update

• Android
• OnePlus
• update
• One
• SwiftKey

OnePlus and Cyanogen put SwiftKey on the One by default

Stephen Hall Feb 4 2015 - 7:31 am PT

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In the spirit of bloatware—which oddly goes against basically everything the company stands for—OnePlus has decided that SwiftKey is an absolute necessity for every user of its One smartphone. The company has partnered with SwiftKey to bake the keyboard right in, and says users won’t have to download anything (besides the next update to the phone’s OS) to switch over.

OnePlus has collaborated with SwiftKey to integrate their top-selling keyboard app right into CyanogenMod 11S. OnePlus One users can now switch to the SwiftKey keyboard with the touch of a button – no downloading required.

The keyboard is coming as part of this month’s OTA update to CyanogenMod 11S, and after installing the update, users can head over to the Language and Input menu in settings to select SwiftKey.

Sure, this isn’t the update many would be hoping to hear about for the One, but the company also left us a little hint at the bottom of this blog post. “We’ve got something pretty sweet for you very soon,” it says, teasing the company’s plans to update the One to Lollipop.

The company also told us recently about its custom OxygenOS ROM, which the company says will further it’s goal of bringing a “bold, powerful, straightforward experience” to owners of OnePlus devices.

• Android
• Google
• Samsung
• Android 5.0 Lollipop
• Samsung Galaxy S5

Android Lollipop rolling out to Samsung Galaxy S5 on Verizon

Stephen Hall Feb 2 2015 - 10:34 am PT

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Verizon has always been one of the slower carriers to update their devices to the latest and greatest firmware, but today it seems that the company is breaking that tradition. The Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the Samsung Galaxy S5 started rolling out in some small international countries in December, but this is the first we’ve heard of an American carrier pushing the update.

Verizon Wireless is pleased to announce an operating system update to Android 5.0 Lollipop. This version brings Android beyond smartphones and tablets, allowing access to apps and Android services on other connected screens like TV’s, cars and wearables. The new material design offers complex animations, 3-D views and improved runtime.

You can find the announcement PDF for the update on Verizon’s website. In-mid-January, it was reported that Samsung was rolling out the update to the Galaxy S5 in the United Kingdom, following its tiered rollout in Poland, Spain, Russia, and Malaysia. This update, notably, is Android 5.0, not Google’s latest official build, which is 5.0.2.

(via Android Police)

• Android
• update
• free
• 5.0
• ROM

Paranoid Android hits Lollipop in newly-released 5.0 Alpha 1 build

Stephen Hall Feb 2 2015 - 9:39 am PT

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The team behind the second most popular custom Android ROM, Paranoid Android, has today updated the software to have a baseline AOSP Lollipop 5.0.2. Along with this first Lollipop-based build, the team has included a bunch of new improvements and features.

Today’s update is “ready to be used in public,” according to the Paranoid Android team. But keep in mind that this release is still an alpha build. “Hope for awesome buttery smoothness, be ready for a bumpy ride,” the announcement post says.

Here’s what new in this version:

• Update the baseline to AOSP Lollipop 5.0.2
• Improvements to Heads Up, such as an option to disable heads up interruptions completely
• Add Quick Unlock
• Extend the power menu
• Animate the volume panel in a more material manner
• Make it possible to skip songs using volume buttons when the device is locked
• Add CM12 Theme Engine
• Fix various small annoyances from AOSP

The last version of Paranoid Android was released four months ago, version 4.6 beta 5.

• Android
• Android 5.0 Lollipop
• update
• HTC
• One M8

Lollipop update for HTC One (M8) and One (M7) delayed as HTC misses 90 day goal

Stephen Hall Feb 2 2015 - 8:40 am PT

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The rollout of Android Lollipop to flagship devices is still happening more than 2 months after the update started rolling out OTA to Nexus devices, and now it appears that it’s going to be dragged out even longer—at least for HTC. The Taiwanese company set a 90 day goal for the release of Lollipop to carrier versions of the HTC One (M8) and (M7), but it doesn’t look like it’s going to meet that goal.

According to Mo Versi, the company’s Vice President of Product Management:

In the spirit of continued transparency, I wanted to share a quick update on where we’re at with our Android Lollipop rollout process. We’ve been working hard in the labs with Google and our carrier partners ever since the code release and are making great progress so far, but if you’ve been following the progress of this rollout you will know that Google has had to address several issues with this release. We’ve been diligently working to fix some of them on our end and incorporating Google’s fixes as quickly as possible, but despite everyone’s best efforts some carrier versions of the HTC One (M8) and HTC One (M7) will not meet our 90 day goal, which is February 1st. While we are committed to delivering within this time period, we are even more committed to ensuring these updates result in an even better experience with your device because that is what the updates are intended to do.

The update has already rolled out to the Google Play, Unlocked, and Developer Editions of the One (M8). But updates for carrier versions of the device, which HTC promised in November would be getting Lollipop within 90 days, seem to have caught some snags. The company is “making great progross,” but it appears that Google has had to address “several” issues with this release.

We have the Android Lollipop code. We'll be updating the HTC One (M8) & (M7) within 90 days from today. #HTCAdvantage pic.twitter.com/VJ0wB1jQbm

— HTC (@htc) November 4, 2014

• Android
• Android 5.0 Lollipop
• update
• Asus
• Nexus 7

Google finally posts Android Lollipop factory images for cellular Nexus 7 models

Stephen Hall Jan 30 2015 - 1:40 pm PT

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It’s been a long time coming, but Google has finally decided to post the Lollipop factory images for the LTE Nexus 7 (2013) and the ‘Mobile’ Nexus 7 (2012). The image, specifically, is a build of Android 5.0.2. As per usual, the OTA update should start hitting these devices soon, and we’ll let you know when these OTA downloads are available.

You can download the factory images over at Google’s developer page.  If you’d like to install one or any of these factory images without waiting for the over-the-air update to hit your device, check out our comprehensive guide.

• Android
• Google
• Google Chrome
• Apps and Updates
• update

Chrome Beta for Android updated w/ pull-to-refresh, performance improvements

Chance Miller Jan 28 2015 - 6:19 pm PT

1 Comment

Google announced this evening in a blog post that Chrome 41 Beta for Android is now available. The update is rolling out to users via the Play Store now, according to the company, and bumps the app to version 41.0.2272.34.

While relatively minor, the update does add the ability to pull-to-refresh “most” webpages, a feature that will make the web browsing experience a bit more seamless and similar what users are used to in other apps.

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• Android
• Android 5.0 Lollipop
• HTC One M8
• update
• HTC One

HTC says that Android 5.0 Lollipop is now rolling out to HTC One (M8) in Europe

Stephen Hall Jan 28 2015 - 8:33 am PT

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HTC’s Jeff Gordon, the company’s Senior Global Online Communications Manager, has taken to Twitter this morning to say that owners of the HTC One (M8) in Europe should be expecting to see Android Lollipop at some point very soon.

https://twitter.com/urbanstrata/status/560385225747091456

Users have been reporting back that the update hasn’t seemed to hit their devices yet, but Gordon says to keep checking as the update will be rolling out in waves.

https://twitter.com/urbanstrata/status/560397912656846848

This news comes a bit more than a month after the update starting rolling out to both the One M8 and M7 Google Play Edition devices.

• Google Chrome
• update
• Emoji
• Wallpaper
• Stable Channel

Chrome OS updated to version 40 w/ new wallpaper features, quick Emoji access

Stephen Hall Jan 27 2015 - 7:03 am PT

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Google has this morning pushed out an update for the stable channel of Chrome OS, and as is usual, it packs a huge number of changes. But also as usual, most of these changes are under-the-hood tweaks and there are often just a few small notable changes that the end-user might notice. This update brings a new default wallpaper that sports Material Design, automatic syncing of wallpapers between devices, and a new “Emoji palette” that will allow users to quickly access Emoji.

Some highlights of these changes are:

• The default wallpaper has been updated to Material Design
• Custom wallpapers are now synced across your devices
• Emoji palette allows users to quickly access emoji

The update, specifically numbered version 40, is being pushed out as we speak. You can likely just give your Chromebook or other Chrome OS device a reboot within the next few hours to receive the update. To read more about the update (in case you maybe want to dig through the countless bug fixes), head over to Google’s Chrome Releases Blog.

• Apps & Updates
• Android
• Apps and Updates
• update
• iOS
• app

New ‘while you were away’ recaps coming soon to Twitter for Android

Chance Miller Jan 21 2015 - 3:23 pm PT

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Twitter this evening has announced in a blog post that it is rolling out a new “While you were away” recap feature to its mobile apps. Starting today on iOS and “soon” on Twitter.com and Android, a “While you were away” banner will appear in your feed, showing you the top tweets that you missed since you last opened the app.

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• Apps & Updates
• Google Chrome
• update
• Windows
• Linux
• Mac

Google Chrome stable channel bumped to version 40, packs tons of bug fixes

Stephen Hall Jan 21 2015 - 1:17 pm PT

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Google has today pushed Chrome 40 to the stable channel, specifically version 40.0.2214.91. This update, while packing only minor changes, is the first that has moved version 40 to stable from its beta stage (which it entered in late November of 2014). Of the changes are an updated app information dialog for the Windows and Linux versions of the browser, and a new message for when the clock is ahead or behind. The more important change in this update is the inclusion of 62 security fixes, which are all documented on the Chromium issue tracker.

The Chrome team is delighted to announce the promotion of Chrome 40 to the stable channel for Windows, Mac and Linux. Chrome 40.0.2214.91 contains a number of fixes and improvements, including:

• Updated Chrome app info dialog for Windows and Linux.
• A new clock behind/ahead error message.

A partial list of changes is available in the log.