Android News

If you're like me, the majority of your interactions with the Google Assistant are questions about the weather. What's it like now? What'll it be like tomorrow? Is it raining in Seattle? Right now, though, such questions are going unanswered, as Google seems to be having trouble delivering weather information for many. We're getting reports that the Assistant is unable to deliver current weather information or forecasts through most avenues. Asking an Assistant-equipped speaker returns an error message ("Sorry, I don't understand"), while asking on a phone will show a temperature of zero degrees and a suggestion to check weather.com . I don't believe you, Google. Pixel devices aren't showing weather on the home screen or lock screen, either. The Google app's weather shortcut shows the familiar little frog fella looking perplexed (as seen above), which is fun, but not very informative. If you need to know what the weather is li...

Amazon has the Sony XBR55X900F on sale for just $1098 right now. This is for the 55-inch, 2018 model, which is normally priced around $1298. So that's good for around $200 off of its regular price, which may not sound like a huge discount, but it is actually a pretty big discount for Sony. This is also a great time to pick up this 55-inch 4K Smart TV. This TV from Sony is an LED TV, so it's not its high-end OLED TV, which explains why it is such a low price. It does include the Sony X1 Extreme Processor which is going to provide richer colors and even better brightness. This one is powered by Android TV, so you are also going to get all of your favorite apps and games included here. That includes Netflix, Google Play Movies & TV, YouTube and much more. There are four HDMI ports, two USB ports, a component, composite and Ethernet port also included. So you can plug directly into your router before you stream some 4K content. This 55-inch Sony TV is available now for $1098, ...

We've already seen renders of the Samsung Galaxy S9 in its Ice Blue color. The gradient design launched in China a couple of weeks ago, and next month the same color is coming to Germany with a different name. As far as we can tell, the only difference between China's Ice Blue Galaxy S9, and Germany's Polaris Blue is that the latter carries 64GB of internal storage compared to the 128GB inside the unit offered in China. In addition, earlier this month Samsung unveiled a new version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 dressed in white. Like the Ice Blue/Polaris Blue Galaxy ... #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

The Ring Alarm 14-piece Home Security System is down to $329 on Amazon. That's almost $100 off what it normally goes for, and this is a full system with all the pieces it comes with. Today's deal is the first time we've seen it go this low. You can still get the 8-piece system on sale for $188.98 right now. That's been the price since before Black Friday, although it has gone out of stock a couple times. The 14-piece system comes with the Ring base station, eight contact sensors, two motion detectors, two keypads, and a range extender. You can have the system set up in minutes without the need for professional installation and get 24/7 monitoring of your home. I mean, the 14-piece setup is already a lot to work with, but if you ever need more you'll be able to expand it pretty easily , which is one of the benefits of the Ring system. Android Central took an in-depth look at the Ring Alarm system and praised its ease of installation, build quality, and...

Posted by Parul Soi, Strategic Partner Development Manager, Google Play Android is fortunate to have an incredibly rich ecosystem of SDKs and libraries to help developers build great apps more efficiently. These SDKs can range from developer tools that simplify complicated feature development to end-to-end services such as analytics, attribution, engagement, etc. All of these tools can help Android developers reduce cost and ship products faster. For the past few months, various teams at Google have been working together on new initiatives to expand the resources and support we offer for the developers of these tools. Today, SDK developers can sign up and register their SDK with us to receive updates that will keep you informed about Google Play policy changes, updates to the platform, and other useful information. Our goal is to provide you with whatever you need to better serve your technical and business goals in helping your partners create better apps or games. Going forwar...

On this episode of the Droid Life Show , we are back! We've got lots to discuss too after having two weeks off, so look for topics like all of the Pixel 3 Lite happenings, a massive camera shootout, a Pixel Slate in house, OnePlus 6T and Fossil Sport reviews completed, Samsung's One UI, a first look at the Samsung foldable phone, and more. Trivia is back too! Be sure to stick around until the end of the show for your chance to win a wireless charging stand from the fine folks at Anker , who were awesome enough to sponsor prizes for this week's show. We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern). #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

... Late autumn is always a good time for bargains, especially if you're looking for a smartphone on the cheap. And while it's hardly a top performer, at a sale price of just $168.29 on Amazon, Sony's Xperia L2 certainly fits the budget bill. The L2 sports eight- and 13-megapixel cameras on its front and back sides, respectively, as well as 32 gigs of internal storage, expandable via MicroSD cards of up to 256 gigabytes. It's pleasingly compact, too, with a 5.5-inch screen. It's got a low-rent MediaTek chipset, though, as well as an outdated Android build — 7.1 Nougat. It also won't work on CDMA networks like Verizon and Sprint. Still, if you need something in a pinch, you could certainly do worse (provided it's compatible with your carrier). The black model is currently $168.29 on Amazon, and all three colors — black, gold, and pink — are a nominally higher but less nonsensical $169.99 at B&H. Hit the source links bel...

Spotify's library of music, while great, can never truly be complete. There will always be rare tracks, B-Sides, and bootleg versions that aren't available for streaming. On desktop, Spotify is willing to let you import your local files to mingle with their library of streaming tracks and create playlists using both sources. Soon, the Spotify Android app may let you import tracks directly from your phone. Uncovered by reverse engineering expert Jane Wong , Spotify has added an unreleased feature to their Android app that places a new "Import" heading into the settings menu. Under this heading, we find a setting that claims to let you "Add your own music from this device." From there, a brand new UI is presented, allowing you to selectively choose the music you wish to import from your phone, organized by Folder, Artist, Album, or Song. If it's anything like the Import feature on desktop , you'll likely be able to choose from MP3, M4P, and ...

After previously announcing that it would add a PvP mode to Pokemon Go before the end of the year, Niantic is today teasing that the new player versus player action will be arriving "soon." Whoosh! Screen Cleaner More than two years after the release of the popular title, this will be the first time Pokemon Go will be featuring its long-awaited PvP mode. As spotted by TechCrunch , Niantic shared a few tweets today promoting the upcoming feature. While it didn't give a release date, the final tweet of four says: Get prepared… Trainer Battles are coming soon to Pokémon GO!  # GOBattle The tweets don't give away much else, but we do get a peek at gameplay with a still image. ❗❗😮 pic.twitter.com/2Zg5PvNUv6 — Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) November 30, 2018 Between Niantic's Anne Beuttenmüller, the company's head of marketing saying the new mode would roll "at the end of this year" and this series of tweets s...

Analysts at Gartner  predict that the global shipment of wearables will hit 453.19 million units in 2022, with a 25.8-percent increase in shipments from 2018 to 2019 and a 153-percent increase from 2018 to 2022. For 2019, the firm expects the total number of units shipped in the category will land at 225.12 million. Of those, around 137.23 million devices -- approximately 61-percent of the total -- are predicted to be smartwatches - either connected wristbands or sports watches. Those will be split across similar categories to those seen today but with more distinction than the current fitness wearables, sports wearables, and smartwatch groups. In effect, Gartner expects a clearer line between technology brands and traditional or fashion brands, in addition to a further divergence between standard wearables and those designed explicitly for children or special use cases such as medical monitoring. Ear-worn wearables are expected to grow significantly throughout that period as well, gai...

It looks like carriers really want you to buy their flagship smartphones no matter the cost. AT&T and T-Mobile announced that if you buy eligible Samsung flagship, you'll be given a 4K TV for free with the purchase. Now, Sprint announced a similar deal, just that it's tied to an LG flagship rather than a Samsung smartphone. For a limited time, Sprint offers customers who buy the LG V40 ThinQ a free LG 49-inch 4K TV. Sprint even allows users to choose how they want to buy the smartphone, either outright or on a Sprint Flex 18-month lease. On top of that, Sprint offers a discount ... #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

YouTube Stories are live for creators with 10K+ subscribers We've seen stories on social media outlets such as Instagram , Facebook , WhatsApp , and SnapChat , and now its the turn of YouTube to launch its own variation. Having been available only to a selected group of channels over the past year, any YouTube channel with more than ten thousand subscribers can now post stories.  This means that you'll start seeing instant videos from your favorite creators rolling out with added graphics, music, filters and stickers. Creators can begin the process by just clicking on Create Story, with viewers able to give their input by up or downvoting the story, as well as liking and adding their comments. As it is with YouTube, there are moderation tools available for the creator to replay to comments with either text, an image, or even a video. Once a story has been posted, it will be available in the mobile app for seven days and will show up for both subscribers and non-subscr...

The Asus Zenfone Max M2 and the Pro M2 have showed up on a few occasions in the last few weeks in leaks and teasers but the new report is a bit more revealing than you'd expect. It has almost all the specs and renders that you'd need. Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 WinFuture brings us detailed renders showing the design of both phones. The first thing we notice is that the non-Pro variant has slightly thicker chin and a narrower notch but otherwise the two follow the same design language. In addition, the Max M2 has a metal back while the Pro M2 takes the glass sandwich approach. Asus Zenfone Max M2 The internals are where the two drift apart more - the non-Pro runs on Snapdragon 636 while the Pro variant offers a more powerful Snapdragon 660 chipset. RAM will start at 4GB for both while the screens are expected to be 1080 x 2340 with an extra tall 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The diagonal is 6". As far as camera configurations go, the Max Pro M2 is said to ca...

We've won't see it for another year, though. The future of AT&T lies in video. OK, in business and mobility and all the other stuff we traditionally know AT&T for. But in buying Time Warner and in turn creating WarnerMedia, AT&T has invested heavily not just in delivering content, but also in creating it. With the purchase of Time Warner AT&T acquired such brands as HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner. Who wouldn't want to own dragons, right? And certainly those brands aren't going anywhere. But what AT&T needed was some other way to distribute them. Selling the rights to traditional providers — cable companies, Netflix , other over-the-top providers like Sling TV and PlayStation Vue and YouTube TV — that's fine, and it'll continue. But AT&T thinks bigger. Better is to have your own service. AT&T already has DirecTV Now for live showings, and it's a great way to play off its mobility business, with discounts for its w...

YouTube Music as a service has been around for about three years now, though it really only existed in earnest once the revamped version of the YouTube Music app and dedicated website, as we know it today, launched in May . Whether you look at it as three years or just six months old, one thing is clear: YouTube Music isn't finished yet, is filled with issues and is incredibly frustrating to use on a daily basis considering it costs the industry-standard $10 per month. YouTube Music is so unfinished and lacking features that I question whether Google has any intentions of following through with its vision of replacing Google Play Music entirely. Put simply, I can't believe Google thinks anyone will pay $10 per month for it when all signs point to Google itself not caring about YouTube Music's success. YouTube Music effectively doesn't work with Google Home . Yes you can select "YouTube Music" as your music provider in the Google Home app, but t...

Trust Kyocera for coming up with real rugged phones that will survive any rough use. We'd recommend this phone if you're into different outdoor adventures or simply if you work in an industry based in harsh environments. To check if the new Kyocera DuraForce PRO 2 is ready for whatever challenges, a Durability Test by Zack Nelson will give you an idea. Mr. JerryRigEverything is always first when it comes to testing out products and tearing down phones. This time, the Kyocera DuraForce Pro 2 is a willing victim. Kyocera launched the DuraForce Pro 2 as a new rugged phone a couple of weeks ago from Verizon. To review, it comes equipped with a 5-inch Sapphire Shield display, 5MP selfie camera, 13MP rear shooter, 4K action camera, 4 noise-canceling mics, 4GB of RAM, 64GB onboard storage, 106dB dual front speakers, Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor, and a 3240 mAh battery. We're very much interested in the display since it is made of sapphire. The result of the dur...

A set of details for the Samsung Galaxy S10 revealed today tell the tale of not just 1 or 2, but 4 different models for 2019. These models include the standard two devices: S and S Plus, but also include a "Lite" model and a "Beyond X" model. The release dates for these devices were tipped today to be spread … Continue reading #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews