Android

We told you Wednesday that Nest has some new hardware in the works (likely to be announced at its upcoming June 17th event), and now droid-life has come out with press images of the new Nest Cam—an update to the hardware and branding of the current Dropcam Pro. We also mentioned yesterday that Nest has a new app in the works that will work with all of Nest’s hardware, and it looks like we get to take an early peek at that too…
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Leaked images claim to show a redesigned Hangouts app for Android

Chance Miller Jun 10 2015 - 4:15 pm PT

Update: It looks like there’s going to be an Android Wear app too.

Android Police today has shared a handful of images of what are believed show the 4.0 update that is coming to soon to Google’s Hangouts app on Android. The images show a refreshed interface that Google seemingly hopes will silence the complaints regarding the app’s current interface and design.

Facebook for Android updated w/ ability to ‘like’ posts offline, toggle post notifications, and more

Tom Maxwell Jun 10 2015 - 4:10 pm PT

Facebook for Android has received an update which sees it gain a couple handy new features for keeping up with your wide network of “friends” (sorry, not sorry). Let’s go through them.

The first change is an odd one which lets you “Like” posts, photos, and pages even when you’re offline. These will presumably have to already have been loaded up in the app prior to going offline, and the Like will simply be queued up for delivery to Facebook’s servers once you get back onto a data connection, but it’s an interesting addition nonetheless.

Gmail for Android now has Oauth support for Yahoo and Microsoft accounts

Tom Maxwell Jun 10 2015 - 1:08 pm PT

Google killed its stock email app in favor of Gmail with the release of Android 5.0 Lollipop, but they also made it possible to connect email accounts from other providers including Microsoft and Yahoo. Today they’ve gone ahead and added OAuth support for both of these third-party providers, which means increased security and added features including two-step verification and account recovery. The change will be rolling out to users over the next few days.

OAuth is an open-source standard used for authorization by many large services including Twitter, PayPal, and a bevy of others. In layman’s terms OAuth is used by these service providers to give applications like Gmail for Android a token they can use to access a user account on company servers. It’s considered much safer than simply giving out email-password combinations to apps which could be targeted by outside attacks.

9to5Toys Lunch Break: Galaxy Tab 4 (7-inch) $120, BOGO LG G4 leather covers, Lexar 128GB microSD $73, more

Stephen Hall Jun 10 2015 - 12:43 pm PT

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 SM-T230 7″ White 8 GB: $120 shipped (Reg. $150) | eBay

LG is offering buy one get one free on its attractive leather covers for LG G4 | LG

Lexar High-Performance MicroSDXC (Up to 95MB/s Read) w/USB 3.0 Reader Flash Memory Card $72.99 (Orig. $159.99)

Daily Deals: Onkyo 5.2-Ch Network A/V Receiver $185, Lexar High-Performance MicroSDXC $73, more

Crucial M500 960GB 2.5-inch Internal Solid-State Drive: $290 + $4 shipping (Reg. $340+)

‘Pay what you want’ Mobile-First Developer’s Bundle ($1,740 value, currently $6)

Father’s Day: Tommy Hilfiger, Nordstrom, more up to 50% off, DEWALT tools & gift cards from 20% off, more

More new gear from today:

Sony Bluetooth speakers: SRSX3 in white $80 (Reg. $128), SRSX5 in black $95 (Reg. $150)

Games/Apps: Captain Toad Treasure Tracker $33 Prime shipped, Slayin for iOS goes FREE, more freebies

More deals still alive:

Apple begins selling iPad mini 3 on its refurbished online store

Headphones: Harman SOHOi on-ears $150, Sennheiser HD439 over-ears $40, more
Canon refurbished cameras w/ 1-yr warranty: T5i DSLR w/ 18-55mm Lens Kit $450, more
Pencil by FiftyThree Stylus up to 20% off: Graphite $40, Gold/Walnut $50
2Do task management app for iOS/Apple Watch goes free (Reg. $15)
The ad-free version of Trivia Crack goes free (Reg. $3)
Toms 35+% off: Men’s Leather Searcher Boots $75 (Reg. $149), styles from $27, more
Fox Searchlight 20th Anniv. 21-disc Blu-ray Collection $100, Blu-rays under $5
Brother Wireless Multifunction Laser Printers from $85 shipped
$100 off Apple’s new Macbooks (+Airs/Pros and iMacs) w/.edu email address at Best Buy
Grado SR225e Over-Ear Headphones $150 (Reg. $200), more
Aukey gooseneck adjustable desk mount for iPad: $22 Prime shipped (Reg. $32)
KeySmart 2 key organizer, keeps up to 10 keys organized, shipped: $17 (orig. $23)
Fitbit Charge Wireless Activity and Sleep Wristband for $100 (Reg. $130)
EC Technology 22,400mAh Power Bank $29 Prime shipped (Reg. $39)

New products & more:

June Oven has better specs than MacBook & was designed by former Apple engineers

Dyson’s in-house LED technology is the lifeblood of its gorgeous new desk lamp
Gibson’s new Trainer Bluetooth headphones designed by Usain Bolt
Microsoft announces new $349 Xbox One, 1TB model /updated controllers
Review: Mohu Channels tries to bring your TV services together, Leaf antenna goes on sale
The Smart AC Control from tado° lets your iPhone control your existing air conditione
Bose updates its best-sounding Soundlink Mini II portable Bluetooth speaker
Here Active Listening Earbuds let you control the volume of the world
Microdia plans a microSD card with 512GB of storage space, release in July
Agent 47 returns to iOS with the new Hitman Sniper game
Here’s our first look at the official new Star Wars Uprising RPG for iOS and Android

In controversial move, ZTE begins pre-installing antivirus software on its Android devices

Tom Maxwell Jun 10 2015 - 12:08 pm PT

ZTE is buddying up with security software company AVG to pre-install AVG AntiVirus Pro on all of its new Android tablets and smartphones starting this month, the company announced in a press release. It’s only a 60-day trial, though, so you’ll have to pay up $15 if you want to continue using it after that.
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Facebook’s Messenger Platform gets its first Android game, Doodle Draw

Tom Maxwell Jun 10 2015 - 10:53 am PT

Back in March, Facebook made much noise with its unveiling of Facebook Messenger Platform, a way through which developers can integrate their third-party apps into the company’s popular Messenger app, creating new uses and features for the messaging service. Now, the platform is seeing its first Android game in the form of Doodle Draw.

Evidence of new ‘Smart Burst’ feature appears in latest Google Camera update

Stephen Hall Jun 10 2015 - 10:27 am PT

In a teardown of the official Camera app’s most recent update, evidence has surfaced that Google is likely working on introducing a new “Smart Burst” mode. Taking “burst” photos isn’t a new concept, usually leaving the user with dozens of slightly-different images to sift through (and manually pick the ones that are worth keeping). As its name suggests, “Smart Burst” is probably a smarter version of burst photography, picking the best photos for you based on a variety of metrics.

Of the metrics that Google will reportedly be using to grade photos are the number of faces in the photo, streaking, facial expressions, whether eyes are open, and more.

While bringing a burst mode to the Camera app isn’t exactly groundbreaking (especially as this feature has been done by countless Android OEMs, Apple, and others), it’s nice to see Google bringing more features to its feature-light Camera app. And rather than just copying what others have done, it looks like Google is really trying to improve on an already-existing feature.

But maybe the app’s straightforward and low-bloat interface—with limited features—is one of the reasons the Camera app is so popular. Either way, this feature is almost certainly on the way, and it would make sense that Google would maybe tie it in with better camera hardware in a future Nexus (now wouldn’t that be great?).

For now, you can get version 2.5 of the Camera app, which is where all of this information was pulled from, via the Play Store.

Huawei Watch said to be delayed until September or October

Tom Maxwell Jun 10 2015 - 9:52 am PT

Speaking to Chinese media, He Gang, the head of Huawei’s mobile division, has said that the launch of the company’s first smartwatch, called Huawei Watch, has been delayed until at least September or October, pushing its launch to the latter half of the year. The Huawei Watch was unveiled back at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with the company having said at the time that they were planning for a launch sometime “around the middle of the year.”

The delay can largely be attributed to “incompatibility issues with Android Wear,” according to the reports. In other words, Google Play services being unavailable in China due to strains between the Mountain View company and the People’s Republic of China has meant that Huawei has to build its own smartwatch services to match those built and offered by Google.
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Google’s new location-aware voice search would have been great to debut at I/O

Stephen Hall Jun 10 2015 - 8:55 am PT

Quietly, Google introduced some new location-aware search functions in voice search over the last couple of weeks. The feature lets you perform several searches based on your location, with Google looking at its Maps data to figure out what you’re talking about. For example, you can voice search “how tall is this?” and looking at your location, Google can tell you the height of the building that you’re looking at.
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Verizon LG G Pad 7.0 LTE receiving its Android Lollipop update

Tom Maxwell Jun 10 2015 - 7:23 am PT

The LG G Pad 7.0 was released back in July of 2014 alongside its bigger brother, the G Pad 10.1, and while it doesn’t rock the most high-end specifications, Verizon is giving it some love with an update to Android 5.0.2 Lollipop (yes, not 5.1.1). The software version number is VK41022A.

There isn’t much to be said about this update beyond what we wrote for the Verizon G Pad 10.1’s Lollipop update. LG’s custom UI additions have received a fresh coat of paint to fall in line with Google’s Material Design guidelines and all the features and improvements that are included in Android Lollipop are there – Smart Lock for authenticating the device when other trusted devices are nearby, the Interruptions menu which provides granular control over which app notifications light up your device, Floating Action Buttons, and more.

As always this is a carrier OTA update, so don’t be surprised if it’s a week or more before you see it in your system updates.

9to5Toys Lunch Break: LG G Watch $50, Huawei SnapTo (unlocked) $130, Learn to make apps for $6, more

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 11:52 am PT

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

LG G Watch Android Wear smartwatch refurb: $50 shipped (Reg. $200) | eBay

Huawei SnapTo 4G LTE 8GB flash (unlocked): $130 shipped (Reg. $180) | Best Buy

‘Pay what you want’ Mobile-First Developer’s Bundle ($1,740 value, currently $6)

Father’s Day: Tommy Hilfiger, Nordstrom, more up to 50% off, DEWALT tools & gift cards from 20% off, more

Review: Mohu Channels tries to bring your TV services together, Leaf antenna goes on sale

More new gear from today:

Brother Wireless Multifunction Laser Printers from $85 shipped

Headphones: Harman SOHOi on-ears $150, Sennheiser HD439 over-ears $40, JBL S500 over-ears $68, more

New! Daily Deals: Omaker Power bank $10, Garmin Activity Tracker $80, more
New! Microsoft announces new $349 Xbox One, 1TB model /updated controllers
New! Games/Apps: Bayonetta 2 $45, Retro City Rampage $5, iOS freebies, more

More deals still alive:

Canon refurbished cameras w/ 1-yr warranty: T5i DSLR w/ 18-55mm Lens Kit $450, PowerShot SX510 HS $130, more

Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5-inch Internal SSD: $89 shipped (Reg. $105)
Grado SR225e Over-Ear Headphones $150 (Reg. $200), more
Home: Cuisinart tabletop gas grill $105 (Reg. $160+), more
Aukey gooseneck adjustable desk mount for iPad: $22 Prime shipped (Reg. $32)
KeySmart 2 key organizer, keeps up to 10 keys organized, shipped: $17 (orig. $23)
Fitbit Charge Wireless Activity and Sleep Wristband for $100 (Reg. $130)
12-inch MacBook is available to ship + small discounts and potential tax advantages
EC Technology 22,400mAh Power Bank $29 Prime shipped (Reg. $39)
VicTsing iPhone 6 MFi 3100Ah Battery Case $30 Prime shipped (Reg. $37)
Mac Essentials Bundle: Noiseless, Hider 2, Jump Desktop, more $19.99 ($204 value)

New products & more:

Gibson’s new Trainer Bluetooth headphones designed by Usain Bolt are available for pre-order today

The Smart AC Control from tado° lets your iPhone control your existing air conditione
Bose updates its best-sounding Soundlink Mini II portable Bluetooth speaker
Here Active Listening Earbuds let you control the volume of the world
Microdia plans a microSD card with 512GB of storage space, release in July
Agent 47 returns to iOS with the new Hitman Sniper game
Here’s our first look at the official new Star Wars Uprising RPG for iOS and Android
Logitech’s new Anywhere 2 wireless mouse follows the design of the popular Master MX
Wu-Tang’s RZA joins Boombotix to create speakers w/ exclusive music releases [Interview]
Kingston takes the wraps off its USB-C flash drive lineup
Amazon now ships some smaller items for free even if you don’t have a Prime membership

AT&T LG G4 owners reporting that an OTA update was just pushed without permission

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 11:25 am PT

4 Comments

Update: AT&T has confirmed that they are the source of the update, but hasn’t said why it was pushed or what it contains.

According to several angry reports swirling around on Reddit, Twitter, and elsewhere, either AT&T or LG (or both?) seemingly just pushed a mysterious update to the LG G4 without asking permission. Some users even had their calls dropped while talking and saw their LG G4 reboot in front of their eyes, without a notification that this would happen or any dialog box asking permission…
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Review: The NVIDIA Shield Android TV is the best set-top box you can buy (Video)

Dom Esposito Jun 9 2015 - 11:22 am PT

2 Comments

Today we’re checking out the NVIDIA Shield Pro (500GB model), its optional accessories, and taking a closer look at what this thing actually does. This is a set-top box that’s running Android TV and has quite the feature set to offer…
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Facebook Messenger becomes the 10th app to pass 1 billion installs on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 11:08 am PT

Following Google Play Books passing 1 billion installs earlier today (the 9th app on that list), Facebook Messenger has now officially passed the same landmark, making it the 10th app on the Play Store to do so. I think it’s fair to attribute this to Messenger’s growing adoption since Facebook required that it be installed on iOS devices. It’s still not required for messaging on Android, however.

While several other apps have also passed this mark, only two other apps not created by Google have done so. Facebook’s own official Facebook client is one, while the other is the Facebook-owned WhatsApp client (which notably passed the 1 billion install mark long before Messenger). It’s clear that Zuckerberg and co. have a foothold on the Play Store that no other company does.

Cyanogen OS 12.1 coming to OnePlus One soon, but OxygenOS w/ Android 5.1 will have to wait for OnePlus 2

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 10:46 am PT

Cyanogen, along with announcing a couple of contests aimed at finding 3 people to give exclusive early access to the OnePlus 2, has this morning taken to its forum to give us an update on the current state of software for the OnePlus One and the OnePlus 2. The company says that Cyanogen OS 12.1, updated with Android 5.1 Lollipop is on the way and should arrive soon:

CM12.1, updated to 5.1, is on its way. We have a preview build that’s undergoing factory testing and google certification. You will have it soon.

Sadly, though, if you were hoping for the Android 5.1 updated version of OxygenOS, it looks like you’re going to have to wait for the OnePlus 2. It will be coming to the OnePlus One, however—just after it comes to the OnePlus 2 later this fall. A new build of OxygenOS will be landing soon with touchscreen fixes (also included in the above COS release).

…we won’t have an OTA for the community build of OxygenOS we released back in April for the OnePlus One until after the OnePlus 2 release. We will put up a new build very soon with the touchscreen fix for those of you who are experiencing this problem but we won’t have an official update until we have the resources to do a proper job.

While the company has been talking about the OnePlus 2 a lot this week, we still don’t really know anything about the upcoming handset. That said, the two contests that OnePlus announced today suggest that we might be hearing about the phone sooner than expected, so be sure to keep an ear out for the announcement—with OnePlus, we know it’s going to be teased (a lot).

Google Play Books passes the 1 billion install mark on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 10:09 am PT

Update: Facebook’s Messenger has also now passed 1 billion.

Google Play Books, an app that comes pre-installed with stock Android, has now become the ninth app to pass the 1 billion install mark. It’s not exactly an amazing achievement considering it ships with most Android phones, but it’s a huge number nonetheless.

Notably, only two non-Google apps, Facebook and WhatsApp, have ever passed this milestone. As you might expect, some of the more popular Google-made apps like Google Maps and Gmail passed 1 billion at various times over the last couple of years.

OnePlus contests will decide which three people will get to see the OnePlus 2 first

Tom Maxwell Jun 9 2015 - 9:52 am PT

We’ve heard very little about the much-anticipated OnePlus 2 since September of last year when OnePlus confirmed it was working on the device and targeting a Q2 or Q3 2015 launch. We expected the company to unveil it late last month when they tweeted a plan to “shake up the industry” on June 1st, but that turned out to be teasing flash sales and a consequential permanent price drop of the OnePlus One. Today, however, OnePlus is actually teasing the OnePlus 2 in the form of two contests.
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Google’s family-friendly app section launches on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 9:40 am PT

We first heard about Google’s “Designed for Families” Play Store program in mid-May, and Google officially announced that it would be adding new family-focused features to the Play Store at Google I/O 2015. Now, a new section labeled as “New Family Fun” is popping up on the Play Store, featuring the friendly star mascot, iconic character categories, and more…
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Side-by-side: How Apple’s new Transit directions compare to those in Google Maps

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 8:54 am PT

10 Comments

: New transit view in Apple Maps

: Google’s transit view

Yesterday, at WWDC 2015, Apple introduced transit directions to its native Maps application for the first time. It’s a feature that has long been in the works, and it’s still not actually coming to consumer devices until later this year. But those who have access to the iOS 9 beta can try out the feature in select cities, including New York City, San Francisco, and others.

Transit directions aren’t new, though, and you probably know that Google has offered them in its own official Maps app for many years. But since Apple split off from using the Google-powered Maps app with iOS 6, the company has been struggling to match Google’s offerings. Here, we take a look at Google’s transit directions in comparison to Apple’s new offering…
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Nexus 5 running Android M showing 2.7x greater standby time than one running Lollipop

Tom Maxwell Jun 8 2015 - 4:17 pm PT

2 Comments

One of the major improvements found in Android M and highlighted during Google’s I/O developer conference was two new features meant to significantly increase standby times of smartphones running the OS over previous versions, and now we have some more numbers that should make the differences concrete.

For the uninitiated, the two new features meant to tackle battery life are Doze and App Standby. Doze uses what Google calls “significant” motion detection to determine when a device has been left unattended for an extended period of time, and when it does find that your device is idle, backs off background activity (like apps syncing data) to go into a deeper state of sleep and drink less power in standby.

9to5Toys Last Call: Galaxy Note 3 (unlocked) $255, Chromebooks $30 off, Father’s Day deals, more

Stephen Hall Jun 8 2015 - 3:06 pm PT

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32GB (unlocked): $255 shipped (Reg. $500)

Save up to $30 on select Chromebooks from the Google Store

Father’s Day: Tommy Hilfiger, Nordstrom, more up to 50% off, DEWALT tools & gift cards from 20% off, more

Gibson’s new Trainer Bluetooth headphones designed by Usain Bolt are available for pre-order today

Review: Mohu Channels tries to bring your TV services together, Leaf antenna goes on sale

More new gear from today:

Canon refurbished cameras w/ 1-yr warranty: T5i DSLR w/ 18-55mm Lens Kit $450, PowerShot SX510 HS $130, more

New! Aukey gooseneck adjustable desk mount for iPad: $22 Prime shipped (Reg. $32)
New! Gaming gift cards up to 20% off: PlayStation Network, Xbox marketplace, more
New! Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5-inch Internal SSD: $89 shipped (Reg. $105)
New! Restaurant and apparel gift cards 20% off: JCPenney, T.G.I. Friday’s, more
New! Polk Audio T15 5″ Bookshelf Speakers in black (pair) $50 shipped (Reg. $120)
New! Games/Apps: Nintendo 3DS XL Super Mario 2 Gold Edition $158 (Reg. $175), more
New! KeySmart 2 key organizer, keeps up to 10 keys organized, shipped: $17 (orig. $23)
New! Home: Cuisinart tabletop gas grill $105 (Reg. $160+), more
New! Daily Deals: Samsung 27″ Monitor (refurb) $179, Jawbone Up Move $40, more
New! Grado SR225e Over-Ear Headphones $150 (Reg. $200), more

More deals still alive:

Fitbit Charge Wireless Activity and Sleep Wristband for $100 (Reg. $130)

12-inch MacBook is available to ship + small discounts and potential tax advantages
EC Technology 22,400mAh Power Bank $29 Prime shipped (Reg. $39)
VicTsing iPhone 6 MFi 3100Ah Battery Case $30 Prime shipped (Reg. $37)
Mac Essentials Bundle: Noiseless, Hider 2, Jump Desktop, more $19.99 ($204 value)

New products & more:

Bose updates its best-sounding Soundlink Mini II portable Bluetooth speaker

Here Active Listening Earbuds let you control the volume of the world
Microdia plans a microSD card with 512GB of storage space, release in July
Agent 47 returns to iOS with the new Hitman Sniper game
Here’s our first look at the official new Star Wars Uprising RPG for iOS and Android
Logitech’s new Anywhere 2 wireless mouse follows the design of the popular Master MX
Wu-Tang’s RZA joins Boombotix to create speakers w/ exclusive music releases [Interview]
Kingston takes the wraps off its USB-C flash drive lineup
Amazon now ships some smaller items for free even if you don’t have a Prime membership

Apple shows off new ‘Move to iOS’ app to make it easier to switch from Android

Chance Miller Jun 8 2015 - 12:48 pm PT

5 Comments

As part of iOS 9, Apple today has announced a new app called Move to iOS that makes the transition from Android to iPhone more seamless for the user. While the app went unannounced during the WWDC keynote, it is listed on the iOS 9 feature page on Apple’s website.