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Android - page 18

Google’s mesh router might fix your Wi-Fi problems

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eero
Google Wifi will be a lot like Eero.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Your home’s Wi-Fi could soon be powered by Google, according to a new report that claims the search engine giant plans to get into the router business next month.

Instead of competing head-on with Apple’s AirPort Express, the new Google router will supposedly bring a slew of smart features to the home, allowing users to pair two or more routers together to fix your home’s shoddy Wi-Fi coverage.

Google’s upcoming Pixel phones look like iPhone clones

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Google Pixel phones
Really, Google?!
Photo: Android Police

Google is planning to replace its beloved Nexus smartphones with new devices that will fall into the Pixel brand. They’ll get their official unveiling on October 4, but new photos that have leaked out early suggest they look just like iPhone clones.

Apparent iPhone 7 benchmarks hint at big speed improvements

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iPhone 7 clone
Apple's new A10 chip could be beastly.
Photo: BeSound

Purported benchmark results for the upcoming iPhone 7 Plus reveal Apple’s next-generation A10 processor could be a big improvement over last year’s A9. Despite maintaining only two cores, the A10 achieves significantly higher scores in single- and mulit-core tests.

Google suspends modular smartphone project

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it might be free, but Android is still a moneymaker for Google.
Google's smartphone ambitions have stalled.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Building a smartphone with modular components that could be quickly swapped out for different parts sounds like a really cool idea, but Google is ready to admit no one actually wants one.

You can finally zoom in on Instagram pics and videos

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Check out other beautiful photos taken near you.
Instagram just got zoom.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Admiring the details of your friend’s amazing vacation pics on Instagram is going to require a whole lot less squinting, thanks to a new update that finally brings zooming to the popular social network.

Skyrocketing ‘failure rate’ means iOS is less stable than Android

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iOS and Android are killing off the competition.
Want stability? Choose... Android?!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS is generally considered more stable and more secure than Android, but boy how the tables have turned.

According to new data, the failure rate of Apple’s platform rose significantly during the second quarter of 2016, making it more unstable than Google’s for the first time ever.

Google is developing a new operating system for everything

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Google's new operating system takes its name from colors.
Google's new operating system takes its name from colors.
Photo: Google

A brand new operating system with a colorful name is currently under development at Google, according to a new project page found on GitHub.

Google hasn’t officially acknowledged that it’s working on the project, but the new operating system could possibly replace Chrome OS and Android by being able to run on pretty much everything.

Should Apple bring iMessage to Android? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf_imessage_android
Who wouldn't want to see this?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iMessage is the only major messaging service that’s exclusive to one platform. According to Tim Cook, that’s because iMessage helps sell Apple devices — but does anyone actually buy an iPhone for iMessage alone?

Friday Night Fights bugWould it really hurt Apple if its popular messaging service went cross-platform? Lots of iPhone and iPad owners also use Android devices, and bringing the service to Google’s platform would provide them with a more seamless messaging experience.

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we throw virtual hands over whether Apple should bring iMessage to Android.

Apple Music for Android is finally out of beta

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Apple-Music-Android
Apple Music for Android is keeping up with iOS.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

The first major Android app made by Apple engineers is finally ready for primetime.

Coming over a year after the launch of Apple Music on iOS, Apple released the first non-beta version of Apple Music on the Google Play Store today and it comes with a couple new features.

Galaxy Note 7 rips off iPhone’s Night Shift mode

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iOS 9.3 Night Shift
Android makers are finally ripping off Night Shift!
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 7 ships with its latest TouchWiz software, which finally includes a blue light filter. The feature was obviously inspired by Night Shift mode, which Apple introduced to iPhone and iPad with iOS 9.3 back in March.

Why do some folks hate Apple? It’s complicated.

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Mac Man tries to gobble up all the Apples.
Mac Man tries to gobble up all the Apples.
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugYou don’t see long lines for the latest Lenovo PC or LG Android phone. But take a quick peek on the internet and you’ll find plenty of people lining up to say how much they hate Apple.

Every successful person or company has its critics, but the expressions of vitriol for Apple are more complex than the popular refrain ‘haters gonna hate’.

Ford putting CarPlay, Android Auto into 2017 lineup

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Ford CarPlay
CarPlay is coming to your next Ford.
Photo: Ford

Ford today confirmed plans to put CarPlay and Android Auto into all of its 2017 cars, SUVs, electric vehicles, and light trucks. The platforms will become part of the company’s own Sync 3 system, allowing drivers to connect their iPhone or Android device.

Pokémon Go hacks and tips to help you catch ’em all

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Pokémon Go
Niantic Pika-chooses to freeze out old iPhones and iPads.
Photo: The Pokémon Company

The entire U.S. has contracted a serious case of Pokémon Go fever, with millions of would-be Pokémon trainers hitting the streets in hopes of becoming the very best like no one ever was.

Becoming a Pokémon Master ain’t easy, but if you know what you’re doing you don’t even have to leave the house to do stuff like hatch eggs, lure in Pokémon and toss a wicked curve ball.

Here are the Pokémon Go tips you need to know to dominate the hottest game in the world.

App Store nets devs twice as much money as Google Play

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App-Store-iPhone
App Store still on top, despite half as many downloads.
Photo: Apple

Android might have more apps and a lot more users than iOS these days, but it’s still trailing far behind when it comes to making money for developers. Last quarter, the App Store made twice as much money than Google Play for app makers.

Army special ops top brass is switching to iPhone

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iPhone
iPhone is now the Army's preferred device.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command is planning to tell Android to stand down.

Charged with overseeing the Army’s elite special forces operations, the command is reportedly making a switch to iPhone because Android is unstable compared to iOS.

Pokémon Go starts its European takeover

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Pokémon Go comes with monstrous security risks.
Countries? Gotta catch 'em all.
Photo: Niantic Labs

Unexpectedly massive smash hit Pokémon Go has made its European debut — arriving in Germany as part of a Europe-wide rollout, which suggests a wider expansion to other European countries over the coming days.

Pokémon Go continues its global invasion this week

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pokemon go feat
Gotta catch 'em all.
Photo: Niantic Labs

Pokémon Go will continue its global invasion later this week as it expands its reach into Europe and Asia. The title has already become a smash hit, causing Nintendo shares to rocket 25 percent despite the game only being available in a small number of regions.

Google’s round wearable will take on Apple Watch

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Watch out Apple Watch, Google is coming for you.
Watch out Apple Watch, Google is coming for you.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Alphabet-owned Google is planning to take another step toward becoming a genuine hardware company later this year with the release of its own smartwatch.

The search engine giant plans to take on Apple Watch directly, with not one, but two Android Wear smartwatches that will be deeply integrated with Google Assistant. Plus, it will pack some hardware features Apple Watch can’t match.

Google is finally making its own iPhone rival

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The official Google phone is coming.
The official Google phone is coming.
Photo: Google

Apple and Google are set to face-off as direct competitors in the smartphone wars later this year, according to a new report that claims the search-engine giant is finally preparing to make its own smartphone hardware.

Google has offered a “pure” Android experience for years with its lineup of Nexus phones made by the likes Motorola, LG and Huawei. However, it appears that the company is ready to tighten its control of the Android platform by going toe-to-toe with iPhone by making its own handset.

Apple is taking away your rifle (emoji)

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The rifle won't be made into an emoji.
The rifle won't be made into an emoji.
Photo: Andrew Stawarz/Flickr

Getting your hands on a rifle emoji is about to get a lot harder for all smartphone owners thanks to Apple.

The Unicode Consortium proposed earlier this year to add a rifle emoji as part of the Unicode 9.0 release this year, but according to a new report, the controversial firearm won’t make the cut after Apple campaigned internally to have it removed.