We regret to inform you the former king of third-party keyboards, Swype, has officially retired on both Android and iOS. A few weeks ago, we noticed Swype's mysterious disappearance from the iOS App Store but had hoped it was just pulled temporarily, not gone forever. Unfortunately, Swype is no more, but there's something that's ready to take its place for you on your phone.
Messaging apps can be a double-edged sword. Not only do they let you interact with other people, but they also let you go back and reminisce on past exchanges. However, that same archive can be used against you in certain situations. Luckily, Signal can be manipulated to remove any record of past messages.
With Signal's class-leading end-to-end encryption, you can be sure your messages will remain secure as they travel to the recipient. However, once the message arrives, its privacy is completely dependent on the receiver, who could share it anywhere if they wanted. To patch this vulnerability, Signal added disappearing messaging.
Android used to have a notification ticker, but those days are long gone. Now, important new messages pop up on the top half of your screen with what's known as a "heads up notification." If you're in the middle of something, these popup notifications can be pretty annoying — luckily, it's pretty easy to turn them off.
Recently, iPhone users have been bragging that they can set Live Photos as their lock screen wallpaper. While this is a great way to spice up a boring lock screen, Android users shouldn't feel left out in the cold. The highly customizable and feature-rich OS has a few tricks up its sleeve too, and it's really easy to set any GIF as your Android's home screen and/or lock screen background.
A while back, we told you about NoChromo, a no-root ad-blocking browser based on Google Chrome's open source code base, Chromium. That browser was wildly successful, as it offered an identical interface to regular Chrome, but without any ads. Sadly, the developer abandoned NoChromo, but a new ad-blocking Chromium port called Bromite has been released to fill its void.
With so much money on the line, it's no surprise that cryptocurrency exchanges are prime targets for cybercriminals. Because of this, the importance of keeping your personal account as secure as possible cannot be overstated. Binance is one step ahead in this regard, as it requires you to enable two-factor authentication to keep your bitcoins and alt-coins safe.
Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 have Oreo beta software available in the wild at this point. We devoted a number of articles to covering what's new in Oreo and went into detail about the bugs and hiccups on both the S8 and the Note 8. Still, many people are left wondering — what's the difference between the Oreo builds on these two phones?
Just yesterday, Google announced that it is banning all apps that contain any form of lock screen ads. Today, they posted a list of the Best Apps of 2017 for the Play Store. Given the new policy of cracking down on apps with advertisements on the lock screen, you wouldn't expect to see one of those in the list of top apps. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened — Google is promoting obvious adware in their list of best apps.
Drivers the world over are painfully aware of the inherent danger of taking their eyes off the road even for a second. In fact, according to the National Safety Council, 27% of all car crashes result from distracted driving due to attempted cell phone use. Fortunately, Waze comes with a feature that can help keep you from being a part of this grim statistic.
Most of the free apps you'll find on the Play Store have ads. These ads are personalized — in other words, they're for products and services Google believes you might be interested in. The way Google knows about your interests is by collecting data from your smartphone, including your location and app usage. While personalized ads have their advantages, the collection of data is unsettling.
Threats to your privacy and security are everywhere, so protecting your data should be the highest priority for anyone with a smartphone. However, one threat many people overlook is the company who supplies the operating system your Android phone runs — Google.
Huawei has been on a roll recently. They just became the second largest smartphone manufacturer in September, passing Apple and trailing only Samsung. Shortly after, they announced their new Kirin 970 flagship SoC to rival the Snapdragon 835, then followed that up by announcing the Mate 10 and 10 Pro. Well apparently, Huawei isn't done with announcements just yet.
After recently being in the news for collecting PII (personally identifiable information) for analytics and after-sales support, OnePlus has another security problem. An individual going by the name Elliot Alderson discovered an app in OnePlus devices that can enable root access with one command.
Just when you thought Google Glass was dead, it turns out there may be a second life for the often ridiculed device that won't relegate it to the staid confines of factories and repair jobs.
Face ID is possibly the iPhone X's make-it-or-break-it feature. Apple is asking previous iPhone owners to put a lot of faith into their home button replacement, and so far, the results seem pretty good. That is until CNN tested the security feature with identical twins.
Update 10/23: The hits just keep on coming. We're now seeing reports of a "smearing" effect when scrolling through apps on the Pixel XL 2. We'll expand on that at the bottom of this article, but it's still worth reading the background information on issues with LG's new POLED displays.
Typos are a constant annoyance that we all deal with thanks to the cramped touchscreen keyboards on smartphones. For many, nothing beats the feel of a good old physical keyboard when it comes to typing fast with minimal errors. Fortunately, WhatsApp has an awesome feature which lets you use their messaging service right on your computer.
The LG V30 is an amazing device that will contend for best smartphone of 2017. It has all the major features you'd expect from a high-end flagship, and it even includes what's become a rare commodity these days — a headphone jack. However, for the purists out there, the LG UX skin strays too far away from stock Android. Have no fear, for with the LG V30, you can have your cake and eat it, too.
One of the downsides of living in an unprecedented age of connectivity is the near-constant bombardment of information. WhatsApp, the go-to messaging app for people the world over, is just as susceptible to buildup of useless media files, thanks to awesome features that allow us to communicate in multiple ways, such as broadcasting to friends and family. Luckily, the app makes it easy to remove old and unwanted data from your iPhone or Android.
Let's face it — our phones are our heart and soul. We do everything on them, from banking to media consumption. However, sometimes we download apps that we don't want others to see. Sometimes, we wish to hide apps so that, in the rare times we lend our phone to someone, we don't get judged for a lifetime by what they find.
Spotty cellular reception is a fact of life that we all have to deal with, especially when you're traveling. For those of us who rely on our smartphones for navigation, driving through areas with bad mobile data service can be a cause for major headaches.
Sharing your Wi-Fi password is like giving an unlimited pass to snoop around your network, allowing direct access even to LAN-connected devices like printers, routers, and security cameras. Most networks allow users to scan and attempt to log in to these connected devices. And if you haven't changed the default password on these devices, an attacker can simply try plugging them in.
When you're on the go, Plex makes sure your media always stays with you. Just install the server app for Mac or PC and enable remote access, then you can stream movies and TV shows from your computer to your phone over the internet.
For a long time now, VLC has been the go-to media player for Windows and Mac — but it's fast becoming the best third-party video player on Android and iOS, too. Aside from its ability to play virtually any file type, one of VLC's best features on mobile is the fact that you can control playback using simple swipe gestures.
As a side scrolling game, performing various jumps in Super Mario Run on your iPhone or Android is as vital as eggs in a breakfast buffet.
Paying for street parking in New York City just got so much easier. Instead of searching for loose change or hoping you didn't forget your wallet, you can use a device you always have with you: your phone.
When it comes to playing videos from your personal media library, VLC is hard to beat. But let's say you want to play videos from an Android device by connecting it to your TV — what app should you use then? VLC is still the answer, particularly once you've enabled its TV-friendly UI.
YouTube's mobile live streaming feature is great for connecting with your audience in a more personal way than traditional videos provide. Audiences can view and respond to content in real time, and creators can do the same. While unfortunately not available to everyone — you need at least 100 subscribers — live streaming is possible, even with your smartphone.
The new battlefield AR game announced by Skyrocket Toys today is similar to the childhood game "Tag", except the stakes are much, much higher.
If you don't know Clay, you're probably going to want to. According to their website, Clay VR's goal was to not only expose users to the world of AR/VR, but fully immerse them in it. Clay does this by allowing users to feel like they were touching the objects in virtual worlds in order to make the virtual worlds feel more natural and real.
Cycling accidents are more common than you think. In the past month, two men have been hit and killed while cycling in New York City. I even saw a cycling accident occur yesterday morning here in NYC. It's dangerous enough to be cycling in populated areas, it's made worse by people wanting to text while riding.
Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger and fashion label Anrealage have teamed to produce the world's first augmented reality sneakers. The shoes — called the Anrealage Monte Z — look like a regular pair of sneakers until you view them through Anrealage's new AR app. Once viewed through the app, they become unlike any pair of sneakers that have ever existed.
If you don't have any home Wi-Fi, like to watch videos on public transportation, or just always find yourself streaming Netflix when there are no hotspots available, your cellular data is probably gobbled up fairly fast. For limited data plans, watching the next episode of your favorite TV show could mean overage charges on your cellular bill, but it doesn't have to.
I can't stand trying to use my phone in direct sunlight. It drives me crazy — I just want to get through a game of Sonic, but I can't see where I'm going. No one has it harder than I do. But my troubles might soon be over, as researchers are developing anti-glare films for smartphones, based off of the eyes of moths. Weird.
Admit it — many of us have not gotten in the Uber's we've requested. Sometimes, you just need to get someone else a cab that you're not going to be going with. No biggie ... but your friend doesn't have any connection to Uber or the driver, which can be a little awkward. Uber is addressing this slight issue today, with an update that allows you to officially request Ubers for others.
The beta firmware for OnePlus devices lets you record calls from the stock Oxygen OS dialer, but this feature is never included in official updates. This is likely due to legal issues with recording calls in some jurisdictions, but thankfully, there's a way to get this feature without having to run beta software.
Goertek's AM3D offers world-class audio processing software that powers millions of high-end devices around the world. Their biggest advancement is likely Virtual Surround Sound, which can make two speakers sound like a full 5.1 setup.
If you've ever missed an important phone call because you're hands were too dirty to touch the screen, you won't have to worry much longer about it happening again. Apple is remedying this age-old problem on the iPhone with a hidden feature in iOS 11 that ensures you'll never miss another call again.
You can pinch yourself, but you're not dreaming. Sprint is actually offering a year of (mostly) free, unlimited service for anyone who switches to the carrier. The only stipulation is that you must bring your phone with you, and it has to be one of the 27 eligible devices.
