We've compiled a 'Top 10' list of our favorite Android apps to hit the Play Store in March 2017. The apps highlighted in this video include Super Mario Run, BatON, Nautivity, Pixon Icon Pack, Podcast Go, Highway Getaway, Pixbar, GlassWire, Cliff Hopper, and Floating Tube Player. Which app is your favorite?
Lots of mobile companies like to have fun for April Fools’ Day, and Google is no different.
Google today made a couple of April Fools’ Day jokes. The first is Google Gnome, an assistant that lives in your yard and helps with outdoor (and only outdoor) tasks. For example, the Gnome can turn your hose on and off or tell you which direction the wind is blowing.
You can see a video starring Google Gnome above, and Google even went so far as to create a special page for Gnome on its online store.
Google’s other gag today is Ms. Pac-Maps, which lets you play Ms. Pac-Man using Google Maps on Android, iOS, and the desktop. On the Android and iOS maps, you should see a Ms. Pac-Maps icon that you can press to begin chomping power pellets and chasing ghosts. On the desktop, you can click the Ms. Pac-Maps button at the bottom left.
If you sign in before playing Ms. Pac-Maps, you can save your top score on a leaderboard.
When TCL officially revealed the BlackBerry KeyOne last month, it said that the keyboard-clad Android phone would launch in April. Now it looks like we’ll have to wait a bit longer to get our thumbs on the KeyOne’s physical QWERTY.
During BlackBerry’s fiscal Q4 2017 earnings call, CEO John Chen revealed that the BlackBerry KeyOne is now slated to begin shipping until May. Chen didn’t reveal why the KeyOne was pushed back to May, saying only that the phone’s first production run will happen at the end of April.
Delays of new smartphones are always disappointing, but the good news is that this delay isn’t a big one. Here’s to hoping that the KeyOne doesn’t encounter so that we can give this portrait QWERTY form factor a try in May.
TCL has said that the BlackBerry KeyOne will cost $549/€599/£499. To help pass the time until its May arrival, you can check out our hands-on video starring the BlackBerry KeyOne right here.
Snapchat is in a tough spot right now and we're not just talking about all of those insensitive filters. Users love Stories, but because of that, everybody from Medium to Bumble to Facebook is adding its own version of the feature to its platforms. At this point, Snapchat needs to do whatever it can to stay one step ahead of its many imitators. It made a move to do just that today with a new search tool for Stories.
Via: Mashable
Source: Snap Inc.
One of the oft-cited downsides of buying a US carrier-branded phone is the pre-installed apps, also lovingly known as bloatware, that can come with the device. And soon, it looks like Verizon Android phones will come with a new pre-installed app.
Evie, makers of the Evie Launcher for Android, is teaming up with Verizon to create AppFlash. AppFlash will be located to the left of your home screen, offering listings for restaurants, movies, music, and apps. It’ll also show your frequently used apps and suggested apps.
Up at the top of AppFlash lives a search bar so that you can quickly search for an app and launch it.
The big deal here is that AppFlash will collect your data while you’re using it. Specifically, AppFlash’s privacy policy says that it’ll collect your phone number, device identifiers, your operating system, your contact information and location (with permission), and details on the features and services you use and how you use them.
The privacy policy goes on to say that information gathered by AppFlash “may be shared within the Verizon family of companies, including companies like AOL who may use it to help provide more relevant advertising within the AppFlash experiences and in other places, including non-Verizon sites, services, and devices.”
The good news is that it seems like Verizon may be easing up on its original AppFlash plans. TechCrunch was told that the app would be rolled out across Verizon Android phones over the coming weeks, but now Verizon has told Engadget that AppFlash will initially only be tested on a single phone — the LG K20 V — and that users will have to opt-in to use it. The app can also be disabled if you don’t want it.
The amount of data that AppFlash can collect about users is kind of crazy, so it’s good to hear that for now, Verizon is making the app opt-in and is only testing it on a single device rather than rolling it out across its Android lineup. This is still an app worth monitoring to learn how Verizon’s test goes and the carrier’s future plans for it, so stay tuned.
Snapchat stories are now searchable. The company announced today that users can use the search bar at the top of the app’s main page to find whatever they want in a story. That means you can type “puppy,” and stories featuring puppies will be available to watch, or if you want to watch a Chicago Cubs game, you could type that, too, and story footage from the game will come up. The stories just have to be added to Snapchat’s Our Story group montage to be searchable.
Snapchat released a video that might give you a better idea of how it works:
Snapchat says it relies on machine learning to categorize stories. It’s specifically analyzing caption text, time, and visual elements. We’re guessing this new feature relies on technology from Vurb,...
In a bid to take advantage of India's growing developer community, Apple opened the doors to an App Accelerator in Bangalore today. True to its name, it'll serve as a place to speed up app development with weekly training, guidance and one-on-one app reviews. Apple opened similar accelerators in Naples and Brazil, but those were more focused on courting students as new developers. While the new Indian location will also try to win over students, it's more interested in honing the country's ready strong developer community, Apple marketing head Phil Schiller told NDTV.
Source: Apple
After debuting last month in gray and gold color options, the Moto G5 is getting a third set of duds today.
The Moto G5 is now available in Sapphire Blue. The new color was announced today by UK carrier O2, who is now selling the device for £0 upfront and £19 monthly.
O2 does say that this Sapphire Blue Moto G5 is only available on its network, so for now at least, it looks like you’ll have to be an O2 customer to get your hands on one.
Having more color options when considering a phone is always a good thing, and Sapphire Blue looks pretty nice on this Moto G5. That’s why we’re hoping that the blue Moto G5 will eventually make its way to more parts of the globe.
On this special all Samsung edition of the Engadget Podcast host Terrence O'Brien is joined by executive editor Dana Wollman and senior editor Chris Velazco. First all three will debate some of the most burning questions surrounding South Korea's biggest phone manufacturer. Should Samsung be using resources to build yet another virtual assistant? Is there anyone who wants to use their phone as a desktop? And, most importantly, can the Galaxy S8 save Samsung from itself? Then Chris Velazco will paint a picture of the event on the ground, before the crew dives deep on the finer point of the S8's design, interface and audio pedigree.
Then, on The Wind Down, we discover that Dana failed to do her homework and Chris is contemplating picking up Dungeons & Dragons.
Last October, a teenage hacker figured out how to trick some iPhones into calling 911 repeatedly, racking up thousands of bogus calls. That attack took place months ago, but Apple has just now updated iOS to keep such an incident from occurring again. As noted by The Wall Street Journal, iOS 10.3 (which rolled out earlier this week) closes the vulnerability that 18-year-old Meetkumar Hiteshbhai Desai allegedly exploited.
One of the highlight features of the OnePlus 3T is Dash Charge, which promises to give you “a day’s power in half an hour.” Now OnePlus wants to do the same thing with people.
OnePlus today announced Dash Energy, a limited edition energy drink that the company touts “unlocks a person’s hidden potential to limit their sleep cycles to half an hour a day.” If you’d like to put Dash Energy and OnePlus’s claim to the test, you’ll be able to do just that on April 1.
OnePlus will be giving out Dash Energy in a few spots around the globe on April 1. In London, OnePlus will be giving away cans of Dash Energy from 12:00-4:00 pm at Bishops Square, Spitalfields, London E1 6EW. Folks in the EU can enter a raffle on OnePlus’s website for the chance to win a four pack of Dash Energy. And in India, the OnePlus Experience Store in Bangalore will be giving out Dash Energy drinks on April 1 starting at 11:00 am IST.
I received a couple of OnePlus Dash Energy drinks to try out, and they’re pretty tasty. They’re a bit fruitier than the Red Bulls that I occasionally enjoy, but I liked what I had and would probably get more if you could actually buy the Dash Energy drinks in stores.
If you’re not located in the parts of the globe that OnePlus will be giving out Dash Energy drinks, or if you just don’t care for energy drinks, you can still benefit from OnePlus’s April Fools’ Day festivities. From March 31 through April 4, OnePlus will offer a 15 percent discount on its Dash Charge bundle, which includes a Dash Power Adapter and a Dash Type-C Cable.
Who'd have thought that just days after the house rolled back privacy protections for internet users, ISPs would take advantage? The EFF did, pointing out that Verizon has already announced that it will install spyware, in the form of the launcher AppFlash, across its users' Android devices in the coming weeks. AppFlash, as TechCrunch reports, will embed itself to the left of your home screen, offering details on local restaurants, movies or apps that you can download.
Source: EFF
One year after giving us the Binge On Up headwear, T-Mobile has crafted a new wearable for your entire body.
The T-Mobile Onesie is now official. Designed by CEO John Legere, the T-Mobile Onesie touts some state-of-the-art features, like fitness tracking, Bluetooth, GPS, and even 4G LTE nano-fiber tech that’ll get you a perfect signal whoever you go. And if you feel like sharing that signal with others, you can activate Human Hotspot mode.
T-Mobile touts that its onesie is available in four versions: the standard Onesie for everyday wear, the Onesie Sport with wicking fabric and advanced bio-feedback, the Onesie Comfort for laid back nights in, and the Onesie @Work with wool-blend wrinkle-resistant fabric for office wear.
If all of that sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is. The T-Mobile Onesie is T-Mo’s April Fools’ Day joke for 2017. But if the thought of a comfy and obscenely bright onesie sounds awesome to you, you’ll be glad to know that you can actually buy a T-Mobile Onesie.
The T-Mobile Onesie that’s available for purchase may not have 4G LTE fibers, but it is made of 65/35 cotton, has two front pockets, and a sleeve for your phone. You can buy a T-Mobile Onesie for $40, and T-Mo says that onesies ordered between March 31 and April 6 will begin shipping on April 7.
Earlier this month, Nintendo launched its brand new video game console, which the company hopes will truly blend the experience of playing a video game at home, and then taking that game out of the house without sacrificing anything. That effort is called the Switch, which is effectively a tablet that can dock into a stay-at-home peripheral, then let players play their game on the TV at home.
The appeal of something like this is pretty obvious to some (most?) gamers, especially those who love Nintendo first-party games. Like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which, if you've been paying any attention to that title, is apparently pretty good. Being able to play that game without sacrificing the quality between the dock and tablet (and actually improving in some ways from TV to tablet) is pretty awesome.
Both Microsoft and Sony have initiated these same ideas in some capacity or another, with the latter company certainly having a leg up with its PS Vita console. But, for the most part, Nintendo figured it out, and all they did was basically launch a tablet.
So, if you've picked one up, how has the experience been for you so far?
I had a chance to go to a local retail store and pick one up at launch, earlier this month, but I just couldn't talk myself into picking up a $300 console just for one game. I want to get one, and I definitely will at some point in the future, but I want more games to play when I do. So I'm waiting. But it's been hard, because a lot of my friends got one and they've been talking about their time with the console in a mostly positive light. Especially the new Zelda game.
For me, I'm waiting mostly for the upcoming Mario Kart title, because I think it would be pretty awesome to play that with my kids while we're waiting to do other things. With so many restaurants having tablets at the table these days, I can't help but think playing something like Mario Kart would be so much more fun. (Plus, they can do that at the same time.)
So I'll pick one up some day (soon), but I wanted to hear from you, the folks who picked one up, and find out how you're liking the Switch so far. Is it as fun as it looks like, and sounds like? Are you finding yourself playing even more video games because it's portable? Let me know!
Today, I attempted to soundtrack my office life. As you might expect, sometimes the life of a blogger isn’t all that thrilling — but maybe it would be if I had a perpetual soundtrack playing in the background. Moodelizer, a new iOS app that launched earlier this month but is officially being announced today won’t soundtrack your whole life, but it’ll provide you with music to play during any moment you want to record. An Android version is expected later this year.
The app features 15 “moods,” or tracks, at launch, including laugh tracks, techno club beats, and romantic ballads. The company behind the app relies on a network of 50 composers around the world to create these free and publicly licensed tracks. Although it’s just launching,...
Google's been talking about Android Wear 2.0 for a long time -- it was first announced almost a year ago, at the I/O 2016 developer event. But it was delayed from a planned fall launch until early 2017. And while a few watches have been released that include the new software (most notably the LG Watch Style and Sport), the release for older Android Wear devices has continued to be delayed. And you'll have to keep on waiting -- Google confirmed today that an unspecified bug was found during final testing that will push back the release again.
Via: The Verge
If you actually read the terms and conditions or end-user license agreement before you click the "agree" button, raise your hand. Okay, stop being funny, we know that you actually didn't and you aren't going to score any brownie points with us. In Norway, Tinder recently got into trouble over how its terms and conditions are worded, according to regional news publication Dagens Næringsliv (translated).
Source: Dagens Næringsliv
Microsoft has its own mobile platform in Windows 10 Mobile, but that isn’t stopping the company from selling a new Android phone in its stores.
Microsoft is taking pre-orders for a Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition in its stores. Both it and the Galaxy S8+ Microsoft Edition are similar to the standard GS8 and GS8+ in terms of specs, but what makes these phones different is that they’ll include a bevy of Microsoft apps.
When you buy the Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition and connect it to Wi-Fi, the device will download Microsoft apps like Office, One Note, Bing, OneDrive, Outlook, and even Cortana, Microsoft’s own digital assistant. Microsoft says that these Microsoft Edition phones also offer “additional accessibility to other Microsoft owned applications such as LinkedIn, Wunderlist, and more.”
The Microsoft Editions of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are now available for pre-order in Microsoft’s retail stores. The phones will launch on April 21, just like the regular Galaxy S8 and S8+.
It’s kind of strange to learn that Microsoft is selling Android phones in its stores when it has a mobile OS of its very own. The move kind of makes some sense, though. Microsoft has been heavily pushing its services with Android apps lately, and the Galaxy S8 already comes with a couple of Microsoft apps, like Office. Now Microsoft can capitalize on the hype surrounding the Galaxy S8 by selling a version in its stores that’ll come with a ton of Microsoft apps, which will then expose the buyers to those apps and services.
Google announced nearly two months ago that it was going to begin pushing the Android Wear 2.0 update to existing watches, but since then, few watches have actually been updated. Now we know why.
Google has confirmed that it found a bug during its final testing of the Android Wear 2.0 update, and that that bug has delayed the rollout to most devices. There are a few lucky watches that are now receiving their Android Wear 2.0 updates, though, and they are the Fossil Q Founder, Casio Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10, and the TAG Heuer Connected.
Here’s Google’s full statement to Wareable about this Android Wear 2.0 bug:
"We have started rolling out the Android Wear 2.0 update to Fossil Q Founder, Casio Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10 and Tag Heuer Connected. For other devices, the update is currently being delayed due to a bug found in final testing. We will push the update to the remaining devices as soon as the issue is resolved."
Android Wear 2.0 brings with it several notable features and improvements, like an on-watch Play Store and a keyboard for message replies. It’s kind of a bummer that most Android Wear watches are still waiting to get their 2.0 update with these features, but it’s better for Google to have found this bug and delayed the rollout so that it can be fixed, rather than Google just pushing the update and then users having to live with the bug while Google works on a fix.
Days after announcing the launch of Stories in its main app, Facebook today revealed another new feature for its app.
Facebook is now rolling out personal fundraisers. This feature will let you raise money for yourself, a friend, or someone else. Personal fundraisers will be available first in the US for people 18 or older, and they’ll start rolling out in beta form in the coming weeks.
To start, Facebook will have a 24-hour fundraiser review process and will allow fundraisers to cover costs related to six specific categories:
Facebook is also launching donate buttons for live broadcasts. This feature will be available to verified Pages and will give public figures, brands, and other organizations the ability to raise money during or after a live broadcast.
The March installment of "Best Tech." Which device is your favorite? While we typically focus on smartphones, our "Best Tech" series expands our scope of interest and lets us to take a look at the various devices our smartphones can control. Which device is your favorite?
Last year, Twitter updated its service so that photos, videos, and other media wouldn’t count against your 140-character limit. Now it’s excluding another feature from that limit.
Twitter is now rolling out an update that excludes usernames from your tweet’s 140-character limit. This means that you can tag as many people in your tweet as you’d like, but still have 140 characters for your actual message.
With this change, Twitter is also tweaking how usernames are shown when you’re @ replying to people. Now you’ll see “Replying to…” followed by user names at the top of your tweet, rather than a long string of user names in the tweet itself. Tapping this will show you exactly who you’re replying to.
This is a nice change for Twitter. Previously, replying to other people would take up some of your tweet’s 140 characters, which could make it harder to say what you want or force you to spread your thought across multiple tweets. With this update, that’ll no longer be an issue.
This update is now rolling out to Twitter.com as well as the Twitter apps for Android and iOS.
After releasing an Android 7.1.1 update for the Axon 7 earlier this month, ZTE is now prepping a similar update for the Axon 7 Mini.
ZTE has announced that it plans to hold an Android 7.1.1 preview for the Axon 7 Mini. Owners of the Axon 7 Mini are invited to participate in the preview and provide feedback to ZTE, but you’ll have to follow a few rules if you do take part:
1. Strictly follow our Non-Disclosure Agreement
2. Complete all assigned tasks and surveys on time
3. When requested, provide a detailed bug report or feature request
If you’d like to participate, you can head to ZTE’s Z-Community forum to register your interest. ZTE says that the start and end dates will be shared with preview members, so you’ll learn more once you’re enrolled in the program.
Android 7.1.1 is the latest public release of Nougat, so it’s great to see ZTE bringing it to another one of its phones. While we don’t yet know exactly when the update will begin rolling out to the public, the fact that ZTE is inviting Axon 7 Mini owners to participate in a preview suggests that the update could be nearing completion, so hopefully a public rollout isn’t too far off.
Questions about security have plagued messaging app Telegram recently, since the platform was supposedly cracked by Russia's state security agency during the election. Telegram uses its own security protocols instead of more tried-and-true options, which has been a point of criticism. Now, Telegram is adding voice calls to its offerings, and those calls will be secured by emojis.
Source: Telegram
Twitter usernames will no longer count against the 140-character limit in replies, the company said today, following months of testing in which users complained that the redesign was confusing. Expect them to complain about this design, too: if more than one person is mentioned in your reply, Twitter hides their name unless you mouse over a link, making replies harder to browse.
The goal of the redesign is to “let you express more with 140 characters,” Twitter said in a blog post. The move follows a change last year that excluded media attachments including photos, GIFs, and polls from being included in the character count.
Now when you reply to a tweet, the name of the person you’re replying to will appear above the tweet. If more than...
The arrival this week of Facebook stories presents active social media users with a dilemma: where to post?
It’s a problem of Facebook’s creation. For more than three years, the concept of “stories” — a rolling series of photos and videos that disappear 24 hours after you post them — was unique to Snapchat. In some ways, stories defined the company. But last year, Instagram copied the format — and since then, Facebook has introduced stories to Messenger, WhatsApp, and its flagship app, which is used by more than 1.15 billion people a day.
At this point, there’s no easy way to cross-post stories to multiple apps — though a Facebook product manager I spoke to said they wouldn’t rule out building one eventually. In the meantime, where do...
Samsung has been bundling Microsoft apps like Skype, OneDrive, OneNote and more on its phones and tablets for a while now. However, when it comes to the Galaxy S8, the two companies are taking their partnership a step further. The Verge reports that Microsoft is selling a Samsung Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition and it's accepting pre-orders starting today at its retail stores in the US.
Source: The Verge
Sway is a smartphone-based meditation (kind of) game, that comes from Ustwo, the company behind acclaimed mobile hit Monument Valley. No, this isn't a dreamily designed puzzler, but the same gentle aesthetics and attention to detail are definitely found in this app's DNA. I got to test Sway a few times earlier this week, and it's a cleverly distracting way to get into mindfulness — something I've been wrestling with over the last few months.
The calendar has officially flipped over to March 30, which means that the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are now available for pre-order.
Each of the four major US carriers are now accepting pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Pricing will vary by carrier, but the full prices fall between $720 and $750 for the Galaxy S8 and between $840 and $850 for the Galaxy S8+. Here are the links to each carrier's online store:
AT&T: Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+
Sprint: Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+
T-Mobile: Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+
Verizon: Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+
When it comes to color options, both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are being offered in Midnight Black, Arctic Silver, and Orchid Grey color options in the US.
If you pre-order a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+, you'll receive a free Gear VR with Controller and Oculus bonus content from Samsung. You can add Bluetooth AKG headphones and a 256GB microSD card for $99.
Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ officially launch in stores on April 21.
Are you going to pre-order a Galaxy S8 or S8+? If so, which model will you choose?
Samsung officially announced the Galaxy S8+ today, and we got to spend some hands-on time with it!
Today all of the major US carriers revealed their Samsung Galaxy S8 launch plans, but if you prefer your smartphones to be unlocked and free of carrier shackles, you’ll be able to get a GS8 soon, too.
Best Buy says that it’ll begin taking pre-orders for the unlocked versions of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on May 9. Pricing will be set at $724.99 for the GS8 and $824.99 for the GS8+, making them cheaper than most carrier variants (Verizon’s are a bit cheaper).
While these versions of the Galaxy S8 are coming out a couple of weeks after the carrier-branded models, the upside is that they won’t have any carrier branding or pre-installed carrier apps. Unlocked phones typically get faster updates, too, since the updates don’t have to go through carrier testing, but the unlocked Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge haven’t had a stellar track record of receiving updates from Samsung, so hopefully that’ll change with the GS8 and GS8+.
Are you thinking about buying the unlocked Galaxy S8 or S8+?
You didn't have to wait long to see the first phone packing Bluetooth 5.0 -- in fact, it's less than a month away. When Samsung posted the specs for its brand new Galaxy S8 line, it quietly let slip that the smartphones would use the bleeding edge wireless standard. To recap, 5.0 promises up to twice the speed of Bluetooth 4.2, and four times the range. You could connect to smartwatches that are more responsive and capable, for example, and connect to some smart home devices from a greater distance. Just don't expect to see the difference right away.
Source: Samsung
Along with its new Galaxy S8 flagship smartphones, Samsung today took the wraps off of a new Gear accessory.
The Samsung Gear 360 (2017) is a 360-degree camera with a refreshed design. This new Gear 360 camera has a little handle at the bottom that looks like it should be a little easier to hold compared to the previous Gear 360.
Samsung’s updated Gear 360 offers two 8.4-megapixel fisheye cameras that can capture 15-megapixel photos as well as 4K video. You can also live stream 2K video using a Gear 360 that’s paired with a smartphone. This 2K video can be streamed to Facebook, YouTube, and Samsung VR.
Other features of the new Gear 360 include a microSD card slot, USB Type-C, a body that’s IP53-rated for dust and water resistance, and a 1160mAh battery. The Gear 360 is compatible with the Galaxy S6 and up (including the Galaxy S8), the Galaxy Note 5, the iPhone SE, and the iPhone 6s and up.
Samsung isn’t saying when the Gear 360 (2017) will launch or how much it’ll cost when it does, but the previous model cost $349.99 at release, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the new model land with a similar price tag.
After a 15-minute "you can still trust us" intro, endless inspired-by-your-dreams cliches and enough specs to benumb the most caffeinated tech blogger, Samsung actually unveiled two damn good phones, the Galaxy S8 and S8+. We wouldn't be so cruel as to put you through the hour-plus ordeal, though, dear reader. We've condensed the whole thing down to nine minutes, so you can catch all the highlights -- Bixby! Infinite displays! Super selfies! Flame-free! -- and none of the tedium. Enjoy.
Earlier today, Samsung (finally) unveiled its latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. The company ticks all of the major boxes, of course, launching a high-end smartphone that has a sharp display, powerful processor, and a main camera that will probably be great to use. Samsung brought in plenty of features it first launched with the Galaxy Note 7, which should make plenty of people happy.
All-in-all, Samsung's event was more than fine. They did what they needed to do: Unveil a new experience, and do so well enough that it might sway more than a few potential buyers. Sure, it had some strange moments, but it's a Samsung event so we should probably expect those by now.
The Galaxy S8 lineup is probably going to do good things for Samsung, and that's great.
I'm just going to come out and say that the placement of the fingerprint sensor is bad, even if Samsung has installed plenty of other methods of accessing, and securing, the Galaxy S8 without requiring that fingerprint reader. It's too high up. It might not be the most uncomfortable spot, thanks to the overall design of the Galaxy S8, but placing it below the camera, near the middle, would be a lot better. Thanks, companies like LG and Google, for getting this right.
But, I can also say that the front of the phone is the biggest reason why I'm actually considering the Galaxy S8. Just like the Galaxy Note 7 last year, Samsung's focus on the display, from its resolution and features, has me genuinely considering a Samsung-branded smartphone again. I actually had a Galaxy Note 7 for about three days, before that first recall, and the changes that Samsung has implemented with its "Infinity Display" (I'm sure Dell is loving this) have me ready to get my hands on the Galaxy S8 immediately.
I can safely say that in my opinion Samsung has one of the most eye-catching devices on the market now, but it's also one of the best displays for watching content, too. While the Galaxy Note 7 was great in its own part, thanks to support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) content, it was actually missing the most important thing: content. Companies like Amazon, Netflix, and Vudu hadn't rolled out support for mobile devices back when the Galaxy Note 7 launched, so while that phablet could technically show off shows and movies with HDR support, it wasn't able to because the providers hadn't opened up the gates just yet.
But Samsung confirmed today that it is working with Amazon "and others" to bring HDR-enabled content to the Galaxy S8. That's great news. (It's also good news for companies like LG, with its G6 that also supports HDR.)
Samsung has captured my attention with the Galaxy S8, so it's really going to come down to a head-to-head clash between it and the LG G6 before I make my decision to adopt one as my daily driver. Still, I'm really excited by the fact these two high-end smartphones exist, with the features that they do, and I can't wait to be impressed by both.
Now that the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are official, are you confident one of these devices will be your next purchase? Let me know!
Earlier today, most all major US carriers revealed their Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ launch plans. Now Sprint has shared its release info, too.
Sprint will begin taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ tomorrow, March 30. The GS8 will be available for lease at a price of $31.25 for 18 months, or $31.25 for 24 months with installment billing. The GS8+ lease will cost $35.42 per month for 18 months, or $35.42 per month for 24 months with installment billing.
Full retail pricing will be $750 for the Galaxy S8 and $850 for the Galaxy S8+.
For a limited time, Sprint customers that pre-order the Galaxy S8 will be able to upgrade to the latest Galaxy smartphone after 12 lease payments.
Additionally, customers that pre-order the Galaxy S8 can choose from one of two gift bundles. The first includes a Gear VR with controller, Oculus bonus content, and Samsung rewards experience, while the second will be a Gear VR Experience bundle that includes “premium headphones” and a 256GB microSD card.
Sprint says that the Galaxy S8 will be also be available from Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. It’ll launch on those prepaid carriers on April 21.
Before Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 to the world, it teased the audience with a device that would break the conventions of the traditional smartphone. The event's pre-roll animation showed an enormous 1980s brick phone morphing into a 1990s-era flip-phone, which in turn evolved into a modern smartphone. That device then exploded beyond its frame and summoned the event's tagline: "Unbox your phone." When the event started, however, Samsung didn't reveal a revolution in smartphone design -- it showed the world another glass slab with a gorgeously large touchscreen. Except this one has smaller bezels.
Samsung is entering an increasingly crowded club with its new Dex dock, which turns the Galaxy S8 into a pseudo-desktop replacement. It's an idea most recently pushed by Microsoft with Windows Continuum (as seen in HP's Elite X3 and the Lumia 950), but we've seen companies like Motorola experimenting with this sort of setup since the dawn of the smartphone age. The concept makes sense on paper: Our phones are getting more powerful, so why not figure out ways to turn them into full-fledged computers? But after seeing so many try and fail to do so, I have to wonder: Does anyone actually want this?
Two years after bringing Google Calendar to the iPhone, Google has decided to launch an iPad version, too.
Google today released version 2.0.0 of its Calendar app for iOS, which adds support for the iPad. The app includes the same features as the iPhone version, including setting goals, finding events using iOS’s Spotlight Search, and more.
Google has also teased a new feature coming soon to its Calendar app for iOS. Google Calendar will soon include a Today View widget for iOS’s Notification Center and lock screen so that you can easily see what the day has in store for you.
It’s kind of strange that it’s taken Google two years to optimize its Calendar app for the iPad, but hey, better late than never. Now folks that use an iPad have an attractive new option for managing their calendar on their tablet.
Now that the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are officially official, the US carriers are coming out with their launch details and prices for the new Android flagships.
First up, AT&T will begin taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ online and in stores tomorrow, March 30. Both phones will launch on April 21, but AT&T will have a “sneak peek” of the GS8 in select stores on March 31.
AT&T’s pricing for the Galaxy S8 will be set at $25 per month for 30 months on AT&T Next, $31.25 for 24 months on AT&T Next Every Year, or $750 full retail. The Galaxy S8+ will cost $28.34 per month for 30 months on AT&T Next, $35.42 per month for 24 months on AT&T Next Every Year, or $850 full retail.
AT&T customers can get up to $750 in credits toward another Galaxy S8 when they buy one and add a new line of service.
Next up is T-Mobile. T-Mobile will begin taking pre-orders for the GS8 and GS8+ at 12:01 am ET on March 30 and will launch both devices on April 21. Galaxy S8 pricing will be set at $30 down and $30 per month for 24 months ($750 full retail), or $0 down and $33 per month on JUMP! On Demand. The Galaxy S8+ will be $130 down and $30 per month for 24 months ($850 total), or $130 down and $30 per month on JOD!.
MetroPCS will sell the Galaxy S8 starting on April 21 for $729.
Verizon will also begin taking pre-orders for both GS8 phones at 12:01 am ET on March 30, with a launch happening on April 21. Pricing will be $30 per month for 24 months ($720) for the Galaxy S8 and $35 per month for 24 months ($840) for the Galaxy S8+.
Verizon is offering special trade-in prices for the GS8 and GS8+ that’ll get you the new phones for as low as $15 per month when you sign up for Verizon Unlimited. You can get either the GS8 or GS8+ for 15 per month when you trade in the iPhone 6 or newer, Galaxy S6 or newer, or Galaxy Note. Trading in the iPhone SE, Note 4, Galaxy S5, LG G4, LG V10, HTC One M9, Moto Z Play, or Moto Turbo 2 will get you either GS8 phone for $20 per month.
And then there’s US Cellular, who will begin taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ on March 30. Customers can get either phone free with qualifying trade-in, and those customers without a trade-in will get a $100 promo card at the time of their purchase.
At the time of publication, Sprint hasn’t announced its Galaxy S8 launch plans.
One other detail worth noting is that all four of the carriers that’ve announced their Galaxy S8 launch plans will give you a free gift if you pre-order the GS8 or GS8+. That gift includes a free Samsung Gear VR with controller and Oculus content to use with the headset.
Attempting to blur the lines between smartphone and computer, Samsung announced that their new Galaxy S8 smartphone can double as a desktop with their new DeX interface and dock.
Samsung DeX essentially allows you to continue work from compatible apps on your Galaxy S8 from a traditional computer setting. To get it to work, you’ll need the DeX dock (sold separately), a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Given that DeX is powered by the Galaxy S8, which runs on Android, it’s important to know that it cannot run Windows or Mac OS apps and programs, and likely isn’t a complete desktop replacement for most people. Still, it seems like a decent option for people who conduct work on both their smartphones and computer.
While operation is much like you’d expect from a traditional computer, DeX is essentially giving you a larger space with more tools from your Galaxy S8, which, despite its larger display, can still be too small to effectively work on some projects.
Samsung isn’t the first to employ this idea, as devices like the HP Elite x3 and Motorola Atrix/Photon have attempted this in the past, but with little fanfare. Microsoft also has Continuum for its Lumia 950 and 950XL devices. Will Samsung’s solution, which is arguably equally as limited, be any better? It’s possible, but only time will tell.
Pricing and availability isn’t official yet, but it’s been leaked that the DeX dock will sell for around $160 US.
Samsung knows you like big phones. However, the Galaxy Note's gone MIA this year for understandable reasons, leaving the new Galaxy S8+ to step up with its 6.2-inch screen and curved edges. But the Galaxy S8 line isn't the only big-and-bigger handset duo out there right now, with Apple and Google already staking their claims with similar pairings. The screen of the S8+ certainly dwarfs those on the Pixel XL and the 7 Plus, but is that enough of an advantage? Check out the specs of these three larger flagships to get a better idea of the new phone's capabilities, and stay tuned for our full review of the S8+ in the coming weeks!
The amount of rumors and leaks regarding Samsung’s follow-up to its highly successful Galaxy S7 flagship have been unreal, but finally we can put those rumors to bed as Samsung has now officially unveiled the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus.
If you’ve been keeping up with the leaks, then you won’t be surprised to see that the pair look exactly as we expected them to: rounded outer corners, virtually bezel-less curved outer edges (“Infinity Display”) with slim top and bottom bezels, glass back, and while a home button does exist, it can’t be seen; the home button is hidden underneath the Infinity Display on the front of the device. The Galaxy S8 very much looks like an evolved version of the Galaxy S7, but perhaps the biggest evolution comes from within as Samsung packs the Galaxy S8 duo with upgraded specs and plenty of fresh features.
First, let’s do a quick spec run-down.
The two are virtually identical except for the screen size and battery capacity. Galaxy S8 features a 5.8-inch Super AMOLED curved display with 2960 x 1440 resolution, while the S8 Plus features a 6.2-inch display. Both feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage with microSD support (up to 256GB), 12-megapixel F/1.7 rear-facing camera, 8-megapixel F/1.7 front-facing camera, and runs on Android 7.0. The Galaxy S8 features a 3,000 mAh non-removable battery, while the S8 Plus features a 3,500 mAh non-removable battery. They both have IP68 ratings, fingerprint sensors on the back of the device, heart rate monitors, 3.5mm headphone jacks, wireless charging support, and USB-C ports.
A variant with the Exynos 8895 processor will also be available, and a variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB will be offered in China.
Feature-wise, the Galaxy S8 duo brings back the iris scanner that was first seen in the Note 7 last fall, adds facial recognition, and are the first Samsung devices to feature Samsung’s new personal AI, “Bixby”, which replaces the incredibly forgettable S Voice. Both devices have their own physical Bixby button located on the left side of the device; it is unknown whether this button is re-mappable by default, but it’s probably safe to assume that it isn’t.
The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus will come in Orchid Gray, Midnight Black, and Arctic Silver at launch, with a Coral Blue coming later.
The Galaxy S8 duo will begin selling on April 21, with pre-orders beginning today. Best Buy already has a pretty sweet promotion worth checking out, and even combines with other promotions from other carriers and Samsung. Samsung also announced that each Galaxy S8 will come with a free pair of AKG headphones by Harman.
Price of the Galaxy S8 begins at $750, with the S8 Plus starting at $850. Pricing may vary among carriers.
The Galaxy S8 isn’t as subtle with its design changes from the S7 as the S7 was to the S6, but it's still clearly cut from the same marble and looks pretty slick to boot. With bezel-less displays quickly becoming one of this year’s most popular smartphone trends, the Galaxy S8 looks like it will fit right in. The edges on the device seem are also less drastic than the edges on the Galaxy S7, and more closely resemble the subtle edges of the Note 7 instead. Bixby appears to be a serious contender in the AI space, but let’s be honest – anything is better than S Voice. With promotions abound and new accessories like the Gear 360 VR headset and Samsung DeX, the Galaxy S8 may very well be another home run for Samsung this year.
Readers, what are your thoughts on the Galaxy S8? Do you already have plans to pick one up for yourself?
Google Calendar for iOS can be exceptionally useful if you're tired of Apple's stock scheduler, but there has always been one inescapable catch: it's only designed for iPhones... or rather, it was. Two years later, Google has updated Calendar to add iPad support. Yes, you can finally jot down appointments and set goals while taking advantage of your Apple tablet's larger canvas. That's the only major update on deck right now, but there are promises of more in the pipeline.
Source: App Store
