+101 - Vote for the best Android Applications

• Quick reply support for Chrome on Android in testing
  

  Quick replies were first introduced around two years ago with Android 7.0 Nougat, making it more convenient for everyone to respond to messages without having to open a new app for each one. Google is now testing quick replies for Chrome on Android, t…

• Smartwatches and other accessories face looming threat of new Chinese-import tariffs
  

  The world of international commerce is a complicated one, and the particular path a product takes as it evolves from raw materials, to discrete components, to a final, assembled gadget can have a big impact on what it ends up costing. Right now, shopp…

• How to back up and restore your WhatsApp messages with Google Drive
  

  Wanna hold on to all of your WhatsApp messages? Save ’em! Switching phones? Take ’em with you!

  Maybe you like to use WhatsApp for work because it’s free and easy to use. Maybe it’s just a convenient way to keep in touch with friends. Either way, you probably have some pretty important messages and media in there, and it’d be a shame if it all suddenly disappeared. That’s why it’s a great idea to back up your messages, photos, and videos.

  Backing up between Android and iPhone
  How to backup your WhatsApp chats to Google Drive
  How to restore WhatsApp chats from a Google Drive backup
  How to move your WhatsApp messages to a new phone using Google Drive
  Backing up between Android and iPhone

  If you’re planning on switching from Android to iPhone and want to take your WhatsApp messages with you, you’re out of luck. When you back up WhatsApp on your Android phone, you back up to Google Drive. The Android WhatsApp app uses Google Drive to back up and restore. The iOS app uses iCloud to do b…

• [Update: Refunds for pre-deal purchases] Deal alert: Essential’s 360-degree camera is an insane $19 right now
  
  • 
    Update 1: 2018/07/20 2:51pm PDT
    
    There are reports that Essential is also issuing partial refunds for orders placed before the sale related to the recently discounted merchandise. If you ordered any of the sale

  

  Essential and Amazon busted out one of the biggest deals this year when they dropped the PH-1 to an all-time low price of $250 for Prime Day. But, it turns out that’s not the end of the Essential deals.

  Read More

  [Update: Refunds for pre-deal purchases] Deal alert: Essential’s 360-degree camera is an insane $19 right now was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

• Chrome OS is experimenting with a centered shelf layout
  

  The team behind Chrome OS is often testing new features via flags, and the latest of these is a centered shelf layout. The concept is pretty simple – the apps you have on your taskbar, called a ‘shelf’ by Google, get centered with this flag. Fancy stu…

• Google Pay adds support for Revolut in the UK
  

  

  As US financial institutions continue to cozy up to Google Pay by the dozens, banks in other regions have been rolling out support more slowly. It’s significant, then, when a sizable institution abroad announces support for the platform. Revolut is a pretty big deal, having passed 2 million users last month, and the UK-based digital banking service has recently made such an announcement.

  Revolut isn’t listed on the Google Pay support page yet, but it’s begun notifying its users of the change by email.

  Read More

  Google Pay adds support for Revolut in the UK was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

• [Deal Alert] New eBay coupon will take 20% off select items
  

  There have been a number of eBay promotions lately, like the site’s summer sale and the recent $25 off coupon. If you missed out on those, eBay now has a 20%-off coupon code for select items. Some of the applicable categories include phones, tablets, …

• TicWatch Pro vs. Apple Watch: Features or polish, because I can’t have both
  

  There are a lot of things here Apple should pay attention to.

  I’ve been an active Apple Watch user for 260 days. Not a lot compared to some of the other smartwatch folks around me, but enough for me to know a fair bit about the strengths and weaknesses of the platform through my daily use. I’m largely a fan of the way Apple does things on the Watch, but like most smartwatch owners I find myself never truly happy with display performance in daylight or the battery after a day of constant use. Neither are easy problems to solve, and the watches offering solutions to date have compromises in other areas that make them downright unpleasant to wear.

  The folks at Mobvoi got my attention recently with its TicWatch Pro, a watch running Google’s Wear OS promising between five and thirty days of battery life in certain modes and, a special display which works perfectly even in direct sunlight. After a week of using this new watch, I find myself ready to call TicWatch Pro the best Wear OS wat…

• Instant Pot cookers, smart locks, Chromebooks, and more are all discounted today
  

  Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

  We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on an Asus Chromebook, the August smart lock, an Instant Pot pressure cooker, and more! Time’s running out to take advantage of these prices, so hurry!

  View the rest of the deals

  If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!
  …

• Top 5 features Chrome OS is missing
  

  These are niche, but they’d be appreciated.

  Chrome OS already handles the basics of a desktop and laptop operating system down. So much so, that unless you need a specific application that’s only on macOS or Windows, you can happily use a Chromebook as your only device. It’ll be fast, it’ll be secure and it will only get better over time.

  But that’s not to say Chrome OS still doesn’t have room to grow. It’s making Linux applications easier to use later this year, Android applications are getting more capabilities, and Progressive Web Applications are going to become more commonplace. But there are a few creature comforts Chrome OS could handle better.

  Customizable scroll speed for external mice
  Proper audio ducking
  Better window snapping
  System wide dark theme
  Persistent media controls for web apps

  Customizable scroll speed for external mice

  Chrome OS supports any USB or Bluetooth mouse or trackpad, but using the mouses’s scroll wheel may feel… off… compared to …

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