If your Android device wasn't manufactured by Samsung, chances are it uses on-screen navigation buttons. Colloquially referred to as "Soft keys," these have become commonplace due to their flexibility, as well as the fact that manufacturers don't have to include extra hardware buttons with a propensity to fail.
Windows 10 is officially here, and frankly, there's a ton of new features in Microsoft's latest operating system. From the return of the Start menu to the new Edge browser, Windows 10 can take some getting used to.
I'm often reluctant to use a home screen launcher other than the stock one on my Android. Once you're well acclimated with something, complacency sets in, welcoming change with much resistance. Well, my friends, I have seen the error of my ways...
If you've noticed a tiny discolored spot on your computer screen that just doesn't seem to go away, chances are you have a stuck pixel. With modern LCD and OLED screens, there are millions of incredibly small dots (pixels) that make up all of the contents of your display—and within these pixels, there is a set of red, green and blue subpixels. These mix together at various levels to create all of the different colors you see.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 includes a pretty nifty feature known as "Gesture wake up," which lets users wave their hand over their locked display to wake it, making those periodic notification checks from the lock screen a lot more simple than having to press the power or home key every time.
AMOLED display panels like the one found in most Samsung Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy S6 models, are known for their deep blacks and vivid colors. The downside here is that the colors tend to be over-saturated and not very realistic.
Ad blocking on Android usually requires root access, but a pair of new browsers based on the open source Chromium and Firefox builds are looking to change this.
Apple's latest round of devices—including the MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, and the iPhone 6S—use a new touch input method that can detect when you've applied a bit more force than usual. Dubbed "Force Touch" ("3D Touch" on the new iPhones), this gesture simulates a long-press or right-click, but it usually requires special hardware to detect the amount of pressure you've applied.
Exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, "Information stream" is a screen feature that lets you see quick, at-a-glance information with a simple swipe while the screen is off. It also supports plug-ins, or additional streams of information that can come from third-party sources. So developers are starting to come up with nifty little add-ons for Information stream, and the team at 3C has some cool new system feeds that might come in handy.
The buttons on most Android devices are laid out (from left to right) in a Back, Home, Recent Apps format. Samsung is the lone exception to this rule, which flip-flops them, so this can make for an inconsistent experience if you own multiple Android devices.
Android Debug Bridge (or ADB for short) serves as a remote terminal interface for executing shell commands on any Android device. Put simply, ADB lets you send commands from your computer to your phone or tablet, some of which would require root access if they were performed on the Android side of the connection.
The Google Now gesture included in the Google Now Launcher and on Nexus devices isn't something I regularly utilize, and you might not either. There is a way to disable it, which is a good idea if you were executing it accidentally, but what's even better than disabling it? Repurposing it!
One of the many unique features that sets Android apart from other mobile operating systems is its live wallpaper system. Instead of the same old boring static image, this system lets developers create apps that provide dynamic home screen wallpapers.
When I first received my HTC One M8, I was in love with the 5-inch screen size, but the icons and font just seemed too big, wasting valuable screen real estate. Phablets, like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, have only slightly larger screens, but don't seem to have this problem since manufacturers lowered the device's DPI, or dots per inch.
I've used the flashlight feature on my iPhone more times than I can count. It's an invaluable tool that's super easy to activate; just pull up the Control Center and hit the flashlight icon. However, turning it off isn't always as easy, especially when you're on the lock screen.
I once had a collection of over 300 different wallpapers for my MacBook, set to randomly change every 30 minutes. Needless to say, my desktop never got boring. Wallpapers can facilitate a mood, imply a political stance, or just add aesthetic appeal, so having to manually change them on my iPhone is a bummer because of how many times I want a new home or lock screen look.
One of the most rewarding things about jailbreaking is theming. Unlike Android, iOS doesn't allow you to make small changes to certain aspects like the icons or the lock screen, so jailbreaking facilitates the ability to make some of these desired changes happen.
Aside from identifying songs with Shazam and using the "Hey Siri" feature while driving, Apple's personal assistant isn't something I regularly use on my iPhone.
When Yosemite was released, a more detailed boot screen came to your Mac. So now, just like on Apple's mobile devices, you will see a loading bar telling you how far into the startup process you are. Apple also decided to add a black version of this boot screen to newer Macs, leaving those of us who purchased a computer before 2011 out of the loop.
Apple's newer Tips app may definitely be helpful to some iOS 8 users, but personally, it's not telling me anything I don't already know. Like many other stock Apple apps that I don't use on my iPhone, I immediately hid Tips in a folder, placed that folder to the side, and forgot about it.
Apple's iPhone 6 packs a powerful 4.7-inch Retina HD display with 1334-by-750 resolution, and it's so incredible in person that it almost looks fake. However, as awesome at this display is, it can always be better.
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.
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I think it's safe to assume that most of us appreciate a little privacy and security when it comes to our mobile devices, which is exactly why we have lock screens that require unique passwords, patterns, or PINs. Although someone can discretely peer over your shoulder to see what your password is, it's much more difficult for them to duplicate your face to unlock the device.
Google's got a hit on its hands with this one. Android 5.0—AKA "Lollipop"—will be making its official debut next month, but a new preview build has given us a glimpse into the future, which looks brighter than ever.
Unless you're sporting an LG G3 or a mod that allows tap-to-sleep and/or tap-to-wake functionality, you're probably hitting the power button to sleep and wake your device. But that button may be awkward to hit, may be worn down, or may just stop working due to a manufacturer's error or a device drop. In any case, it is possible to end reliance on the power button, opting instead for a simple swipe gesture that will instantly lock your device.
We recently ran into a serious iPhone 6 issue here in the Gadget Hacks office, where the device was stuck in an infinite bootloop with intermittent red and blue screens (of death?) and an unresponsive touchscreen and buttons. From what we can tell, we weren't alone, though some are experiencing only one or a few of the issues we've had.
One of the best ways to reduce clutter and enjoy the new iOS 8 wallpapers on your iPhone is to use the little-known trick of hiding all of your main home screen apps. This trick effectively moves your apps off the main home screen and over to additional home screen pages, or in your dock, making your main home screen beautifully clutter-free.
Losing your phone is a much bigger ordeal today than it was just 10 years ago. Our smartphones carry with them lots of sensitive data that, in the wrong hands, is capable of being used for identity theft and fraud.
With so much Flash content still available on the web, it's unfortunate that Google no longer supports mobile Flash Player on Android. Loading a webpage only to be met with a "Plug-in Error" is never fun, and it can inhibit your mobile browsing experience as you attempt to watch a video or play an addicting Flash game.
As soon as you plug a set of headphones into a Samsung Galaxy series device, a bar pops up in the notification tray that lets you select from a list of "recommended apps" for earphones. It's a convenient little feature that shows the apps you're most likely to use based on previous activity.
Reddit is home to tons of fun and unique content. A starting point for the various memes and videos that eventually make it into your Facebook feed, you could seriously spend all day just browsing different subreddits and not get bored.
Amazon released the Kindle Fire HDX back in late-2013, and if you picked one up or received one as a gift, you've probably had a good amount of time to get to know your tablet.
Much like the high volume warning, there are various minute features on Android that users either hate or just find annoying. Thankfully, there are developers out there that sympathize. It may seem frivolous, but one feature that a lot of people want eliminated is the screen waking whenever a charger is plugged in.
Get ready to stop using the stock Contacts app on your Samsung Galaxy S4, because there's something better out there for keeping track of your family and friends—and it looks better too.
Google Now is a wonderfully powerful service—with its predictive cards and voice search, it serves as a great starting point for any searches you need done. In fact, Samsung liked it so much that they decided to build the "Okay, Google" hotword detection right into the Galaxy S5's stock launcher.
The weather widget on the main home screen of a fresh-out-of-the-box Galaxy S5 is meant to show off the screen. Super-high contrast and crisp definition on the individual blades of grass in the background let you know that the phone you're holding has one helluva display.
As we approach Samsung's unveiling of the next device in the Galaxy Note series—usually in early Fall—SamMobile has provided some exclusive information of the specs of the next phablet flagship.
Last week marked the announcement of LG's new G3 smartphone, and with it came a ton of new features and improvements to their Optimus UI. While most manufacturers put little effort into their keyboards—probably due to the attraction of third-party alternatives—LG has made their latest iteration one of the best OEM keyboards I have ever used.
Location-based app shortcuts in iOS 8 work at places like Starbucks, the Apple Store, as well as train stations, banks, hospitals, grocery stores, and more. When you're in the vicinity of these locations, a small notification appears at the bottom left of the lock screen. You you can slide up on these icons (as you would on the camera icon on the lock screen) to access specific apps based on where you're located, making it easy to access your Starbucks account when you're buying coffee or che...
