Sales of the Galaxy S 6 haven’t been as great as Samsung would have hoped, so the company is going back to what it does best: desperately make fun of the iPhone.
The company released two new ads for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge touting the phones’ wireless charging, wide angle selfies, and curved display that shows texts and emails and other info, while the iPhone 6 just has a boring metal edge with buttons.
You can watch both ads below:
Microsoft’s devouring of our favorite mobile apps continues today with the acquisition of 6Wunderkinder, makers of popular task management app Wunderlist.
The buyout, which comes just four months after Microsoft acquired Sunrise, will help the software continue its mission to reinvent productivity in a mobile-first world, it says.
For a smartphone that was meant to turn around Samsung’s flagging mobile division, the Galaxy S6 hasn’t exactly been a rousing success.
In fact, according to one new report coming out of Taiwan, sales have been sufficiently disappointing that Samsung has decided to cut orders for its flagship device by 16 percent.
The report doesn’t make clear whether this refers to just the S6 or the S6 Edge also — or possibly a combination of both. Whatever the breakdown, it’s another piece of less-than-stellar news for Samsung at a time when it could really use some positivity.
Nintendo has denied claims that its upcoming NX console will run Android.
An earlier report out of Japan, citing sources familiar with Nintendo’s plans, promised that the NX would employ Android software in an effort to attract new users and developers. But unfortunately for those excited by that prospect, it’s not going to happen.
The Asus ZenWatch 2 smartwatch certainly has something familiar about it, right?
The latest Android Wear device to be shown off at the Computex trade show in Taipei, Asus’ new timepiece sticks by and large to the form factor of its first generation device, aside from the notable addition of a suspiciously-familiar Apple-style digital crown.
Check out a video below:
Details about Nintendo’s next-gen NX console won’t officially be shared by the company until 2016, but according to a new report coming out of Japan one thing we might be able to expect is for the NX hardware to run a version of Android.
The decision is said to be rooted in Nintendo’s desire to give developers increased flexibility in making content that can also be used on smartphones and tablets.
One of the best things to come out of Google’s I/O keynote on Thursday was Google Photos, a brand new service for storing, sharing, and organizing your images and videos.
It’s totally free — no matter how
many items you upload — but is it better than the competition?
In this week’s Friday Night Fight with Cult of Android versus Cult of Mac, we pit it against Apple’s iCloud Photo Library service to find out which is the best pick for your pics.
I had been looking forward to the Google I/O keynote for weeks before it kicked off Thursday. I was rubbing my hands together like a little kid on Christmas morning when Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president, took to the stage to reveal what the company had up its sleeve.
But when the event ended two and a half hours later, I couldn’t have been more disappointed. Santa had visited — but instead of bringing what was on my list, he’d left me with a bunch of cheap gifts I knew I’d be bored with by the time the turkey was cooked.
Yesterday’s Android Pay reveal at Google I/O was a slight disappointment in that, it’s pretty much just like Apple Pay. Google added pretty much zero innovation to Apple’s idea that debuted last year, but what the company didn’t show us, is that it has a way better payments system up its sleeve.
It’s called Hands Free. It’s a complete separate app from Android Pay. And as an Apple fan, I hate to say it, but it looks like it could be way better than Apple Pay.
Check it out:
From smartphones to the Internet of Things, Google wants to be woven into the fabric of our lives.
The company detailed some of its latest hardware and software projects — some truly innovative, some strictly playing catch-up — during the annual Google I/O developer conference Thursday.
From the iterative improvements coming in Android M to the blue-sky thinking of Project Brillo, everything plays into Mountain View’s master plan, which Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president in charge of Android, Chrome and apps described as “putting technology and computer science to work on important problems that users face” — and doing it “at scale for everyone in the world.”
Google’s goals are similar to Apple’s: Both companies are trying to integrate their products (and possibly their worldviews) into every facet of our lives to make tech personal and useful. In many ways, Google’s approach is far more ambitious.
Here are the six things you need to know from the Google I/O 2015 keynote.
I can’t wait for the virtual reality future to finally go mainstream, but with company’s like Oculus talking about charging people over $1,500 for an entire Rift package, VR is virtually out of my price-range. Thankfully, Google is coming up with an easy-to-use VR solution that’s not only as cheap as a piece of cardboard, it works on Android and iOS too.
Google’s first attempt to revolutionize mobile payments didn’t work out so well. Nearly four years after introducing Google Wallet, the company announced at Google IO this morning that it’s replacing its first mobile wallet solution with a new app called Android Pay, and it basically works just like Apple Pay.
Google Now is about to get far more powerful, thanks to a promising new feature called Now on Tap that leverages contextual search to offer quick answers to quick questions from within various apps.
“We’re working on a new capability to assist you in the moment — right when you need it, wherever you are on the phone,” said Google Now product manager Aparna Chennapragada as she previewed the impressive new functionality during Thursday’s kickoff keynote at Google I/O 2015.
For instance, asking, “What’s his real name?” while listening to a Skrillex track could return the DJ’s name from within a music app, making Google’s hive mind more accessible than ever. (FYI it’s Sonny John Moore.)
Organizing the flood of photos and videos we all have is the central challenge of today’s photos apps.
Director of Photos for Google, Anil Sabharwal, took the stage Thursday morning at the annual I/O conference to detail the company’s new offering that aims to solve this problem: Google Photos.
While initial screenshots on stage looked quite a bit like Apple’s own Photos app, the functionality of Google Photos uses machine learning and algorithms to create what may be turn out to be the most useful way to store and share your photos.
Google is expected to announce Android Pay, its new Apple Pay competitor, during its I/O keynote today. But before the service is official, the company has inadvertently confirmed its arrival with a whole bunch of Android Pay signs that are dotted around Moscone West.
Google I/O is one of the biggest events on the calendar for Android fans, and this year’s event is going to be just as exciting as the last. In addition to the next-generation Android upgrade, we’ll see updates to other Google platforms, and maybe even new devices.
Here are nine things even Apple fans won’t want to miss during Google I/O 2015, which runs May 28 and 29. (This post was updated May 27.)
The battle between virtual assistants is about to hot up again as Microsoft Cortana prepares to go cross-platform to take on Siri and Google Now. The intelligent virtual assistant will be arriving on Android and iOS later this year, but you can get a sneak peek in the video below.
With Apple Watch still sold out and Google reportedly gearing up to deliver Android Wear support for iPhone at Google I/O next week, it’s time for two of the hottest wearable platforms to face off.
Apple Watch is selling 30,000 units every day in the U.S., according to the latest reports, which makes it significantly hotter than any of the Android Wear watches we’ve seen so far. But is it really worth the hype?
Find out what we think in this week’s Friday Night Fight with Cult of Android versus Cult of Mac!
After the disaster of the Samsung S5, Samsung was counting on the Galaxy S6 to lead its way back to the top — with some people even throwing around terms like “iPhone killer” as a description of the new flagship handset.
According to a new report, however, the next-gen Samsung Galaxy device is faring even worse than its predecessor — boasting sales of just 10 million units so far, which is about what the iPhone 6 managed in its first weekend.
It all adds up to a massive strategy fail on Samsung’s part.
The National Security Agency and several of its allies around the world have hijacked connections to multiple Android app stores to plant spyware on hundreds of millions of devices.
According to a top secret document leaked by whistle-blower Edward Snowden, the Google Play Store, Samsung’s app store, and UC Browser, a web browser that’s incredibly popular in China and India, were the main targets.
Those who choose to obtain music, movies, and other wares illegally will want to think twice about switching to Google Fiber. Some subscribers have reported receiving automatic fines via Google for allegedly downloading pirated material.
Google has rolled out a nifty new Maps update for mobile that brings better traffic alerts that will be issued while you drive, and the ability to find alternate routes. The update comes just in time for Memorial Day, which is one of the busiest driving days of the year.
Using your smartphone while scoffing fast food will leave your shiny display covered in grease and grime, but thanks to KFC, there’s a better way to live-tweet what you’re eating.
The finger-licking chicken giant has designed a paper-thin Bluetooth keyboard called the Tray Typer, which lets you text, tweet, and even get stuff done over dinner without having to touch your smartphone at all.
Google is getting ready to unveil a new online picture sharing and storage service at the company’s upcoming Google I/O software developers conference later this month.
Not linked with Google+, the tool will supposedly allow users to post pictures to Facebook and Twitter in a more straightforward way than is currently possible through Google. It will also represent another stab on Google’s part at the photo-sharing market currently dominated by Instagram, Snapchat and Flickr.
Google has apologized for its second major mapping embarrassment in one month, after a racist slur involving the N-word was demonstrated as finding the White House on Google Maps.
Searches including “n****r house” and “n****r king” returned the home of Barack Obama as one of the top suggestions.
