Androidifying

Those of you with a Samsung smartwatch may have noticed a major change to the way that Samsung is handling wearable apps today. The company has announced that its Gear Apps store will now be merged with the main Galaxy Apps shop, so that customers can find all their Samsung related downloads under a single roof. The Gear app store was Samsung’s main hub for smartwatch related software, with downloads ranging from watch faces to third party apps. The main reason for the merger appears to be to simplify the user experience, so that customers don’t have to hop between two different platforms. The dedicated Gear app isn’t going to completely disappear though. It will still function as a connected hub for smartwatches, but customers will be pulled over to the main Galaxy Apps store if they want to install apps or other downloads for their watch or fitness tracker. Samsung Gear S2 Review Samsung Gear S2 Unboxing and... To ease customers into the new integration, Samsung i

Android 6.0 Marshmallow is here, and now the waiting game is on. “When will my phone get the Marshmallow update?” ask countless Android fans, and for good reason: while phone makers are doing a better job at keeping their devices up to date, the process is still lengthy and opaque. Worse, many models will inevitably be left behind. We’re here to shed some light on the issue. In this post, which will be updated frequently, we are rounding up all the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update news, so you can get a good picture of what to expect. Before we start The release of Android updates for most devices is a complex process, involving Google, chip makers, device makers, and carriers. With so many players, and so many things that could go wrong, you should expect delays, slow rollouts, botched releases, and generally a lot of variation based on your specific model, your region, and your carrier. Just because your phone or tablet isn’t listed here, it doesn’t mean that it won’t be updated.

Wireless charging is a pretty neat, somewhat luxurious feature tucked away inside some high-end smartphones. But in the modern days of battery guzzling processors and fast charging wired alternatives, wireless charging just isn’t quite useful enough to breakthrough as a mainstream feature. That being said, LG Innotek has just announced some new wireless transmission modules that can apparently charge up a phone as quickly as today’s speedy wired chargers. The company claims that its new transmitters are three times faster than before and that they can charge a fully discharged battery from 0 to 50 percent in just 30 minutes. This has been accomplished by boosting the transmission power from the typical 5W all the way up to 15W. This comes close to the amount of power available from technologies such as Quick Charge. However, wireless transmission has additional efficiency losses, so it’s not going to be quite as fast but is still a notable improvement. “The development of the 15-

Indian Xiaomi fans are in for a disappointment – the Xiaomi Mi 5  was just announced for the Indian market and it’s significantly pricier than the Chinese version. Xiaomi’s head of international expansion Hugo Barra took the stage today to reveal the Mi 5’s price and availability in India. Only the standard version of the device, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, will be initially available in India, with a price tag of Rs. 24,999. That’s about $375 at today’s rate, and not a bad deal for a Snapdragon 820 device with excellent specs. The problem is, Indian users were expecting something closer to Rs. 20,000 (around $300), which is around how much the standard Mi 5 costs in Xiaomi’s native market. In China, the Mi 5 32GB sells for RMB 1999 ($310), the Mi 5 64GB for RMB 2299 ($355), and the top of the line Mi 5 Pro for RMB 2699 ($420). Now, there are many factors that determine how companies price their products in each market. Local taxes, import tariffs, and the local purchasing

We all know about those Android apps that “take off”: the ones that enjoy immense success, sometimes overnight, and post staggeringly large install numbers. They fuel the dreams of budding Android developers and keep our man Joe Hindy busy day in, day out. But new figures revealing the mobile apps with the highest year-on-year growth may have you reconsidering what you think you know about the hottest apps around. See also: 15 best Android apps of 2016 102 Statista has released new data showing the mobile apps in the U.S. with the fastest increase in visitor growth between December 2014 and December 2015. The app in first place grew by an unbelievable 931%! The app that took the top spot? None other than the super fun GIF Keyboard. With this kind of growth it might make a little more sense to know that  Google is reportedly making a keyboard for iOS devices , complete with GIFs. INSTALL GIF KEYBOARD Statista Not far behind in second place, with 920% visitor growth, was Lowe’s

  Months after the first U.S. carriers pushed out Android Marshmallow for the LG G3 , the update is now available in Canada. MobileSyrup is reporting the LG G3 Android update should be available on all carriers: Rogers, Fido, MTS, Bell, Virgin, SaskTel, Telus, Koodo and Videotron. See also: Looking back at the LG G3 21 See also: Looking back at the LG G3 21 Some G3 owners are reporting some issues with the download, including server issues and slow download speeds. But those that have installed it are saying it’s running just fine. The last major Android update for the LG G3 in Canada came with Lollipop in February 2015. As with all other devices receiving the Marshmallow update, you can check out our Android Marshmallow review for further details on what to expect. To check for the OTA, head to  Settings > About > Software > Update and make sure you have a charged battery and around 750 MB of available space to accommodate the download. Let us know when you get

Samsung is continuing its drive into the entry-level Indian market today, having just announced that the cost effective Galaxy J3 has just gone on sale in the country. The handset was originally unveiled in China last year and has already made its way to the US market through Virgin Mobile and Boost. The core specifications remain virtually unchanged from the earlier launches. The Indian J3 boasts a slightly up-clocked 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot, and Android 5.1 Lollipop on board. There’s also an 8 megapixel rear camera, 5 megapixel front camera, 4G LTE connectivity with support for local bands, and a 2,600mAh battery. The display is a 5-inch AMOLED panel with a reasonable 1280 x 720 resolution. Despite its appearance, the body is built entirely from plastic and comes in at a rather modest 7.9mm thick. The Indian variant also arrives with dual SIM slots, a particularly popular feature in the country. The other big se