Identity Check to Pixel devices. Once set up, the feature will activate when your phone is outside the zone you set up in Trusted places. Android will then ask your biometrics to access things like your Google account settings and information-sensitive pages. This ensures that in the event your phone is stolen, even if the thief knows the PIN or password of your device, they cannot access sensitive information without biometrics.
While the basic method to take a screenshot on an Android device has remained the same, there are other ways to take screenshots on Android. Some of them are three-finger swipe gestures, double tap, Quick Assist ball, using Gemini, and taking scrolling screenshots.
A custom ROM is one of the ways by which you can revive your old Phone that's no longer supported by the manufacturer. For starters, the new Evolution X, Derpfest, and Project Elixir are all great ROMs with endless customization options. However, if you want to avoid Google services and its data tracking, you could give GrapheneOS a try.
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 Android are Spotify, YouTube Music, Pocket Casts, Podcast Republic, 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.