Cult of Android - page 23

Want to sum up the difference between Apple and Samsung in a single image?

Don’t look at the logos. Don’t look at the operating systems. Don’t even look at what their respective gadgets look like.

Look at the lines. Look at the symmetry. Because Samsung can’t even get these basic things right.

Once you start looking closely, even Samsung’s best phones look like they were designed by a kindergartner.

Facebook Messenger is today launching its assault on Skype with a new update that brings video calling to users on Android and iOS. The feature works over Wi-Fi and LTE, and it’s completely free.

Every smartphone maker promises us great photos from its latest devices, but few Android handsets are actually capable of taking them consistently. That’s not the case with the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, which are just as impressive as Samsung said they would be.

In the latest DxOMark tests, the trusted industry standard for camera and lens quality ratings, the Galaxy S6 edge’s 16-megapixel camera beats out the iPhone 6, the Galaxy Note 4, and all other competitors with top marks.

It’s too early to tell exactly how well the Apple Watch will do in the grand scheme of things, or even if it will ultimately win the wearable war. But one thing’s for sure, it’s off to a hell of a good start, with statistics indicating that the Apple Watch sold more units in one day than Android Wear devices have sold. Period.

Google is behind some of the best Easter eggs in tech, and its latest is sure to be popular among hard-core Android fans. Spotted in Google Maps near Rawalpindi, Pakistan, it’s an image of the Android bot urinating on an Apple logo.

A security research firm has uncovered a flaw in Android that allows hackers to steal copies of our fingerprints from the Galaxy S5, and possibly other devices. Samsung says it is already investigating the issue, which will be demonstrated at the RSA security conference this week.

Xiaomi today unveiled its new Mi 4i, an attractive iPhone 5c clone made out of colorful polycarbonate with an affordable price tag. It’s the Chinese company’s first device exclusively for international markets, and it goes on sale later this month.

Google took the wraps off its new wireless network called Project Fi today, revealing that it will sell basic plans with talk, text, Wi-Fi, tethering and international coverage for just $20 a month.

Rather than building out its own infrastructure for the wireless network, Google is partnering with both Sprint and T-Mobile, and will allow customers to seamlessly switch between the two networks for the fastest connection available at your current location.

Check out the Project Fi video below:

If anyone can find the Loch Ness Monster, it’s Google; nothing can escape its sophisticated Street View cameras.

When the search giant visited the Scottish loch to celebrate the 81st anniversary of the legend of Loch Ness with the help of divers and local experts, then, it’s perhaps unsurprising that it managed to capture something mysterious in the water.

Should an Android app instructing people how to chop walnuts ever get developed, don’t be surprised if the first order of business is this: Place walnuts on surface of Galaxy S6. Then begin smashing nuts with another S6.

A pair of YouTube videos showing people using their S6 to crack walnuts may be a commentary on the durability of the Samsung phone versus say a certain smartphone that some say bends over time in a tight pocket.

Both videos end with the hands of the nut smasher flipping the phones screen up and turning them on to show they still work. Before you halt your search for your misplaced nutcracker, it is not known whether the videos are the products of pranksters using some sort of visual trickery.

Two roommates in Tulsa, Oklahoma, took fanboyism to a whole new extreme after stabbing each other with broken beer bottles during an iPhone vs. Android debate.

With strong reviews and positive word of mouth behind both the iPhone 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S6, the battle between the two flagship devices is what the smartphone-watching world deserves.

But there’s one more question that precisely nobody’s been asking up until now: Which one would survive longer in a tub of boiling water?

Yep, as wacky stress tests go, you can forget about accusations of bending — this one takes the cake.

After years of examining the Android operating system, the European Commission has launched a formal antitrust investigation into claims that Google unfairly forces competitors into bundling its own apps on their devices.

Available for both iOS and Android, Google’s Snapseed has long been one of my favorite on-the-go photo retouching apps. After a year without updates, then, I was excited to see Google update Snapseed to version 2.0, with several new features, including the ability to copy edits from one image to another, five new filters, adjustable lens blur, and brush tools.

Unfortunately, the Snapseed 2.0 update wasn’t all for the better. In fact, it stripped the app of one of its best features: the grunge filter.

Samsung has proven with the new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge that it really can make a premium smartphone that looks and feels like it is worthy of a high price tag. The S6 Edge is so premium, in fact, that it costs more to make than the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Eligible for an upgrade on your Sprint handset? If so, you may be able to take advantage of a great new offer from the company, whereby a Sprint representative will personally deliver your new phone and configure it for you — all from the comfort of your home.

Check out a video below.

You know Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker which copied Apple designs en route to becoming the world’s most valuable startup?

Well, depending on who you are, get ready to bust out a tune on the world’s smallest violin, because Xiaomi’s quest to conquer the smartphone-owning world has apparently hit a bit of a snag: people keep copying its designs.

Yes, seriously.

We’ve been patiently waiting for Google to make Android Wear watches compatible with the iPhone, and according to a source in Google’s development team, the search giant is now closer than ever to marrying the unlikely duo.

It’s well known that Samsung is happy to take a bit of inspiration from Apple when it comes to the look and feel of its mobile devices, but it’s also willing to splash the cash to try and match Apple’s strategy of establishing itself as an upmarket designer brand.

At a time when Apple is focusing on getting its Apple Watch sold alongside luxury fashion brands in department stores, Samsung’s new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones have popped up in full-window displays as the chic Harrods store in London, where they will be displayed until April 26.

Last year, right around when iOS 8 was released, Apple quietly snatched up Dryft, a startup that made a popular Android keyboard that seems perfect for the iPad. Not only that, but the CTO of Dryft now heads up iOS keyboard development.

Samsung’s not had too much luck with smartwatches, but a newly-published patent application shows that it’s not ready to throw in the towel just yet.

The patent describes what is less a traditional watch than a wristband or He-Man-style manacle. It features a wraparound widescreen display, able to function in both bent and flat states, and describes its possible applications as multimedia viewing and communication.

After all, you never know when you’ll need to summon Battle Cat to help in your ongoing war with Skeletor and his cronies!

Instagram has been inching towards being an all-in-one edit suite, and today the app took another small step in that direction.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is a giant iPhone 6 ripoff. And like Apple’s bigger-than-big devices, it also comes with some bending problems.

Tests have found that the Galaxy S6 Edge is just as easy to bend as the iPhone 6 Plus, only its display is even more likely to crack. Samsung finally responded today, claiming the 110 lbs of pressure used in SquareTrade’s tests were way more than would be exerted in real-world use. LG isn’t letting Samsung’s bendgate problems go unnoticed though.

Take a look at this tweet they sent mocking Samsung:

Following the “Bendgate” rumors which dogged the iPhone 6 Plus last year, it was inevitable that Samsung’s next flagship phone was going to come under scrutiny the moment it landed in the hands of customers.

Samsung all but invited the comparison; putting out ads which boldly claimed its handsets could survive even the biggest butts. Well, the long-awaited Galaxy S6 Edge is finally out, and there’s good news and bad news for fans.

The good news? The phone’s as easy (or as difficult) to bend as the iPhone 6 Plus. The bad news? Its glass display is far more likely to crack under pressure.

Check out the video comparison below.

15 percent of Samsung’s management left the company late last year following its dismal smartphone sales, according to a new report from Korea-based news outlet Yonhap News.

The tech giant had 1,219 management staff on its books as of 2014’s Q3 — only for this number to fall by 177 people by the end of the year. 44 of the 177 people who resigned or were fired were from Samsung’s IT & Mobile Communications department.

Ouch!