The long awaited Lollipop update for the Droid Turbo begins tomorrow July 1st. This follows a (very) short soak test of a few days. Also of note is the fact that Motorola seems to have skipped directly to 5.1.
The post Droid Turbo Lollipop Rollout Starts Tomorrow appeared first on xda-developers.
A new CM12 theme can make your device look like Hydrogen OS from the OnePlus team. The theme includes: Wallpapers, Icons, Ringtones, and more. Additionally the Framework, SystemUI, Dialer, Contacts, Calculator, Messaging, Google Messenger, and Settings are all themed.
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Whenever Apple launches a new product or service, it definitely manages to grab the attention of all. Whether you love the company and or its products, or you hate it, there’s no denying that Apple does make more people interested in things, old or new.
When the company announced Apple Music, it directly took aim at the user base of iTunes which had migrated to the streaming convenience of Spotify and later, Google Play Music. In order to further bolster its efforts at securing a decent market share immediately on launch, Apple planned to merge its May 2014 acquisition, Beats Music alongside its expansive library from iTunes to turn up the heat in the streaming segment.
It seems the killer blow has landed, albeit on a different victim. The latest update to the Beats Music android app is no longer accepting new users. This “update” comes in the wake of a first from Apple, where it plans to release an android app for Apple Music. While Apple Music is scheduled to land on Android coming fall, the update to Beats Music has effectively killed off the service right now for new users, as they are no longer allowed to sign up for the 2 week free trial of Beats Music.
The changelog for the update confirms that the service will be entirely merged with Apple Music:
Coming this fall for Android. Apple Music offers many of the great features you already know and love in Beats Music. Plus, you’ll have unlimited access to over 30 millions songs, including handcrafted playlists and albums curated by the world’s leading music experts, a reimagined live radio station, and a personal connection to the artists you love. If you’re a Beats Music subscriber, you can easily move your subscription to Apple Music, taking all your playlists and your library with you.
To those who have watched Apple with a close eye over the past couple of years, such a move will come as no surprise as the company is known to be one of the fiercest competitors in the fields it participates in, forcing others to step up their game. We just hope that with this increased competition, the end beneficiary still remains the user.
What do you think about this decision? Do you think Apple Music will bring good competition to the world of streaming? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Read on for related coverage:
Source: 9to5Google
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As smartphone designs become more and more complex, self-repairs on devices are also becoming more complicated. Unibody handsets like HTC’s One flagship series can sometimes be a nightmare to repair if the person doesn’t have much experience. That, of course, all depends on the device you are attempting to repair though. So, how many of you do self-repairs on your devices? Let us know why or why not in the comments below.
The post Do You Do Self-Repairs on Your Devices? appeared first on xda-developers.
In a bid to streamline its flagship series which had been losing credibility over the past few years due to their 6 month release cycles, Sony announced that releases would be pushed back to the standard duration of one year instead. When Sony’s 2015 flagship was unveiled as the Z4 in Japan and the Z3+ across the rest of the world, enthusiasts everywhere expected things to take a turn for the better, in lieu of the aforementioned announcement.
However, two months in, things are looking worse than ever for Sony, as earlier today, the Z4 slipped out of the top 
Despite the Snapdragon 810 overheating issues plaguing multiple flagships, numerous upcoming devices such as the OnePlus 2 and Moto X 3rd Gen are expected to sport that very chipset. Will you buy a device running atop an S810? Let us know in the comments section below!
The post Sony Z4 Slips Out of Top 5 Smartphones in Japan appeared first on xda-developers.
The carrier game in the United States is perpetually rushing forward at a breakneck pace, with each of the four major carriers vying for maximum customer satisfaction and adoption rates, by means of a multitude of plans, offers and schemes. Earlier today, Sprint announced a new plan called “All-In”, aimed at providing users with yet another unlimited plan.
On the surface, All In sounds like a pleasant deal, which offers unlimited talk, text and high-speed data for $80 plus taxes, which includes the $60 buy-in and an additional $20 for a 24 month leased phone. However, the footnotes paint a less pleasant picture, explicitly stating that:
To improve data experience for the majority of users, throughput may be limited, varied or reduced on the network. Streaming video speeds will be limited to 600Kbps at all times, which may impact quality.
This statement is quite outrageous, with Sprint offering unlimited plans and then going on to cripple users by capping streaming speeds to 600Kbps. These restrictions do not appear to apply to existing unlimited users, but if you had planned on getting a Sprint unlimited plan, be wary of this revelation!
The post Sprint’s New Unlimited Plan with Ridiculous Capped Speeds appeared first on xda-developers.
Created by XDA Senior Member balrajs99, Graphi Theme takes on the dark approach but uses graphite-black instead of pitch black, with white. The result is a dark but unique theme featuring lots of themed apps and attention to detail.
The post [CM12.1/12] Graphi Theme appeared first on xda-developers.
Sprint has started rolling out a host of bug fixes, stability improvements and security options in the form of an Android 5.1 update for the S6 and S6 Edge. As always you will be able to find the OTA update at the bottom of the settings page. Have you received it yet? Let others know in the comments section!
The post Sprint Rolls Out 5.1 For The S6 And S6 Edge appeared first on xda-developers.
CyanogenMod nightlies are usually the testing grounds for upcoming features, and the latest CM 12.1 nightlies bring a bunch of updates such as IMAP push enhancements with a custom IDLE protocol, CyanogenMod SDK and Dyanamic tile updates, and WiFi Priorities that let you set preferred networks.
The post Latest CM 12.1 Nightlies Bring a Host of Feature Updates appeared first on xda-developers.
We rave about the features and abilities of our smartphones. However, in order for the device to be so smart, there is a lot of items running in the background. Running all these processes behind the curtain can impact battery life. If you can control how often something runs in the background, you may be able to get some more battery life out of your device.
In this episode of XDA Xposed Tuesday, XDA TV Producer TK reviews an Xposed Module that enables you to control what items are running in the background. XDA Recognized Developer wanam created the Smart Network module. So, TK shows off the module and gives his thoughts, so check out this Xposed Tuesday video.
Be sure to check out other great XDA TV Videos:
The post Make Your Network Smart – XDA Xposed Tuesday appeared first on xda-developers.
If you’ve never used Pushbullet, now might be the best time to check out the file and notification sharing platform. The latest update features improved push reliability, a retry option, and new chat and friend finding functions. Pick it up for free on the PlayStore.
The post Pushbullet Updated to v16.1 appeared first on xda-developers.
After a short soak test, Verizon has posted (PDF) release notes for the upcoming 5.1 update for the Moto X. The official version is 23.16.3.victara_verizon.verizon.en.USvzw and we should expect the OTA in the very near future. Head inside for more details.
The post Verizon Posts 2014 Moto X 5.1 Release Notes appeared first on xda-developers.
Facebook’s advertising management software, dubbed simply “Facebook Ad Manager,” is now available on Android. The app was previously launched on iOS in February, with the Android version coming later this year.
The post Facebook Ad Manager Available on Android appeared first on xda-developers.
Today, the iOS version of Hangouts received a 4.0 update (before Android.) This update looks very similar to the what we expect to see with the hangouts for Android revamp that should be coming soon.
The post iOS Gets a Flash New Hangouts 4.0 appeared first on xda-developers.
A short while ago, reports surfaced about two Motorola device model numbers being tested that sported 5.5″ QHD displays, and another leak earlier today revealed that the devices sport Snapdragon 810 SoCs, and that one of them is the new Droid with the other being the third generation Moto X.
The post QHD Moto Devices to Pack a Snapdragon 810 appeared first on xda-developers.
Today, the iOS version of Hangouts received a 4.0 update (before Android.) This update looks very similar to the what we expect to see with the hangouts for Android revamp that should be coming soon.
The post iOS Gets a Flash New Hangouts 4.0 appeared first on xda-developers.
A short while ago, reports surfaced about two Motorola device model numbers being tested that sported 5.5″ QHD displays, and another leak earlier today revealed that the devices sport Snapdragon 810 SoCs, and that one of them is the new Droid with the other being the third generation Moto X.
The post QHD Moto Devices to Pack a Snapdragon 810 appeared first on xda-developers.
The 2015 Moto G appears to have bared all in some shots sent by an anonymous leaker. No word on launch date, but the specs look as expected: Snapdragon 410, 1GB Ram, 1280 x 720 display, and 8 GB of storage.
The post A Full Look at the Next Moto G appeared first on xda-developers.
Dr.Ketan has submitted a video to the forums showing a functional port of the Galaxy S6 theme store that will be coming to the next release of his ROM for the Note 4 (N910G ). The ROM will be coming after he returns from vacation and makes some final adjustments to make it suitable for a daily driver.
The post Dr.Ketan Brings The S6 Theme Store To The Note 4 appeared first on xda-developers.
OnePlus announced today that the OnePlus Two will feature a fingerprint sensor with a faster response time than that of Apple’s TouchID. OnePlus claims that the use of this feature brings improved security and will save time for users over methods such as pins and passwords.
In their announcement, OnePlus stated that fingerprint sensors have been great ideas as concepts in the past, but so far the technology has not been their to back them up. They went on to claim that up until now, fingerprint scanners have jut been selling points and not actual useful features, only added to join the “me too” mentality, which is why the OnePlus One did not feature one. However, “With the OnePlus 2, the fingerprint sensor is done right.” It has been refined and is now significantly quicker than alternatives such as TouchID.
We are still waiting on further information such as where the sensor will be located and how this will affect the price.
The announcement can be found here
Would you use a fingerprint sensor? Leave a comment below!
The post OnePlus Two Will Feature Finger Print Sensor appeared first on xda-developers.
While affordable smartphones are becoming more available, the majority of high-end flagships are still upwards of $600. With these devices carrying such a hefty price, people look for different ways to protect their investment. The most popular way to protect your smartphone is just to buy a case, but many people like the added peace of mind that comes with insuring your phone. We’re interesting in seeing just how many of you actually buy insurance on your smartphone. Let us know why or why not in the comments below.
The post Do You Have Insurance on Your Smartphone? appeared first on xda-developers.
The Android enthusiast world is in overdrive with OnePlus news, as the company have successfully saturated the media with news for the second year in a row. Today pictures of what could be the OnePlus 2 have been sent in to PhoneArena, although they are blurry and don’t look completely legitimate. Check it out!
The post More Potential OnePlus 2 Pictures Leaked appeared first on xda-developers.
The battle for music streaming subscription dominance is starting to really heat up, with Apple planning their next offensive in line with the release of iOS9 later in the year. A major draw for these kind of services is the ability to have your current music library uploaded and copies of the tracks available to be streamed on the go.
Today Eddy Cue, an Apple Exec has released some details on how iTunes Match will integrate with the soon to be released Apple Music. iTunes Match was released in 2011 as a subscription-based method of uploading an existing iTunes library to be available to stream privately at a later date, and in the same year Google introduced a similar system. The main differences between the services was in price, and capacity. iTunes charged each user $25 a year for the privilege of storing 25,000 tracks, whilst Google Play Music had no cost, and allowed 50,000 tracks (20,000 at launch). Apple have now confirmed that the limit will be increased to 100,000 tracks, double Google’s offering. Regardless of whether anyone has that kind of extensive music collection, Apple have made a bold move that will come with some bragging rights.
Also explained was the fact that iTunes Match will coexist with Apple Music, but will be integrated so that its functionality will be included in the $9.99 monthly cost. This means that if you can’t find a track on Apple Music, you’ll be able to buy it from somewhere else (DRM-free), upload it, and listen to it as part of your online library all in one place. This is again similar to Google’s method, but it will be interesting to see if there’s any kind of response from Mountain View.
The post Apple Music Will Increase iTunes Match to 100,000 Songs appeared first on xda-developers.
Doing well for a device with an OS with practically no market history in smartphones, Samsung has revealed that it has sold 1 million Z1 devices in less than 6 months of sales. The company has revealed that a Gold variant of this successful device is planned, along with more entry level handsets on its home brewn Tizen OS.
The post Samsung Sold 1 Million Tizen-based Z1 In 6 Months appeared first on xda-developers.
Facebook has officially launched its “Lite” app for users in India and Philippines, targeting users in emerging markets with unreliable 2G connections. The app is designed to use less data, and supports push notifications and messaging, and even installs in less than 1MB of space.
The post Facebook Lite appeared first on xda-developers.
Xposed Framework is an extremely popular modification platform for Android, so much so that we included it in our Best of XDA series. Creator rovo89 has just updated the package to v65, reportedly including a host of bugfixes, more complete logs and a simpler naming scheme.
The post Xposed Framework Updated to v65 appeared first on xda-developers.
The Meizu MX5 has been leaked. That and much more news is covered by Jordan when he reviews all the important stories from this week. Included in this week’s news is the announcement of Amazon releasing the Alexa SDK and be sure to check out the article talking about the Sony E5663 specification leak. That’s not all that’s covered in today’s video!
Jordan talks about the other videos released this week on XDA TV. XDA TV Producer TK released an Xposed Tuesday video covering XHangouts. Then TK reviewed the Montar Car Mount. Also, TK gave us an app review of MRU Widget. Pull up a chair and check out this video.
Be sure to check out other great XDA TV Videos
Check out Jordan’s YouTube Channel and Jordan’s Gaming YouTube Channel
The post Meizu MX5 Leaks, Oukitel’s 10,000 mAh Phone – XDA TV appeared first on xda-developers.
Chromium Dev François Beaufort has given us a little insight into how the the Chrome OS team measures end-to-end latency. The team uses a robot built by Finnish company OptoFidelity to measure this on Android and Chrome OS devices. There’s also a video demoing how a line is actually drawn on a screen.
The post Chrome OS Team Uses Robot To Measure Latency appeared first on xda-developers.
Join us in a fun Sunday Debate on Notifications. Come with your opinions and feel free to read some of our thoughts, then pick your side or play devil’s advocate to get your voice heard and engage in friendly discussion. You can read our food-for-thought or jump straight into the fray below!
Notifications are a huge part of Android, and Lollipop brought with it a redesign of the age-old notification ticker. The “heads up” system is loved by some, and detested by others — not unlike many changes each version brings, yet in a particularly polarizing way. The main issue with Lollipop’s implementation is that it was not properly worked out for the initial versions. That is, there was no built-in way to disable it, nor revert the system, and once a notification hits your screen during use, your only option is to swipe it away and dismiss the notification from your list. This last bit was addressed in later builds, but many users are still stuck in 5.0.x and left to fix the issues through other means.
Now that many months went by, we have more than a few options at our disposal to address this issue. First of all, KitKat users can enjoy heads up notifications through Xposed modules and app options like HeadsUp and others. Lollipop users that want to be able to hide the heads up notifications instead of dismiss them can use Heads Up Hide for Xposed, and now we also have options to restore the notification ticker like XDA Forum Member Productigeeky’s Ticklr. In short, users can now enjoy heads up notifications or the ticker on both Lollipop and KitKat.
But given that most people tend to choose one over the other, we want to ask you the following: Which one is more efficient? Which one do you prefer, and why? Should we incorporate both? For which use-cases? Can their functionality be expanded, and if so, how? This debate can be considered rather opinionated, but we also want you to touch on the matter of usefulness for various use-cases. As always, feel free to skip our food-for-thought and go straight to the discussion in the comments.
The premise of heads up notifications is to bring you the information within a tidy presentation, allowing you to read it in full before deciding what to do with the message. While we were teased with quick replies and the like, we are left waiting for Google or developers to implement such a system. The notification can, however, be rather spacious, particularly in landscape mode where it can interrupt a movie. The fact that it is so obtrusive can make media consumption a pain when you are getting blasted with random messages, especially on early implementations where you can only dismiss these. These notifications are in tune with Material Design and can be quick and pleasant, but not all the time. However, a virtue that the heads up system has over the ticker is that you are only one click away of the app.
The ticker is an age-old system which many Android fans love for a very good reason: it’s unobtrusive. The ticker presents messages in your status bar, allowing you to almost completely ignore the notification unless you do want to pay attention to it. Moreover, ignoring it is a passive process (no need to swipe anywhere) and you can rest easy knowing that the notification will be there for you to access later. However, problems quickly arise with this system: in certain contexts where one must pay careful attention to the text, this one can switch to the next line too fast for one to fully grasp the important bits of the message (luckily there are ways to tweak the scroll speed). Since it’s a preview, it’s usually not too important, but Heads Up notifications do give you more control over the processing of the preview’s information. Long messages can also be split awkwardly and distort the flow of the message, which can also be detrimental in certain cases.
Why not both? It is clear that both the ticker and the heads up solution have their inherent strengths and weaknesses depending on what the context is. Ultimately it seems to be a conflict between how intrusive and manageable or unobtrusive and uncontrollable you want the notification preview to be. A black/white list for which apps can send ticker or heads up notifications is not enough, however. Rather, one would need a list for the apps in which you can receive one or the other. This way, media consumption apps like Youtube could, for example, only display the ticker.
One one hand, heads up notifications offer you better control over your notification, at the expense of being intrusive. You can, however, quickly take care of the message by directly accessing the app. The ticker is different altogether, and while unobtrusive, it has its downsides as it can lead to a less efficient experience in many contexts where precise intelligibility or quick input are needed. A hybrid system can benefit both options, but you might find said system pointless or overkill if you clearly prefer one over the other. So we ask you the following:
The post Sunday Debate: Heads Up Notifications vs. Ticker appeared first on xda-developers.
In a move that was predicted since Android Studio was launched back in 2013, Google has announced that they will be ending official support for Eclipse at the end of this year. This specifically includes the Eclipse ADT (Android Developer Tools) plugin and the Android Ant build system.
Over the past few years, our team has focused on improving the development experience for building Android apps with Android Studio. Since the launch of Android Studio, we have been impressed with the excitement and positive feedback. As the official Android IDE, Android Studio gives you access to a powerful and comprehensive suite of tools to evolve your app across Android platforms, whether it’s on the phone, wrist, car or TV.
Back when it was released, Android Studio had drawn mixed reactions. You either loved the new features and polish that it promised to bring along, or you still preferred to remain with Eclipse and the extensive troubleshooting documentation that it had accumulated from the community. However, Google has indeed delivered on its promise of providing a robust development platform for app developers, with Android Studio having matured into a stable and reliable tool. What’s more, Google will be migrating the rest of the standalone performance tools like DDMS and Trace Viewer to Android Studio, along with building additional support for the Android NDK, so little reason will remain to still continue on using Eclipse over Android Studio.
If you are an Eclipse die-hard, you can still continue on using it even after support ends.
Android tools inside Eclipse will continue to live on in the open source community via the Eclipse Foundation. Check out the latest Eclipse Andmore project if you are interested in contributing or learning more.
As a suggestion, it is better to make the switch to Android Studio as soon as you can.
Also, if you want to contribute to Android Studio, you can also check out the project source code. To follow all the updates on Android Studio, join our Google+ community.
The post Google Set To End Support For ADT In Eclipse appeared first on xda-developers.
Poor battery life is a subject of countless discussions on our forum. Chinese brand Oukitel wants to create a phone with a whopping 10,000 mAh battery. Sounds crazy? With such a battery you can forget about the charger for at least a week. More information in the article.
The post Oukitel Set To Release a Phone With 10,000 mAh Battery appeared first on xda-developers.
Specs of the Sony Xperia E5663 were leaked online earlier today. The device will sport a 4.6-inch 1080p display, 21MP rear camera, a monstrous 13MP selfie shooter and 3GB of RAM. The device is expected to be released in India but the premiere date is yet to be known.
The post Sony E5663 Specification Leaked appeared first on xda-developers.
Motorola and Verizon are testing the Android 5.1 update for the Moto X 2014. The soak test is only limited to a number of users, but you can quickly become one of them thanks to XDA Senior Member shane1. Get the ~500MB OTA and flash it onto your unmodified system through the stock recovery.
The post Soak Android 5.1 for Verizon Moto X 2014 appeared first on xda-developers.
Meizu MX5’s premiere is just around the corner. While the official specifications and design are certain yet, leaks suggest that the phone will sport a 5.5 inch Full HD display, a MediaTek MT6795T chipset with an octa-core 2.1GHz processor, 3GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a 3,150mAh battery.
The post Meizu MX5 – More Pictures appeared first on xda-developers.
Apps are at the front and center of any smartphone experience, and with over a million apps on the Google Play Store and new apps being submitted to our forums every day, staying up to date on the latest apps and games can be a hassle. At XDA we don’t discriminate apps – if it’s interesting, innovative, original or useful, we mention them. The XDA Portal Team loves apps too, and here are our top picks for this week.
Notable Updates:
That is it for this week. We hope that you might have found some of these apps as interesting, useful or entertaining as we did. Whether you are a student, a developer, a designer or a gamer, Android has you covered. We will try to reflect that each week with a variety of picks to spark your interest, and If you see (or publish!) any new apps that you think are worthy of a feature, be sure to send us a tip and we’ll give it a look. Until next time!
The post XDA Picks: Best Apps of the Week (June 20 – 27) appeared first on xda-developers.
Inspiration for casual games can be drawn from the simplest of things, from things like three-in-a-row matchmaking to falling bricks, but the complexity of the source does not a game maketh, and Sum proves just that. Based on the fundamental concept of addition, the aptly titled game promises fast-paced and thrilling gameplay for players of all ages, contrary to the conclusion one might draw from its description.
Packing three different modes, Sum draws on your perception as well as mathematical skills, giving you a grid of numbers, from within which you have to pick three numbers, in a manner that the first number picked is the sum of the two subsequent numbers. Classic Mode gives you 90 seconds to play, with 3 seconds being added for every correct combination and 5 seconds being deducted for every wrong one. Rush Mode is slightly tougher, with 90 seconds being the time regardless of correct and incorrect combinations, and lastly, Infinity Mode is present as a practice style of play, with no time limit being imposed as you keep on adding numbers, to infinity and beyond.
Sum is free to download on Google Play, and is an excellent choice for casual gaming as well as brain training. The game works offline, has no advertisements and has support for statistics as well as Google Play Games. Happy adding!
The post Sum: Simple Math Puzzles Turned Engrossingly Fun appeared first on xda-developers.
Forum member Robpol86 has successfully managed to get Project Fi functioning on his Nexus 5, a service that should currently only function on the Nexus 6. This feat was made possible by activating the sim on a Nexus 6 first before transferring it to a Nexus 5 with a sim adapter.
The thread can be viewed here, and so far appears to be fully functional, although it remains to be seen whether in this instance the service continues to perform as it should or if this can be replicated on any Nexus 5 using the method provided. Whilst many previous attempts at transferring the service have not been successful, this could be due to the initial activation device used. It has now also been shown that a pre activated sim will not work on non Nexus hardware.
“I activated my Project Fi sim on a Nexus 6 and everything was working fine on it. Then I bought a nanosim-to-microsim adapter and put the activated Fi sim in my Nexus 5. I factory wiped my Nexus 5 since I like starting things off clean and setup my gmail account and other settings over WiFi. Then I installed the Project Fi app and opened it. The app activated Project Fi and gave me cell service. Everything so far seems to work fine on my Nexus 5.”
Did this work for you? Leave a comment below!
The post XDA User Activates Fi on Nexus 5 appeared first on xda-developers.
