These last few months have been a Lollipop lovefest, and I'm not talking about the candy. Android's latest OS has been exalted for its embrace of Material Design, and we've certainly given Lollipop its fair share of coverage as well; check out all its new features and ways to make older devices get some of the new look and feel of Android 5.0.
If you've ever noticed that the stock launcher on an Android device seems to just feel faster than any third-party home screen replacement app, this is not a placebo effect. Most manufacturers, Samsung included, force their stock launchers to reside permanently in your phone's memory, thus reducing the risk of redraws.
Sony's latest flagship, the Xperia Z3, comes with some pretty high-end hardware, but what really draws me to it are the aesthetics of its ROM, Xperia UI. Even though my HTC One M8 can still go toe-to-toe with the Z3 in a performance matchup, there is something about Sony's UI that is simply missing from my HTC.
Because of Android's massive array of supported smartphones that carry vastly different display sizes and resolutions, the operating system uses a value known as DPI to determine the size of icons and visual assets that will best suit a given screen.
When Yahoo! purchased the home screen replacement app Aviate back in January, many were wondering if the internet giant intended to continue development of the launcher or if the transaction was just another acqui-hire.
While rooting your Galaxy Note 2 certainly has its advantages—everything from increasing security to relieving the Power button of its duties—it's definitely not for everyone.
HTC's recent release of a new flagship phone brought tons of fanfare along with it. Dubbed The All New HTC One, the M8 edition of the popular One series phone also marked an update to the HTC Sense UI. Manufacturer skins like Sense can be a bit of a polarizing subject, especially amongst Nexus owners who are used to experiencing Android's interface exactly as Google envisioned it.
Many people are bored of the typical square-ish icons arranged in a uniform grid on their Android homescreen. I dislike looking at grids of buttons and sometimes I would like to have some really HUGE buttons for the applications that matter the most at any given time.
There once was a time before smartphones when you had to actually remember where you parked your vehicle. This really sucked when visiting a location with a large parking lot — they even made a whole Seinfeld episode about it. But now you can just tap a button to solve this problem. Who says we're not living in the future?
One of the standout features of Nova Launcher is its vast customization options. Not only does it includes numerous tweaks to alter the aesthetics of your home screen, but it even has plenty of features that reduce clutter. One area of our device that has a high potential for disarray is our home screen.
Samsung's new personal assistant, Bixby, is making its debut on the Galaxy S8 and S8+. In addition to taking voice commands and performing visual searches, a new Hello Bixby feature predicts what you might want to do next with an integrated home screen feed. All of these features look nice, but if you're not ready to shell out at least $750 for a new phone, you'll be glad to know that Hello Bixby just leaked.
When the Galaxy S6 hype-train was building momentum ahead of the phone's release, many reports had Samsung cutting back on its much-maligned TouchWiz skin. In the end, these reports were either highly exaggerated or entirely fabricated, because while not as egregious as previous devices, Samsung's signature bloated UI and duplicate apps are definitely present on the Galaxy S6.
HTC's Sense UI is generally regarded as one of the best manufacturer-skinned versions of Android. This is mainly due to the subtle and classy styling of the interface, as well as some unique features that are added in here and there.
After installing an app from the Google Play Store, its icon will appear on your home screen, creating a shortcut for you to easily access it without needing to look very far. But if you've installed as many apps as I have, these shortcuts begin to add up and eventually make your home screen look like an iPhone, turning it into just another app drawer.
While the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is sure to get an Android 5.0 Lollipop update, there's no official confirmation on when exactly that will happen (rumors state January). In the meantime, there are a number of ways to get some of Lollipop's features on your KitKat device right now, but today I'll be focusing on the looks with a Lollipop-themed launcher.
As Matias Duarte and the team over at Google's Android Design department ready their wares, they've given us a preview version of the upcoming "L" release of Android to try out.
With the release of the M8, HTC decided to begin publishing some of its exclusive apps to the Google Play Store. While most of these apps aren't available for download unless you own an HTC device, this practice made it possible for the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer to issue updates to its users independently of carrier-modified firmware upgrades.
Normally, when you open applications on your Samsung Galaxy device, you do so from one of three places—your home screen, the app drawer, or from the list of recently used apps—but it never seems fast enough when it comes to opening your favorite and/or most-used apps.
I don't like a lot of app icons on my home screen. It makes everything on my Nexus 7 feel dense and congested. As a minimalist, I like a simple and well-organized home screen, which is why I regularly utilize my app drawer to launch apps.
The Google Now Launcher that was introduced with the Nexus 5 seems to have a lot of folks torn. On the one hand, having a home screen page dedicated to Google Now, as well as the always-listening voice search, are killer features. On the other hand, its lack of customization options like home screen gestures and variable grid sizes has some people considering switching to third-party launchers.
There's no shortage of cool customizations for my Samsung Galaxy S3, except when it comes to the launcher. Sure, there a ton of Android launchers out there, like Nova Launcher or Apex Launcher, that allow you to customize app placement, app grouping, infinite scrolling, etc. There's even Facebook Home for those who are Facebook addicts.
I'm all about safety in my life. I even put on safety goggles when someone opens a bottle of champagne—high life problems. But when it comes to driving, you have to be double safe, because the other drivers on the road may not have your safety in mind.
Google is constantly adding new ways to do things quicker on its devices. Everything from multi-screen capabilities to lock-screen widgets has been added to the new updates of the Android OS, making its devices very powerful and efficient. Something that Android hasn't paid much attention to, though, is the ability to access applications easily from places other than the home screen. So, XDA Developers member Cyansmoker decided to take matters into his own hands creating an application that a...
Use paper to be creative and engage in some easy crafts to create something out of a simple piece of paper. 1. In this paper craft start by creating a paper football and a paper boat. They are quite easy to make, and if you do not know how to do them you can easily find videos which describe how to do each one of them on the internet. 2. Once you have both the paper football and the paper boat you will be able to create a paper launcher by following this video. 3. Start by turning the paper b...
If you're playing Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and you're looking into earning the 'Chain of Death' achievement or trophy on the Xbox 360 or PS3 respectively, look no further than this walkthrough. To unlock it, you'll need use the Vengeance Launcher to kill 10 enemies with 5 rounds in a row.
The Google Feed is a great source for relevant news articles from your search history, package delivery updates, and much more. Now known as the "Discover" page, many Android users turn to this useful menu on a daily basis. However, as Google recently pointed out, the all-white theme is not ideal for battery life, nor is it easy on the eyes at night.
Google worked with design agency B-Reel to create some unique wallpapers for its Pixel and Pixel XL flagships, and the end result is quite stunning. These "Live Earth" wallpapers, as they're called, combine Google Earth's high-def satellite imagery with a 3D parallax effect that changes perspective as you move between screens.
Newer gaming systems like the PlayStation 4 have a nice, subtle feature that goes a long way towards helping create a more immersive experience. Any time you're on the main menu or home screen, an ambient background music track is playing, which adds an aural appeal to an experience that would otherwise be all about the visuals.
Take everyday sprinkler parts and form them into a high pressure rocket launcher that will shoot paper rockets nearly 300 feet!!! It's cheap to make and a lot of fun!
So you're crossing a bridge in beautiful Mt. Pleasant, located in Pennsylvania. Then, out of the PA sky, comes quite the rude and interruptive dropship. If you're interested in beating the Dropship boss fight in Resistance 3, take a look at this guide for tips on how to use your Wildfire rocket launcher.
The Here Comes the Groom is a bizarre battle where you have to fight off a psychopath wearing a tux in a wedding chapel. This tutorial shows you how to build yourself a rocket launcher to take out the groom when you play Dead Rising 2.
A Lampare, or aerial fireball shell, is a really cool pyrotechnics device that basically allow you to use a cartridge to launch a fireball into the air. This video will show you how to make a 3" Lampare out of black powder fuel and a Napthalene / charcoal mix. Dry fuel is safer and lasts longer than liquid fuel, so study up!
One of the easiest ways to change up your Android experience is by swapping out the stock launcher with a new one. The word "launcher" is Android lingo for "home screen app," and it's a common term because of how easy it is to switch to a new one. So if you're looking to revamp your home screen, this guide's for you.
For some Android users, this guide is sacrilege — but for others, iOS is just an attractive operating system that can be admired without feeling like you've betrayed your own phone. If you're one of those Galaxy Note 9 owners that have peeked across the aisle and desired an interface as clean as the one on the iPhone XS Max, you can configure your Note 9 to look like its rival with some tinkering.
Recently, many manufacturers have started offering phones with a clean, stock Android UI. Motorola, Essential, Nokia, and OnePlus are probably the biggest names that have listened to user feedback and shifted more towards AOSP. But if your phone still has a bloated OEM skin, there are a few things you can do about it.
Well, that was annoying. Earlier today, iOS users — including myself — were getting plagued with the same CNN news alert over and over again. While the news itself is significant (the guy who sent that false missile alert in Hawaii was fired), people usually get the gist after just one alert, not dozens.
PowerShell Empire is an amazing framework that is widely used by penetration testers for exploiting Microsoft Windows hosts. In our previous guide, we discussed why and when it's important to use, as well as some general info on listeners, stagers, agents, and modules. Now, we will actually explore setting up listeners and generating a stager.
There's no debating that the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are top contenders for the most beautifully designed handsets of 2017, but the same can't be said for their TouchWiz interface, which has been met with lukewarm reception at best.
An amazing amount of news this week; new proposals and new agreements have sprung up. But so has our "need" to spread our presence. The military warns of another war, while 26 congressmen decry the use of drone strikes. Read on:
To get the Guerilla Tactics achievement / trophy in Bulletstorm, you must execute 25 skillshots in a single Echoes map. Skillshots are the most fun part Bulletstorm. This video will give you a handy step-by-step guide to getting the achievement in Collapsed Building.
