Android News

A U.S. Senate panel will hold a hearing on the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint in late June, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee announced. The event is meant to take place on June 27, with its main target being identifying whether the consolidation would truly benefit consumers like the two wireless carriers claim it will, in addition to probing any potential antitrust issues with the suggested tie-up. Previous reports indicated that both Sprint Chief Executive Officer Marcelo Claure and T-Mobile's head John Legere are likely to appear at the hearing. Mr. Legere would lead the combined company in case of a successful merger, whereas Mr. Claure would move to a supporting role, collect a golden parachute payment, and continue fulfilling his responsibilities at Sprint's parent SoftBank. Sprint's CEO is already on his way out, having been elevated to the position of Executive Chairman in early May. He will formally leave his current role tomorrow, with the CEO positi

Samsung has begun the Oreo update rollout for the U.S. model of the Galaxy Tab S3, only a couple of weeks after it started pushing the same update out to users of the device in the UK . That said, while the gap between the UK and U.S. models getting the same software update wasn't too long, users of the Galaxy Tab S3 in general have been waiting for quite some time to get their hands on what is currently the latest version of Android software prior to Google's push of Android P later this year, which is expected to be in late Summer at some point. The update download is about 1.2GB so those with the tablet and expecting to get the new software should be prepared for it to take quite a few minutes for the download to complete, though the process can certainly be sped along with a faster internet connection. As with all major updates that are larger in size, it's also important to make sure that the battery on the device is at 50-percent or more as the update process in i

Some Android users sometimes encounter a weird issue when connecting to their company's wifi network, just like the issue of one of our readers mentioned in this post. If you are having the same exact problem with your #GalaxyS9, check out our suggestions for you. Before we proceed, we want to remind you that if […] More The post What to do if your Galaxy S9 won't connect to your company wifi appeared first on The Droid Guy . #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Nexon recently pushed out MapleStory M in a couple of territories as a soft-launch title , so it seems pretty safe to assume that the official release isn't that far off. In anticipation of when that day may come, you can pre-register on both the Play Store and the official MapleStory M website starting today. Sure, if you happen to live in Canada or any of the other soft-launch regions, you can install this right now to experience some classic 2D MMO action, but the rest of us will have to settle for a few pre-registration rewards as we wait to give it a proper go. VIDEO Back in January MapleStory M was made available as an open beta for a few days so people could get a quick look at how the English release was shaping up. At the time it seemed very playable, though it was clear that it was going to differ from the mainline PC title . For one, there is an auto questing feature that eliminates having to grind manually, which if you have ever played the origina

Smart Text Selection and Style Match are also rolling out. Google announced quite a few new features for Google Lens at its I/O conference in early May, and now the company's confirmed that those are now rolling out to Android users everywhere. The two big features for Lens are Style Match and Smart Text Selection, with the former allowing you to scan various objects around you and show things that are similar to it. For example, scanning a shirt with Lens will show other clothing items with the same design/aesthetic and provide quick links for buying them, too. I'm personally most excited about Smart Text Selection, a feature that enables you to scan the text on a book, letter, etc., copy it, and then paste it into a text field on your phone. I'm not sure how I'll use that in my day-to-day workflow, but it's insanely cool. Last but certainly not least, Google Lens is now making its way into your phone's main camera app. This is something tha

Back when Nokia was known for making Windows-powered Lumia phones, the camera was one of their most praised features, and part of their impressive performance stemmed from the Nokia Pro Camera software, which gave you a degree of manual control most phones wouldn't. Back in February at MWC, Nokia announced that the software would be coming back to its Zeiss-equipped Android phones, and now it is rolling out for the Nokia 8.  Take control of every photo. I'm glad to announce that Pro Camera mode is now available for #Nokia8 ! pic.twitter.com/q2sTWh3IvU — Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) May 31, 2018 This Pro version of the camera enables additional manual controls (in the vein of Nokia's Lumia phones) including features like ISO, white balance, shutter speed, and exposure compensation. The UI also looks pretty snazzy. It can be hard to come up with an intuitive layout for all those various controls, and Nokia seems to have done it. Pro Camera was initially o

Samsung's Galaxy S9 family is made up of two really impressive smartphones, but one of the biggest missteps is that of AR Emoji. Despite that, though, Samsung isn't giving up on the feature, releasing a new update that adds more animated stickers. The best gifts for Android users AR Emoji has a selection of different modes, one of which uses your AR likeness to craft a selection of stickers for use in messages. At launch, Samsung offered 18 different animated stickers, but that number has now been doubled to a total of 36. These new expressions arrive as part of a camera update which is available to Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ owners through the Galaxy Apps Store. Once updated, the new stickers appear directly in Samsung's keyboard as well as the gallery app for use in messaging apps. Utterly unique and completely customizable, AR Emojis allow Galaxy S9 and S9+ users to inject emotion into messages in a way that words simply can't. Now,

Microsoft is launching an update to its Android launcher today that gives parents the ability to track their kids' location. This is one out of a number of parent- and kid-focused announcements the company made today. Others include the ability to block sites in Microsoft Edge on Android and the launch of MSN Kids , a new curated news website for children. At the core of these new features are Microsoft's family group settings  that already allowed you to do things like track a child's activity on Windows 10 and Xbox One devices or limit screen time in general. "As a mother to a young and curious daughter, I deeply understand the need for tools to help balance the use of technology in the home as well as out of the home," writes Shilpa Ranganathan, the General Manager of Microsoft's Mobile Experiences group, in today's announcement. "It's especially near and dear to me as leader of a team building experiences for mobile devices. We emphasize

Nokia announced today that the deal for the Digital Health business was closed with Withings. The Finnish company sold the division back to its previous owners for an undisclosed sum. The licensing business of Nokia Technologies will not be affected, the current devices will keep selling, but new gadgets will sold under the Withings brand. Back in 2016 Nokia bought the French startup for €170/$192 million, but after the unimpressive performance and switching its internal focus, it decided to sell it. Instead of developing gadgets for the user market, Nokia will focus on medical data and connected health market. Around 200 people work for Withings, most of them based in the HQ south of Paris, France. There are also employees in the US and Asia, and the change of ownership will hurt none of them, Carreel stated in a press release. Source (in French) #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Microsoft announced that it would be killing its Groove Music streaming service last year, but promised it would continue investing in its Windows 10 application. However, that didn't extend for Android and iOS. The company told The Verge , "Tomorrow we're notifying customers that on December 1, 2018, the Groove Music iOS and Android apps will also be retired and, effective June 1, are no longer available for download." Starting on June 1, users will no longer be able to access MP3 or audio files stored on Microsoft's One Drive via the Groove Music app. However, users will still be able to access those files directly via the One Drive app on Android and iOS. That's a vastly inferior way of handling music as users won't have access to album art or music controls. It's obvious that Microsoft has completely given up on maintaining a modern audio player. Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news: VIDEO #Google #Android #Sma

The Dev channel has been updated to 68.0.3440.4 (Platform version: 10718.4.0) for most Chrome OS devices. This build contains a number of bug fixes, security updates and feature enhancements.   If you find new issues, please let us know by visiting our  forum  or  filing a bug . Interested in switching channels?   Find out how . You can submit feedback using 'Report an issue...' in the Chrome menu (3 vertical dots in the upper right corner of the browser).  Bernie Thompson Google Chrome #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Samsung delayed the launch of the Galaxy Note 9 over a last-minute design change, South Korean outlet The Bell reports, citing sources privy to the development. The redesign is said to be minor in nature and will only push back the Android flagship's debut by some two weeks, with the tech giant now supposedly working on making the 6.38-inch Super AMOLED panel meant to be featured on the phablet 0.5mm thinner. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is said to have personally ordered the change after visiting China earlier this month, having reportedly concluded OPPO and Vivo-made handsets using Samsung Display's panels offered a better grip than existing Galaxy Note-series products. Industry sources previously claimed Samsung started mass-producing Super AMOLED panels for the Galaxy Note 9 in April, two months ahead of schedule, with later reports suggesting the high-end handset may launch as early as July. Samsung is also said to have started Galaxy Note 9 firmware d

NVIDIA has now paused the rolling out of the Android 8.0 (Oreo) update for the SHIELD Android TV . The confirmation of this has come through the official GeForce forums where an NVIDIA Technical Support team member confirmed the temporary halting of the update is due to some issues that have been raised. NVIDIA first announced the commencement of the Oreo update rollout only last week and did state at the time the update will be made available in waves. As a result, while some users (typically those included in the preview program) will have seen the update arrive already, others will now have to wait until NVIDIA confirms the update is back on track and has resumed its staged rollout. The forums posting is quite short and does not go into specifics on what the issues are, other than stating more than one issue has been found and NVIDIA would prefer to fix the issues before continuing with the update rollout. Speaking of which, while the posting does not explain when NVIDIA expects t

Netmarble's MARVEL Future Fight for Android has a brand new update rolling out in conjunction with Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War's theatrical release, bringing film-inspired content to the action RPG. Primarily, that means new Infinity War-based costumes for both Super Heroes and Super Villains, as well as new characters and challenges being to the game's World Boss Ultimate mode. However, the update includes a bit more than that, as well. Character-specific updates have been applied, allowing further upgrade options for Iron Man, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Rocket, Cull Obsidian, Ebony Maw, Hulkbuster, War Machine, and Scarlet Witch. S.H.I.E.L.D. Lab has been updated, too. So users can take advantage of new Advanced Mythic grade missions and a new Item Shop that utilizes a newly added "Dimensional Tokens" in-game currency. Beyond that, unspecified user experience and interface optimizations have been made to help the game run a bit more smoothly and make

Editor's Note: Talks at Google is our regular speaker series that brings interesting speakers and brilliant minds from all industries and backgrounds to Google campuses all around the world. Each month, we select a few favorite talks from that month, or about a particular topic. Mental health touches all of us, whether as personally lived experience, or through a family member, friend, or community member. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that nearly one in five adults in the U.S. lives with a mental illness. As Mental Health Awareness Month in May comes to a close, we're looking back on talks at Google about how to talk about mental health, face life's toughest challenges, and creatively foster your own wellbeing. Thubten Chodron is a Tibetan Buddhist nun and co-author of a book with the Dalai Lama. She visited Google to share insights on finding internal contentment through connection with others. (Google taught her a little something too—specifi

At a press conference in Shenzhen today, Xiaomi introduced several new products. The first one we check out is the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition, one of three variants of the phone launched today and the most powerful option for interested buyers. The Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition includes hardware that puts it on par […] Come comment on this article: Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition officially unveiled Visit TalkAndroid #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews