Emoji, emojis, smilies, or smileys—whatever you want to call them, those little yellow icons have firmly implanted themselves in the human lexicon. However, just like with localized languages and dialects, emoji can be very different from one another depending on the device or operating system you're using.
Everyone loves sharing pictures and quick video clips with Snapchat, but while the service itself is tons of fun, the Android app is one of the worst on the market. For one, Snapchat takes terrible photos even on high-end Android phones. And to make matters worse, the app is a notorious data-sucking battery drainer.
YouTube is a great place for all your mainstream audio and video needs. But you can't simply plug in your headphones, choose a playlist, and put your phone back in your pocket without subscribing to YouTube Red, which costs $9.99/month for ad-free and background playback. If you can't afford that for just background playback, there are other ways.
When Apple released the iOS 10.2 update to the public on December 12, 2016, iPhone users got a slew of new features, including new emojis, a brand new TV app, the ability to save camera settings, and more. But out of all of these new features, the one that interests me the most is something they didn't even include in the release notes—star ratings are back in the Music app!
The V20 is an amazing phone from LG powered by Android. Packing impressive features such as a removable battery, expandable storage, and the latest Android version straight out of the box, the V20 is a tough phone to beat.
LG, like many other OEMs, usually locks down their bootloaders with an airtight seal. There are a few good reasons for this, the big one being that an unlocked bootloader technically compromises some device security measures. LG would also argue that unlocking your bootloader is absolutely pointless, as having it locked will not hinder normal device usage, which is kinda true.
We recently covered an app called Fingerprint Quick Action that let you use your fingerprint scanner to expand your notification tray like the Google Pixel, along with a few other actions. It's definitely a useful mod, but there's a similar app can make your fingerprint scanner do almost anything—literally.
Apple is famous for keeping a tight grip on the look and feel of iOS (a grip so tight it may even change the future of patent law), but the clever folks over at heyeased found some neat tricks to put the control back in your hands.
Some of the best Android apps are not hosted on the Google Play Store, and that means you have to sideload them if you want to get their awesome functionality. But without the Play Store, these APKs are never automatically updated, so your only choice has been to scour the internet for a newer version when you need a bugfix.
If maintaining privacy is an ongoing battle, the front line is your smartphone. Apple included several new security features in iOS 10, but at the same time, some of the best new functionality comes with potential privacy trade-offs that everyone needs to understand.
When you want to see something far away with a little more clarity or you're having a hard time reading small letters right in front of you, you can point your iPhone's camera at the subject and "pinch" to zoom for a better look. But there's actually something built into iOS for the exact purpose of magnifying objects, and it goes above and beyond the normal camera features.
With every flagship device they release, Samsung makes sure to add in at least a few little software goodies. Last year's Galaxy Note5 was no exception, because among other things, Samsung included a revamped version of their useful utility called Air Command that gave users quick access to tools and common functions with a small floating bubble.
If you want free Poké Balls and eggs when playing Pokémon GO, you can find them at PokéStops in variation locations around your city, which are marked with towering blue icons on your map. Once you're at Level 5, they'll also grant you Potions and Revives to help you in your battles against other trainers, so they're definitely something you should be visiting whenever you can.
The skinned versions of Android that come with Samsung, LG, and HTC phones usually have a feature that displays a small icon in your status bar when you connect a pair of headphones. It lets you know that your earbuds are plugged in or connected properly, and offers assurance that your music won't be blaring out of the loudspeaker—but mostly, it's just a nice little touch.
The internet has officially been taken over by GIFs—they're everybody's favorite method of communication these days, and nary a meme would exist without them. But even with the abundance of GIF-sharing websites, and even GIF keyboards, we're still a bit lacking in regard to creating GIFs on a mobile device.
Microsoft's HoloLens comes with helpful features for capturing video and photos, but sharing whatever you record isn't as straightforward as you might expect. So here are the many ways to get your media off the device to share with the world.
Ever since iOS 8, you could add widgets on your iPhone using the "Edit" menu on the Today view page, but there's an easier and faster way to get widgets set up for viewing via a right swipe on the lock screen, a swipe right from the first home screen page, and a swipe down from center top everywhere else.
With iOS 9.3.5, as well as all of the versions prior to that, you had two choices when it came to "Read Receipts" for iMessage — either on for everybody or off for everybody. So if you weren't comfortable with one or two of your contacts knowing whether or not you've read their messages, you had to keep the feature disabled and miss out on Read Receipts for people you're a bit closer to.
Apple unveiled huge improvements for Messages in iOS 10 at WWDC '16, and my favorite new feature is that searching for emojis will be much, much easier. But there's a lot more to this update besides emojis.
Mixed reality (MR) feels like an amazing, almost mind-blowing futuristic technology—but only once you've experienced it for yourself. Words, images, and even videos simply cannot describe the experience in full. If you want to really peer into the future and experience MR for yourself, you can sign up and just go in many cities.
The Moto X and Moto Z have a set of features that let you launch common shortcuts by shaking your phone in one direction or another. For instance, there's a chop gesture that turns on the LED flashlight, and a wrist-twist gesture that instantly opens the camera app.
If you're tired of Google tracking you, but love how Chrome works, CyanogenMod has you covered. Their browser is called Gello, which is based off Chromium, Chrome's open-source counterpart. It's basically a souped-up version of Chrome—without all of the intrusive Google stuff. So if you're uncomfortable with Google displaying personalized ads based on your browsing history, or using your location to bring the "Physical Web" to your phone, you won't have to worry about any of that with Gello.
Verizon customers who use the Samsung Galaxy S7, beware: a recent update installs new bloatware over your existing bloatware that installs new bloatware. Confused or pissed off? You should be, as this app can install new apps onto your phone without you knowing.
The desktop browser market has some stiff competition going on, but Opera has always been able to maintain its market share by offering innovative features such as a data saver option. With over 350 million users, it's safe to say folks are appreciative of the efforts being made by the web browser's development team.
The only knock on Samsung's last round of flagship devices is that TouchWiz is still alive and kicking. Aside from this overbearing skin that's been applied on top of Android, the Galaxy S6, S6 edge, Note 5, and this year's Galaxy S7 models are some of the best phones money can buy.
Alright, since I notcied this article was too advanced for some users, ive decided to revision this!
Creamer, milk (whole or skim), sugar, or even butter—you've probably added at least one of these to your coffee to improve its taste at some point. If you're looking for something different, though, try a new twist with a dash of cinnamon. This sweet, sharp spice can do so much more than improve coffee's taste, and I've got 10 examples for you to consider.
For years, users have been clamoring for a "dark mode" theme in Android, but it has always seemed like Google is so committed to the white motif from their web services that such an option would never become a reality. But in a stunning turn of events, Google is finally embracing the idea with a night theme that will work in any app, and I'll cover all of the specifics below.
Welcome back, my budding hackers! Metasploit, one of my favorite hacking/pentesting tools, has so many capabilities that even after my many tutorials on it, I have only scratched the surface of it capabilities. For instance, it can be used with Nexpose for vulnerability scanning, with Nmap for port scanning, and with its numerous auxiliary modules, nearly unlimited other hacking related capabilities.
Apple has finally addressed and issued a fix for Error 53, a "safety" mechanism that would prevent your iPhone from booting if you had certain repairs done outside of Apple's official channels.
Sony's Xperia smartphones are some of the most beautiful Android devices out there—but unfortunately, they're rarely promoted in the U.S. and are seldom available through major carriers (aside from the new Xperia Z5 devices), so not many Americans are aware of how awesome these devices really are.
Microsoft did a wonderful thing in 2015: for the first time, it was offering a free upgrade to Windows 10 for all current Windows 7 and 8.1 users. And, if you were lucky, the upgrade process was relatively simple and painless. There were, however, some questions after the everything was said and done.
Hello there Nullbytes, In my previous tutorial found here,
Starting in Android 4.3, Google added some code to AOSP that tagged your internet traffic when you were running a mobile hotspot, which made it incredibly easy for carriers to block tethering if you didn't have it included in your plan. But as of Android 6.0, this "tether_dun_required" tag has been removed, which means you no longer have to edit a database file to get tethering up and running.
If you read the reviews on Google's Pixel C, you'll notice one big complaint about the tablet/laptop—most reviewers feel that Android simply isn't ready to be used as a desktop OS. The developers at Jide felt the same way, so they set out to make a custom version of Android with proper multitasking support and a UI optimized for the mouse and keyboard.
If you've been visiting websites of ill repute, or if you've been Christmas shopping and don't want to spoil the surprise, it would be a disastrous situation if anyone were to come across your browsing history. Visited sites, cookies, and cache can paint a very clear picture of your recent internet activity, and depending on the situation, you may only have a few seconds to delete your history before someone else barges in.
I loved the original Star Wars trilogy when I was a kid, but loathe all of the current DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming versions available today. Ever since 1997, every version of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi has had horrendous CGI effects added in that George Lucas deemed necessary to bring his "ideal" version to life.
Apple makes it easy to access your favorite and most recently used applications and documents in Mac OS X. You can simply add your favorite apps and folders to the dock, and you can always visit the Apple menu from the menu bar to see a list of your most recently used apps and docs.
The notification light on phones and tablets is slowly disappearing. The once staple feature is now only found on a few devices, and a bevy of other notification systems have sought to fill the gap. The most popular of these systems is Ambient Display, which has grown in popularity with OEMs over the last couple of years; even Google's own Nexus line of phones have made the plunge.
If you have no desire to get a separate Mac desktop computer, but want to either supersize your laptop's screen for gaming or need to get additional screen real estate while you work, then connecting your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro to an external display is the right call.
