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Showing posts from January, 2016

Apple’s latest earnings have good news for Google

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Depending on where one looks, Apple either had the best quarter  ever at the end of last year , or else has finally started to come down from its high horse of smartphone sales . While the company  did manage to make more  money than ever before – $18 billion dollars in profit is no small sum – when details emerged about iPhone sales in an earnings call with CEO Tim Cook earlier this week, the big take away was that – save for China – iOS phone sales declined in every market. In contrast – save for China – Android sales have surged. Indeed reports have been coming down the line for some time now that iPad sales have begun to slow over the past years, and many felt Apple charged too prominent a premium for its iPad Pro, released last fall, which has a comparable cost to an standard MacBook or higher end mobile PC. The fact that the product’s stylus, the Apple Pencil, was not included with the purchase only further intensified this situation for some, as did the high price for the

It’s official: Galaxy S7 is launching on February 21

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Folks, it’s set in stone: the Galaxy S7 is launching on Sunday, February 21, 2016. Samsung sent out invites to members of the press for its February 21 Unpacked 2016 event and there’s no doubt that we will get to see the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. The event will start at 7PM Barcelona time, on the same day LG plans to take the veils off its G5 , ahead of MWC 2016. Two top Android flagships in one day, and Android Authority will be there to cover them both in detail. Full details on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge specs, features and release – rumor roundup While the invite itself is rather cryptic, Samsung put out a short teaser clip featuring its Gear VR headset. It’s possible that virtual reality will be incorporated somehow in the launch or that Samsung is preparing an announcement on this front. No teasers yet about the Galaxy S7, but thanks to the rumor mill, we have a good idea of what to expect. Full details are available in our rumor roundup linked above, but at l

How to extend your Android’s battery life

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Sure, we call our Android devices “phones,” but the modern smartphone is so wildly different from that curly-corded contraption mounted to your grandmother’s kitchen wall that we’d probably be more accurate calling them Personal Computers if the name wasn’t already taken. All the processing power and computing ability that our handsets deliver us are increasingly impressive, but these come at a cost. We’re starting to expect more and more out of our devices every year, but developments in battery longevity haven’t kept pace with other technological advances. Maybe that’s why one of the most common questions we see is, “How can I extend my Android’s battery life?” I’ll give you the tl;dr right off the bat: if you really want to stretch your battery life, the approach that makes the most impact is to lower your screen’s brightness and kill anything you aren’t actively using. Basic resource management goes a long way, and since your display is almost certainly the biggest battery hog n

Josh’s pink iPhone and the Galaxy S7 | Podcast 050

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In Josh’s absence this week, it was only fair that we poke fun at him for his pink iPhone. Jonathan Feist, Joe Hindy and Nirave Gondhia take the stage for discussion on the upcoming Final Fantasy IX release on Android, Marshmallow on the Samsung Galaxy S6, a new approach for the Galaxy S7 and then ramble on about Launchers, skins, phone distribution philosophy and more. In one of our more on-topic podcasts in a while, and certainly one of our longest shows, join us for some fun then check out the links to these stories and more down below. The Android Authority Podcast – discussing topics in Android every single week. Links to Podcast RSS Feed iTunes Stitcher SoundCloud Direct Download Relevant Links “I used an iPhone and I liked it.” – Josh Vergara (We made this up, but we’re pretty sure that’s what Josh was thinking.) Square Enix bringing Finally Fantasy IX to Android Marshmallow on the Samsung Galaxy S6 There will not be a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge+, or will there? Leak

honor 5X now available in the US for just $199

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It’s been talked about for a few weeks now, and the day is finally here.  Huawei’s first U.S.-bound honor smartphone, the honor 5X , is now available for purchase from various online retailers. For just $199.99, you’ll not only snag one of the best cheap Android smartphones out there, but also one of the best dual-SIM handsets on the market. As of now it looks like all three color variants – Dark Grey, Daybreak Silver and Sunset Gold – are available from Amazon , Newegg and from honor’s website . And if you choose to buy from Newegg, the retailer with throw in a free 32GB microSD card for a limited time. Buy now from Amazon Buy now from Newegg Buy now from honor If you need a refresher, the honor 5X comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 processor, a 13MP rear camera and a 3000mAh battery. What makes this device so special is that for the price, you’ll be hard pressed to find a smartphone that feels this premium. It’s made of a metallic chassis and al

5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly

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invi SMS Messenger [Price: Free] This week’s Android Apps Weekly show is brought to you by Invi SMS Messenger. This totally free messaging app comes with a variety of features including light, dark, nature, and pop themes along with various customizations including bubble colors, fonts, sounds, inbox styles, and more. The interface is a mixture of a custom design with Material Design elements baked in for good measure and insofar as we could tell, the app acts and works perfectly fine. In addition, the app includes a selection of mini-apps that work within the main app that include a YouTube player, the 2048 game, and Buzzfeed to help give you a more immersive experience. Recent updates also gave the app group messaging. It’s definitely one of the most interesting and entertaining SMS apps we’ve ever used and it’s totally free so give it a shot and show your support for the Android Apps Weekly show! Get it now on Google Play! Welcome back to Android Apps Weekly! Here are your h

Android Authority this week – January 31, 2016

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Hello Android fans! Are you excited for MWC yet? This week we’ve got a slew of reports about devices coming at MWC, including the Galaxy S7, LG G5, and the Xiaomi Mi 5. A set of credible Galaxy S7 press renders leaked out, along with info about Samsung’s upcoming upgrade program. We’ve also got a glimpse of the LG G5, while LG cleared out an issue affecting many G4 owners. Google brought out updates to many of its apps, including the troubled Hangouts. Several big companies released their quarterly earnings, giving us an idea of their financial health. And the first major One M10 leak happened, courtesy of @evleaks. Inside AA HQ Our Josh Vergara took some well deserved time off late last year and he thought about trying something new. For the entire month of December, Josh used an iPhone. Oh my, I know what you’re thinking. What was Josh thinking and how could he betray Android like that. No worries, Josh returned to work and to the Android ecosystem come CES, so nothing really chan