By default, any app that requests a certain permission can run automatically as soon as you start your device. Since Android doesn't offer a granular permission control system like iOS, this gets lumped in with all of the other permissions that you have to accept when you're installing an app from the Google Play Store, and you effectively have no choice in the matter.
Almost all modern Android devices have a gesture that will take you directly to Google Now. For most phones and tablets, it's a simple swipe up from the home button. With a Samsung or an older Android device, it's only a matter pressing and holding the home button.
Whether you use a third-party keyboard or the stock offering, your Samsung device keeps a history of the last 20 words you copied on its clipboard. Samsung added this feature to Android to help make multitasking a bit easier, but if you use a password manager like LastPass, this feature quickly becomes a gaping hole in security. While you're copying and pasting your various passwords, the last 20 of them become freely available to anyone that gets their hands on your device.
Navigating through the darkness—literal darkness, not the existential variety—is always a difficult task on its own, and my Android doesn't necessarily make it any easier. Many manufacturers offer quick access to a flashlight or torch feature, but my Galaxy S4 doesn't have an easily accessible toggle or button available to turn it on.
The Air Command window on Samsung Galaxy Note devices makes it easy to access all of the features that the S Pen has to offer, such as Action Memo, which turns your handwritten notes into actionable links, and Pen Window, where you can draw a square on the screen to open a certain application.
At $349 off contract, the Nexus 5 has always been one of the best bang-for-your-buck smartphones on the market. In order to keep the price that low, however, Google had to pass up on some of the minor features that other flagship phones offer.
Notifications are an integral part of our day-to-day smartphone usage. They allow us to easily see and act upon all of the latest information that comes our way. Well, most of the time, that is.
Can you tell when your friends are serving up a bunch of BS, or are you constantly oblivious, unsure if they're spinning a valid story? With so many ways to lie and fake information floating around, it can be impossible to tell what's the truth from what's complete BS. Here's how to sort through what you hear and find the real truth.
Back in March, Samsung partnered with Slacker Radio to create a streaming service called Milk Music. For those of us who don't own a Galaxy device, this news was a non-starter, as it was exclusive to Samsung's flagship line of phones and tablets.
Every so often, we come across an app that makes us wonder "Why didn't someone think of this before?" This is definitely the case with developer Dor Sakal's latest offering, FloatNote.
In places like underground bars or national parks, your phone's Internet service is sure to slow down to a very sluggish pace, making it difficult to surf the web. Or worst case, data will be non-existent, leaving you with only low-level network support for calls and SMS text messages.
It's been a long time coming, but Google's Calendar app for Android has finally received a visual makeover. In the spirit of Android Lollipop, Google's new Material Design permeates throughout the update.
A shady practice in place by AT&T and Verizon Wireless—and possibly more wireless carriers—was recently uncovered. Outgoing data requests sent from devices on these service providers are being injected with a Unique Identifier Header (UIDH) that allows websites, the carriers, and potentially even government agencies to track your online activity.
This year's biggest film certainly didn't come as a surprise: with another incredible comic book creation, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy wowed audiences more than any other movie. With its unique team of heroes, Guardians provided a set of ready-made Halloween costumes.
Google's new Inbox by Gmail service offers a new take on email with a particular emphasis on productivity. But, as an invite-only service at this stage, not many people can access Inbox just yet.
Placing widgets on your device's home screen is a quick way to gain instant access to shortcuts or to specific aspects of an app, like music controls or weather forecasts. As more and more developers create various types of app drawers and shortcuts, many overlook widgets and what they have to offer.
Google continues to be the most commonly-used search engine for a reason. While continuing to stay ahead of the pack with advanced semantic search functions, Google even introduced Knowledge Graph results that offer key information without ever having to click a search result.
Casting Angelina Jolie as Maleficent was a no-brainer on Disney's part. No one else could project beauty, elegance, and fear simultaneously just like the animated villain in Sleeping Beauty did. But what sets the character apart from other evil witches, or any other Disney character for that matter, is the sinister, yet gorgeous-looking horns and headdress. And with news that a Maleficent sequel is currently in the works, this will surely be a great Halloween costume this year.
With all of the cool new animations and features in the upcoming Android 5.0 Lollipop release, some pretty awesome system apps may have been overlooked amidst the fanfare. Most noticeably, a new Messenger app was added to the OS, containing many touches of Material Design.
Google's latest mobile operating system, Android 5.0 Lollipop, is coming out very soon for Nexus devices, but it will be some time before any other devices get to experience it. However, there are other ways to get the Lollipop feel on non-Nexus devices right now.
It's that time of year again, folks. Each fall, Google debuts a new device alongside the latest iteration of its mobile operating system—but this year marked the release of three new Nexus gadgets.
The Galaxy S5's camera is amongst the most capable smartphone shooters on the market. With a 16-megapixel sensor that is capable of recording 1080p video at 120 frames per second, the stat sheet was officially stuffed when Samsung brought this device to market.
It's been a long-awaited feature since being announced at Google I/O in June, but Backdrop for Chromecast has finally started rolling out. With an update to the Chromecast app for Android and iOS, users will be able to personalize the background images that appear when Chromecast is idle.
Admit it: you've been caught muttering to yourself under your breath in very public places. Maybe you've gotten stares while wandering the grocery store talking to yourself out loud. If you're like me, you might even talk yourself through various tasks, giving the atmosphere a little background noise.
Stocked with a 7-inch LCD display and 323 PPI (pixels per inch), the Kindle Fire HDX is one of the best tablets on the market for enjoying some great literature or entertaining streaming services—and I take full advantage of what this device offers.
I'm sure you've been there—halfway through typing something out, you realize that one word you've been using more than any other has been misspelled. Perhaps it's a single word, acronym, or line of code that you find yourself typing quite often at work, but this one requires complicated hand gymnastics that you'd simply rather not perform over and over again.
Third-party keyboards have become a game changer for iPhone owners since their integration in iOS 8. And while the major players from the Android realm—Fleksy, SwiftKey, Swype—already have their keyboards on the iOS App Store, their products are relatively standard fare.
The new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have bigger displays, and that means more overall screen real estate, something that the new Safari app has taken into account by letting you access desktop versions of mobile websites. Even if you're sporting an older device, you'll still be able to request the desktop version of a site online in the browser.
I'm always looking for the best apps and services for my Android, and that means sticking strictly to the Google Play Store is a no-go. If you're like me and tend to install a lot of APKs (application files), you're probably tired of seeing the "Install" confirmation that always pops up.
Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 6 on September 9th, and shortly thereafter carriers like AT&T and Verizon Wireless will begin selling them online and in stores. So, if it's time in your contract for a device upgrade, it's time to start thinking about trading your current iPhone in for up to $400 in value.
If you purchased your Nexus 5 from Google Play in the United States, we've got great news for you. In an unprecedented move, Google has started offering customers the chance to exchange their broken or water-damaged Nexus 5 for a new or refurbished unit—free of charge.
While the majority of photos taken on phones are used for personal reasons, mediums like Instagram and Flickr offer a means to show them off to the world. But those pictures of your brunch or beach day can actually go beyond that to make you some money.
There are countless lock screens you can apply to your Android device, but very few offer more than just quick access to apps or advanced security functionality. Since you probably unlock your device a gazillion times every day, why not use this to your advantage and let it teach you something new?
If you notice any issues with your LG G3, pinpointing the culprit can be an arduous task. It could be a hardware issue, a resource-heavy app, or a bloatware-infested operating system.
You don't need to be a hardcore audiophile to know that Dolby is pretty much synonymous with rich and immersive sound. While we often associate them with home theater systems, Dolby has brought their surround sound processing to the mobile phone arena with Dolby Digital Plus being offered on several Android devices.
Most alarms just make noise to wake you up, and it can be a bit jarring coming off of a deep sleep to suddenly being woken up by a blaring sound. On the flip side, if you're a heavy sleeper, this might not even be enough stimuli to snap you out of your 8-hour coma.
It seems like every cloud service out there is offering tons of upgrade options and free promotions to give people as much space as they need to store their files online. I personally have over 100GB of Google Drive space which is shared between multiple computers, phones, and tablets, so keeping track of everything can be a huge pain in the ass.
Security is a priority for many when they first set up their mobile devices. Nobody wants to have a stranger or nosey friend go through their phone and discover risqué photos or embarrassing text messages. These days, the closet is gone—everyone keeps their skeletons in their phones.
Surely you've heard of the wildly-popular custom ROM CyanogenMod, right? As the longest-tenured third-party firmware for Android devices, CM has been able to maintain its popularity by supporting a wide array of devices and offering many customization options.
If you thought iOS 7 was a drastic change from previous iterations, iOS 8 will certainly continue to rock the boat. From a revamped Control Center to enhanced "Continuity" to ephemeral messaging, Apple's newest mobile operating system will have many of you relearning the "basics."
