+101 - Vote for the best Android Applications

• WhatsApp Web shows new Status, supports Slack-like emoji insertion
  

  

  We don’t often cover WhatsApp Web here since it’s not exactly Android, but it’s related enough to the Android app that we do make an exception every now and then when there’s something worth talking about. Today is one of those examples, but it’s worth pointing out that some of these changes aren’t new and have been there for a while — maybe even for a month or two. But again, we had to wait until there was enough news to warrant a post.

  Read More

  WhatsApp Web shows new Status, supports Slack-like emoji insertion was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

• Amazon Fire TV Stick vs. Fire TV 4K: Which should you buy?
  

  Two streaming solutions, both alike in dignity, from fair Amazon, where we make our choice. … Which should you buy? We’ve got your answer.

  When it comes to plugging into your television, Amazon has two options that’ll tempt you to open your wallet. There’s the Fire TV, and the Fire TV Stick.

  Neither one should bust your budget. In fact, the more expensive of the two is less than $100. And both do generally the same thing — they give you access to Amazon’s Appstore (and Amazon Music, let you watch all sorts of streaming video, and play all kinds of games. (Because, again, apps.)

  But you still need to make a choice. Do you go for the $89 Fire TV? Or the $39 Fire TV Stick? Seems like a no-brainer, right?

  Let’s take a look at the differences.

  Fire TV Stick vs. Fire TV — the specs

  Category
  Fire TV Stick
  Fire TV

  Price
  $39
  $89
  Form factor
  HDMI Stick
  Small set-top box
  Release date
  September 2016
  December 2015
  Supported resolution
  Up to 1080p
  …

• Verizon muddles its unlimited plan, will begin throttling all video
  

  Video throttling is back for all Verizon subscribers, and it seems here to stay.

  Back in February, Verizon rolled out a decent new unlimited plan, saying that mobile videos would be presented at the quality the services offered them at. Today, alongside the announcement of new unlimited plans, it has gone back on that, saying that video will indeed be throttled to 720p for most customers, and in some cases to 480p, starting August 23. Some users started noticing the throttling last month when streaming Netflix or YouTube, and now it’s confirmed that the big red carrier will indeed be cutting back video quality for everyone, regardless of plan or how much data they’ve used.

  The throttling news was bundled into an announcement of Verizon’s new plans and rates, dividing the formerly-simple (for a carrier) unlimited plan into three. New subscribers can buy a $75 single-line plan called Go Unlimited, $5 cheaper than before, with video throttled to 480p on phones and hotspot speeds lim…

• How to watch Netflix on Google Cardboard
  

  Netflix is now accessible in VR on more than Gear VR.

  Plenty of people enjoy spending a few hours binging Netflix to catch up on their favorite show before the new season kicks off. If you have roommates or distractions then you might have considered watching your shows in VR. Not everybody has access to Gear VR, the only VR headset with the app available. Have no fear though, we’ve got the details for you on how to watch Netflix using Google Cardboard

  Read more at VR Heads!
  …

• Grab a year of IPVanish for just $39 for a very limited time, a 50% savings
  

  VPNs are way more common now than they were even just one year ago. People who care about their privacy (which should be everyone) have begun connecting to a VPN everytime they use the internet, but picking the right VPN provider can be a hard task. There are a ton of services out there, and they range in price from free to $100 or more a year. If you haven’t already settled into a VPN, today may be the day that you do that.

  Are you using a VPN? Here’s why you might consider it!

  New customers to IPVanish’s service can score a 50% discount on its one-year plan with the coupon code PRIVACYFIRST. This discount drops the price down to just $39 for the first year, meaning you are only paying just over $3 a month to keep your browsing more secure.

  From our review of the service:

  Not only is IPVanish’s Quick Connect menu suitable for novice users, there’s also a host of settings in the background that advanced users will love. There are over 850 servers in more than 60 countries, and…

• Android Oreo feature spotlight: Rescue Party might save bootlooping devices from an early death
  

  

  The user facing features of Android 8.0 were mostly already known before yesterday’s grand reveal of the Oreo name and the final version, but there are usually other tweaks that only become apparent after a bit of time looking through the documentation. One interesting new discovery is a feature called Rescue Party, which is designed to combat a much publicized recent Android problem, the infamous boot loop.

  We received a tip from Arunkumar alerting us to this new feature, which works by monitoring device start-up activity and attempting to fix any issues.

  Read More

  Android Oreo feature spotlight: Rescue Party might save bootlooping devices from an early death was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

• AT&T Galaxy S8 and S8+ receiving updates with navigation bar auto hide, August patch, and more
  

  

  Most Galaxy S8 and S8+ variants are receiving updates every one to two months, and today, it’s the AT&T versions’ turn. This latest update for S8s on the Death Star carrier include “navigation bar auto hide,” the August 2017 security patch, and quite a few more miscellaneous improvements.

  Without further ado, here’s AT&T’s full changelog:

  What’s changing: Network performance enhancements, WPS (Wireless Priority Service), UX updates, navigation bar auto hide and AGIF, Email, Calendar and Knox updates, Bluetooth updates, stability updates, Advanced Messaging update, app select update, Smart help updates, Daydream support, various other updates and improvements, and Android device security updates

  This is a lot of stuff for a non-major update, but let’s weed out the boring things.

  Read More

  AT&T Galaxy S8 and S8+ receiving updates with navigation bar auto hide, August patch, and more was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

• Android Oreo features you’ll love: Picture-in-Picture mode
  

  We all love things we can see when we get an update, and that’s why Picture-in-Picture mode is so cool!

  Android Oreo allows developers to build apps that launch in a new Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode. PIP is a special kind of multi-window mode that’s most commonly used for video playback. You might have PIP on your television or through your cable box. It’s been available for Android TV since the release of Android Nougat, but Oreo brings it to every device that runs Android 8 or higher.

  Apps that support PIP will have a setting to disable it for people who don’t want it.

  Using PIP is easy, though apps have to be updated and use some new code for it to work properly. We used the Duo app running on Google Pixels that has been updated to Android Oreo as our example. In the app’s settings, you’ll see an entry for Picture-in-Picture, and you toggle it on or off. Make sure it’s enabled.

  When in a Duo call, hitting the home button sends the Duo app to the background but leaves a sm…

• Android Oreo features you’ll love: Notification badges and previews
  

  Keeping up with notifications is a constant struggle.

  Notifications. It’s the first thing most of us deal with in the morning, and no matter what time of day, there’s probably three or four of them sitting just waiting there. Unread badges have existed on mobile home screens since before Android to help remind us of things we need to take care of. Up until this year, they’ve mostly just been these awkward blobs in the corner of an app icon with an ever-growing number inside.

  Android Oreo is looking to upgrade things with two new paired features: notification badges and notification previews.

  Goodbye unread counts, hello notification badges

  Notification badges work with notification channels to prevent “dot overload.”

  Notification badges or dots on an Android launcher use a notification access permission to see what notifications are in the notification shade at the moment and display a small dot in the corner of the app icon to let you know that you have a notification. …

• Watch the Galaxy Note 8 launch live — 11:00 a.m. ET Aug 23!
  

  Samsung’s biggest device of the year is about to take center stage.

  The moment is finally upon us — it’s time to watch the Galaxy Note 8 be unveiled officially. The stage is set in New York City for yet another Samsung Unpacked event, where the company pulls out all of the stops to launch its devices with as much style as possible. Samsung is going to be livestreaming the event, and we’ll have that video stream for you right here as soon as it’s available.

  Just bookmark this page, and we’ll do the rest!

  It all gets going officially at 11:00 a.m. ET, which translates to 8 a.m. on the U.S. West Coast, 4 p.m. in the UK and 5 p.m. in Europe. And of course Android Central will be there live, covering everything that comes out of the event. Join us here for the whole experience!

  Samsung Galaxy Note 8

  Galaxy Note 8: Everything we know so far
  Rumored Galaxy Note 8 specs
  All Galaxy Note 8 news
  Should you buy the Galaxy S8+ or wait for the Note 8?
  The buttonless future o…

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