Stephen is Growth Director at 9to5. You can find his current work at 9to5Mac, 9to5Google 9to5Toys, Electrek, and more. If you want to get in touch, follow me on Twitter. Or, email at stephen (at) 9to5mac (dot) com, or an encrypted email at hallstephenj (at) protonmail (dot) com.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is expected to be unveiled next week at IFA 2014 in Berlin, but as we inch closer to its official unveiling, more and more details continue to surface. Today, we’re hearing (via SamMobile) that the device will sport Synaptics’ Natural ID, which happens to be the same technology found on the Galaxy S5 and expected to be part of the Galaxy Alpha. Not only that, but the Note 4 will apparently also ship with some new software features as well.
It seems as if almost every flagship smartphone has managed to explode in the pocket of its owner at some point, and today we’re adding the OnePlus One to that list. In a post made by one user of the OnePlus forum MiYzu, we get a great illustration of just how scary it can be when a lithium ion battery just decides to catch fire.
Whether or not it was truly an accident is up for debate, but it appears that Sony has just shown off a couple of new devices in some promotional materials posted to the company’s Facebook page. As you might expect, the photo has of course already been pulled (which means there’s almost surely something here we shouldn’t know about yet).
Rumors have been swirling for the last few weeks that LG was prepping to unveil the second generation G Watch at IFA, but most accepted that this was preposterous given how we’re only a couple of months into the first version’s existence. But it appears that while LG probably doesn’t have a second generation square watch ready to be unveiled next week, they do have a round watch to show us that will conveniently steal much of the Moto 360’s spotlight.
As you surely know, the Ice Bucket Challenge has been making the rounds lately in support of ALS awareness. Recently, Samsung turned the trend into an advertisement of sorts, dumping a bucket of water on the Galaxy S5 and calling out its competitors. Moreover, the Android team took to their Google+ page yesterday with a cute GIF showing the droid mascot being dunked and linking to the ALSA donate page.
But Google isn’t done yet, as it appears the Dublin team decided to attempt what is one of the bigger collaborative ice bucket challenges I’ve seen. Hundreds of people congregated to dunk themselves in a line, and it looks like they even brought in the fire department to shower everyone with water. The team says that they earned €6,105 for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. Check out the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB6jH99aiTY
Android “L” is of course official and on its way, but we still have no way of knowing for sure what that mysterious L is going to stand for. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun speculating what kind of sugary goodness will be the name of the next major Android release. New evidence (via Android Police) pits LMP—which would stand for Lemon Meringue Pie—as the key to knowing what direction Google is taking this time around.
It seems as if Google’s Project Ara modular smartphone project is coming along nicely, despite a few manufacturing setbacks. There was apparently a problem with manufacturing devices for those who won units at Google I/O, but Google yesterday announced some exciting developments: the third iteration of Ara is planned to sport a custom-made system-on-a-chip made in collaboration with Rockchip, which is going to be made with the unique form factor of the device in mind.
Evan Blass, who recently retired from his full time gig of sharing countless leaks under the moniker @evleaks on Twitter, has shared one last image—depicting in both black and white versions what looks to be the much-rumored and much-hyped Moto X+1. And just a couple weeks ahead of Motorola’s September 4th press event, it won’t be long before we see this device in the flesh.
There’s always been much debate over whether or not the intense fragmentation of the Android ecosystem is a good thing, but I think the latest Android fragmentation report from OpenSignal puts it best: “Fragmentation is both a strength and weakness of the Android ecosystem, a headache for developers that also provides the basis for Android’s global reach.” This report gives us a great look at where Android stands as a platform, does a bit of comparing it to iOS, and visualizes (not so?) neatly how fragmented Google’s mobile operating system truly is.
Google today announced a new feature for its Google Search app for Android, catering to the billions of people in the world who speak more than one language. Previously, you had to manually switch between the language you wanted Google to recognize, but now you’re just a flick of a switch away from being able to speak in multiple languages at once—and Google will be able seamlessly switch with you.
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Google is getting ready to push out the latest update for Google Glass—numbered XE 20.1—and with it is coming some pretty major changes to how contacts are handled, notably allowing users to access all contacts by voice via Google Contacts. Also included in this update is the ability to actually choose which method you would like to use when sending a contact a message—Hangouts, email, or SMS.
Your entire phone address book is now available on Glass thanks to Google Contacts. You can access 20 of your most recent and starred contacts by voice and the rest are just a swipe away. Starring a contact is really easy. Just find them in your phone and click the star. If the star is filled in, then the contact has been favorited.
Minuum just keeps on getting better with each update, and this one—as described on the company’s blog—gives you the flexibility to move the keyboard around the screen as you please by way of a couple new keyboard modes. The first of them is called floating mode, which lets you move the keyboard around at will as you can see in the above image. Secondly, compact mode is functionally similar to floating mode, and lets you dock the keyboard to different locations on the screen. Also included in this update is the ability for users to change how periods work when double tapping the space bar. Finally, some buttons—including layer and mode—have been removed from the shift menu to reduce clutter.
You can grab the updated Minuum from the Play Store.
Pushbullet is one of the more essential utilities when it comes to making my daily workflow a breeze, and today the team behind it has announced that app has been updated to include a small but potentially game-changing feature—not just for me, but for everyone who uses an Android phone and a Windows PC. I think it’s obvious how many benefits would come from being able to quickly and seamlessly copy & paste text across platforms, and the latest version of Pushbullet for Android takes the cross-platform notification and file sharing app to the next level by letting you do just that.
Yesterday we told you about a patent that was granted to Google last week, featuring what appears to be an alternate design for Google Glass. Described as a “wearable display device,” the patent shows a pair of normal glasses with the display technology fitted on the inside—which is unlike the current model’s externally-fitted projector and prism.
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A new patent granted to Google last week (via Glass Almanac) depicts a hardware revision that may become part of future iterations of Google Glass, and it looks like the Mountain View company is attempting to tackle the social stigma that comes with wearing a pair of glasses fitted with an external prism and projector. The patent, labeled as D710,928 on the patent and trademark office website, is described as simply a “wearable display device” and features a set of images showing what looks like a normal pair of glasses with a transparent display on the inside.
If you haven’t heard of Simple, it’s definitely one of the most 2014-friendly banks out there. Known for its excellent mobile applications, the bank works just like any bank, but gives you a plethora features in both its mobile and web applications to make banking and tracking spending much easier. Today, the company is pushing version 2.0 of the app to Android and iOS users—and the latter will be especially happy because the app still hadn’t been updated to match the iOS 7 aesthetic until today.
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The Moto X has been out for a while now and it’s very likely—almost certain—that we’ll be seeing the unveiling of its successor sooner rather than later. And as may be partly due to this fact, the company is now offering the famed wooden back on its Moto Maker website for free through August 21st (via Android Central).
Motorola has offered countless discounts on the Moto X and its accessories over the last year, so this really comes at no real surprise. The wood back would normally tack an additional $25 onto the purchase of this off-contract $350 phone. Included in the promotion are all four styles, including walnut, ebony, bamboo, and teak.
Make your way over to the Moto Maker website to see for yourself!
Android Wear is definitely getting a lot of attention over in Mountain View, and the company behind what has easily become the current top-dog smartwatch platform is now trying to make it even more clear why you need Android on your wrist. The LG G Watch and the Samsung Galaxy Gear are already out and making waves in the industry, and with the Moto 360 not far off—and presumably the competition as well–it seems as if Google is now ready to make sure you’re aware of all the great things Wear can do for you.
Motorola just started sending out invites for a September 4th event, and it appears that there are going to be four stars of that show. One of them is expected to be the much-rumored next-generation Motorola flagship dubbed the “X+1,” and once again, some benchmarks for a not-so-mysterious device with model number XT1097 have appeared on the internet (via Phone Arena). The latest tests show some of the very same hardware that has been rumored for this particular device in the past, and with the announcement not far off, there’s a good chance it’s real.
In the latest builds of Google’s Canary release channel of Chrome, there’s an interesting new feature popping up: the ability to press a single button to load a saved copy of a webpage you’ve previously visited. The feature surfaced less than a week after Google silently launched 64-bit versions of the Canary and Dev channels for Mac OS X.
This handy new feature can come in handy if you just need to quickly view a webpage and you’re finding yourself without a connection. But of course, you’ll only be able to view cached versions of webpages that are actually cached—you’ll need to have visited the page at some point prior. To try out the feature, you’ll need the Canary build of Chrome which can be downloaded here.
The Chromecast’s capabilities just keep expanding, and today—as a special treat for those of us who actually use Google’s social network—you’ll find that you can now cast your Google+ feed directly to a Chromecast-connected device. The app has long been able to cast your photos, but apparently you can now send your entire feed full of posts and images to your TV to be viewed in their full glory (via iTechTriad).
After selecting your destination device, the app can automatically pan through all of your posts and you can just sit back and watch. But of course, if you’d rather have control, you can also flip through posts at your own pace. The updated app is supposedly being pushed through Google Play, but it appears that the feature is being flipped server-side. But once it’s on for you, you’ll be able to view photos, videos, and text via Chromecast at the tap of a button.
According to various reports swirling across the internet, Google is once again limiting the number of devices that users can disassociate with their Play Music accounts. Long time users of the music service can probably remember a time in 2012 when this policy was in place, and for one reason or another, the restriction was lifted. Apparently, now it’s back (via Android Central).
Google yesterday kicked off what it’s calling the #PlaySale in 17 countries, and with it comes some fantastic deals across the marketplace. Tons of movies are going on sale to be available for less than $10, tons of apps are going free, and hit games are getting some steep discounts.
Be sure to check out Google’s discounted movies feature page, where you’ll find titles like Anchorman 2, Gravity, Son of God, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, all for less than $10. Likewise, Google is touting “up to 85% off and more!” on a huge selection of apps and games, where you’ll find everything from indie games to popular third-party apps. Also, as an added bonus, you’ll find that many apps are offering discounts on in-app purchases as well.
17 countries are about to get the lowest prices of the year on new titles. Check out #PlaySale http://t.co/0rhDnZfUu9 pic.twitter.com/T8xE1sktPp
— Google Play (@GooglePlay) August 8, 2014
Google says it has been testing changes to its search algorithms that will give secure, encrypted websites — as shown by HTTPS in their URL — ranking preference over those that do not. Google as a company prioritizes security, and as more and more webmasters are adopting HTTPS, the company hopes that this change will push more webmasters to do the same.