A Song of Ice & Fire: Is Amazon Back in the Smartphone Game?
Winter is coming for Amazon. It looks like the company is having another go at the smartphone world with its release of new smartphones branded as "Ice".
Android Games Search Results
Your Face, Beyoncé's Body: New Microsoft App Swaps Your Face into Any Picture
You may not have woken up like this, but you're still #flawless thanks to Microsoft's new Face Swap app for Android.
How To: Fix Firefox's YouTube Background Playback Feature on Android
Until recently, Firefox had the ability to continue playing YouTube videos in the background after minimizing the browser. It worked great as a YouTube Red alternative, but unfortunately, Mozilla removed this feature after some pushback from Google. Thankfully, there's a way to get it back.
How To: Download Music from SoundCloud Straight to Your Android Device
SoundCloud is one of the most popular music streaming services for good reason. You can upload your own music, listen to remixes from your favorite DJ, check out the latest releases from mainstream artists, and even discover new artists. But while you've always been able to listen to most songs for free, you couldn't download MP3s in the official app without paying for SoundCloud Pro — until now, that is.
News: Samsung Creates World's Most Breakable Phone Then Wraps It with Protection
After SquareTrade tested out the Samsung Galaxy S8 and found it to be the first phone to shatter on all sides after only one drop, it's nice to know we may have a solution for this $500 problem.
How To: Remove Annoying Promoted Content & Ads from Twitter
Nobody likes ads, especially when they're tailored to your browsing history like the promoted content posts on Twitter. These deceptive advertisements are injected into your feed, trying to hijack your attention with clickbaity headlines and distracting images. You most certainly don't need it, and I'm positive the Kardashians don't need any more publicity, they seem to be doing quite well.
News: So Long, Siri! The Superior Google Assistant Is Coming to iOS
Rumor has it that Google Assistant will be coming to an iPhone near you. A "trusted source" broke the news of GA's arrival on iOS to Android Police ahead of Google's I/O conference this week.
News: New Tool Makes It Easy to Check if a Phone Was Lost or Stolen
Buying a smartphone used is an excellent way to save money, but those savings come with a risk that your seller isn't as forthcoming as they claim. You don't want to end up buying a stolen smartphone because it might not work correctly ... and, you know, it's wrong. Luckily, there's an easy way to check if the phone you're about to buy is legit.
PSA: Don't Update Your Pixel if You're Rooted or Have Custom Recovery Installed
The May 2017 security update has begun rolling out to Nexus and Pixel devices, which is usually great news. It means that your device is now being updated to protect you from the latest exploits and vulnerabilities found in Android. At other times, though, security updates patch root methods like Dirty COW, which is extremely frustrating for users and developers alike. Especially since most OEMs don't condone rooting or even unlocking the bootloader on their devices.
How To: Install Multiple Equalizers on Your Phone with This Magisk Module
DSP Manager, Dolby Atmos, ViPER4Android — how are you supposed to pick just one from the wide variety of Android equalizers? Depending on your OEM, your phone may have come with a stock equalizer, but they're usually not enough. Combine them with a third-party equalizer, and then we're getting somewhere. However, installing multiple equalizers at the same time has always seemed to cause audio glitches — until now.
News: Google Maps Will Now Tell You if There's On-Site Parking at Your Destination
There's nothing worse than driving up to your destination only to discover that there isn't a parking spot in sight — but thankfully, Google Maps will soon have you covered.
News: Your Desk Can Be an AR Smart Surface with Lampix
If you ever imagined turning the surface of your desk into one large augmented computer, well the future might not be far off, my friends. Lampix, the company that transforms any surface into a smart surface, is currently working on a portable and quite fashionable lamp to project an augmented computer onto any surface that you can interact with using your hands.
News: Google's Family Link Just Got a Lot More Useful
Last month, Google introduced the Family Link app. This app, much needed in a world where the average age of kids first getting a smartphone is just over 10 years old, allows parents to set some limits on their children's phone usage. However, the app premiered with one caveat: Both the parent and the child had to have an Android phone. Now, Google has updated the app so it works on iOS devices.
News: New Google Chrome Update Lets You Scroll Through Websites Without Fear of Page Jumps
Chrome version 56 is here to help you stop accidentally clicking ads when you're scrolling or tapping a link in a webpage on your phone. That's right, annoying page jumps while a site's still loading will finally come to an end with this new update.
News: Google Introduces AI for Its Android Services That Learns from You Without Compromising Privacy
Google, the company that rules the internet, is now testing a method to leverage its machine learning with its ubiquitous presence on mobile devices. The new model they're employing is called Federated Learning, and it hopes to apply artificial intelligence to Google's services on Android without compromising user privacy.
How To: These 4 Apps Can Help Cure Your Smartphone Addiction
It has become hard to decipher where your digital imprint ends and your true self begins in today's tech-dominated world. Scrolling through news feeds and endless updates is not conducive to a good night's sleep, nor does it help you lead a well-balanced life.
News: John Hanke, CEO of Pokémon GO Maker, Says AR, Not VR, Should Be the Way of the Future
It isn't too hard to see John Hanke's bias towards augmented reality. His company, Niantic, created the astronomically profitable game Pokémon GO, which revolves around AR technology. However, Hanke has a case against virtual reality—he believes it just won't be healthy, in more than one sense of the word.
News: BlackBerry KeyOne Launch Date Pushed Back
We have some bad news for BlackBerry fans: It looks like the upcoming KeyOne flagship won't be shipped in April after all.
News: High-End Galaxy S8+ with 6 GB RAM & 128 GB Storage Will Release in China First
Android lovers out there might be sad to hear that a high-end version of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage won't be released in the US, but rather, in China.
News: Snapchat Has Made This App Explode
Bitmoji has experienced explosive success this year thanks to Snapchat. The app allows users to create their own personal emoji and send responses to other friends, and even though it's only two and a half years old, this customizable emoji app is growing at an impressive pace.
News: Cortana Gets a Fresh Look on Android (For Beta Testers)
Cortana, a strong competitor to Apple's Siri and the Google Assistant, has just been updated for beta testers on Android. The update introduces some sleek redesigns of both the look and features of the app, developing anticipation for the official update.
News: Google Maps Update Brings Real-Time Location Sharing
Google Maps now allows users to share their location in real time and update their friends and family on their location and estimated time of arrival when making a trip.
News: Snapseed Update Launches Three Amazing New Tools
The newest version of Snapseed features three awesome new tools for you photo-editing enthusiasts. The 2.17 update for the editing app was rolled out on Tuesday, March 21, and its new additions are something to behold.
How To: Use Your Android's Volume Keys to Move the Cursor in Any Text Field—No Root Needed
One of the biggest hurdles for making touchscreen text input easy on the user has been finding a simple way to move the cursor around. With all the advancements in mobile technology, we're still left fumbling around with tiny arrow indicators or magnifying glasses when we need to add a letter to a word we've already typed. But thankfully, developer Ouadban Youssef has found a better way.
News: Chairish App Now Lets You Try Before You Buy (With Augmented Reality)
Chairish, Inc. is the latest furniture retailer to bring augmented reality into its mobile stores, adding features for users to visualize products in their homes.
How To: Get the iPhone's 'Guided Access' on Android to Lock Kids (& Troublesome Friends) Out of Apps
If you're a parent of a toddler (or have a friend that acts like a toddler), you occasionally need to take a break just to preserve your mental health. The perfect way to buy yourself some "me time" in this scenario would be to pull up an episode of Dora the Explorer on Netflix or YouTube, then hand your phone or tablet over to your child (or child-like friend) and try your best to relax while they're occupied.
How To: Control Your Android's Volume by Swiping the Edge of Your Screen
If you have stuck volume buttons, it can be a real pain to adjust sound levels since your only other option is to use the volume menu in Settings. But even if your volume rocker is working fine, it's still a little weird to have to click a mechanical button to control one of the most central aspects of an operating system that is otherwise entirely touch-based.
Facebook 101: How to Turn Off Auto-Playing Sound for Facebook Videos on Android & iPhone
After about six months of testing, Facebook has decided to start rolling out a new feature on mobile that automatically plays sound for videos in your News Feed, thanks to "positive feedback" from test users. As far as I'm concerned, they have been testing with the wrong users, because auto-playing sound is by far worse than auto-playing videos ever could be.
How To: Get Rid of the Built-in Google Search Bar on Almost Any Launcher
Almost every Android device comes with a Google search bar embedded directly into its stock home screen app. But Google search is available in so many different places on Android that having this bar in your launcher is almost overkill. On top of that, Google recently changed the logo overlay to a more colorful one that may clash with your home screen theme, so there's plenty of reasons to dislike this feature.
How To: Control Media, Ringtone & Call Volume from Your Notification Tray in One Tap
Android has separate volume levels for various system sounds like incoming calls, notifications, alarms, and media. This means that when you want to adjust volume levels for just one of these categories, you usually have to press the physical volume rocker, tap a button to expand the volume menu, find the category that you want to adjust, then finally raise or lower the volume.
How To: Set Default Volume Levels for Each of Your Bluetooth Accessories Individually
If you have multiple Bluetooth accessories, Android's volume system can be pretty annoying. For one thing, most phones reset to a "Safe Volume Level" every time you reconnect a pair of headphones, which means you'll probably need to turn up the volume once or twice a day. But even if your phone doesn't exhibit this obnoxious behavior, you might want your car's Bluetooth connection to be louder than, say, your home stereo or your wireless earbuds.
News: Welcome to the WonderHowTo Network
You might notice that there's been a few changes around here. All of us here at WonderHowTo have been working hard to create fun new spaces and topic areas to dig our heels into. We've created a few brand new websites, spiffied up our design, and today we're launching the WonderHowTo network.
News: Google's Battery Issues Seem to Be Affecting Pixel Users, Too
In recent weeks, thousands of Nexus 6P users have reported that their devices are shutting down with 30% or more battery life remaining. The phones won't start back up until they're plugged into a charger, so it's as if the battery completely dies even though there is plenty of juice left.
How To: Bring Back WhatsApp's Old Emojis on Android
WhatsApp recently updated their emojis (or emoji, depending on your preference), but it wasn't exactly a welcome change. Many users have complained that the new smilies are just way too big, others aren't too fond of the shinier appearance, and countless folks have been venting their frustrations on Twitter.
How To: Perfect Video Selfies by Putting a Teleprompter on Your Android's Screen
Thanks to live-streaming video and social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, we're all on camera nowadays. Unfortunately, though, we don't have a script to work with when we're shooting selfie videos, so it's hard to come off as perfectly eloquent when you're just freestyling off the top of your head.
News: The OnePlus 3T Crashes When Its Snapdragon 821 Processor Runs at Full Speed
The OnePlus 3T was released about five months after the OnePlus 3 with several noticeable upgrades. Firstly, it has a new processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, which is the same one that the Pixel and Pixel XL sport. Second is the 16 MP front-facing camera with a different sensor. And the next big change was a slightly larger 3,400 mAh capacity battery.
News: New Android Malware Is Emptying People's Bank Accounts—Here's How to Protect Yourself
A scary piece of malware just got a lot more terrifying this week. Security firm Comodo reports that "Tordow," a banking Trojan first uncovered in September 2016, received a massive update this December.
How To: Copy, Share & Search Text from Almost Anywhere in Chrome on Android
Chrome's text selection interface is pretty nice, but it could definitely use some improvements. For instance, when you're in Incognito Mode, you can't perform a web search for words you've highlighted. And when you're typing out a forum post or using any text input field, for that matter, there's no option to search or share any of the text you've written.
How To: Customize Your Favorite Wallpapers for a Refreshing New Look on Android
The beauty of Android is that nearly everything can be customized. But sometimes, we get so caught up in tweaking functionality and other minutiae that one of the most important interfaces gets neglected—the home screen wallpaper.
How To: Everything You Need to Know About Insuring Your Android Phone
As a former repair tech, I've heard the same reasons over and over as to why people opt not to purchase phone insurance. Some cite the cost—why pay extra every month for insurance when you're careful with your phone? Deductibles are expensive, so why not just spend that money on a repair instead of getting a refurbished phone as a replacement?