Android still doesn’t show battery health, but it could soon show storage health
Google is working on a new way to show the health of storage in your Android phone.
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Android adds new software-based AV1 decoder to most devices, YouTube uses it
Every video you watch on a smartphone, tablet, or other device has to be run through some decoder, and AV1 has long been touted as the “next big thing.” To get around AV1 hardware requirements, though, Google has quietly added a software-based AV1 deco...
Google’s new ‘Platform and Devices’ team puts Android, Chrome, Pixel, more under Rick Osterloh
Google has announced a major internal reorganization which forms the “Platform and Devices” team that, under Rick Osterloh, will oversee Pixel, Nest, Android, Chrome, and more.
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Android to grow at ‘twice the pace of iOS’ in 2024, IDC says
As the smartphone market changes, Android is reportedly set to grow significantly in 2024, at “twice the page” of Apple’s iOS, apparently.
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Android 15 seems to be adding support for wireless charging via NFC
Wireless charging is typically handled by the Qi standard, but it seems Android is adding overdue support for charging via NFC, but it’s unclear what it may be used for.
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Android’s Find My Device network highlights Google’s neglect of UWB… so far
This week, after a massive delay, Google finally started the rollout of Android’s Find My Device network. It’s existing, but it also highlights the fact that Google, and Android as a whole, have severely neglected UWB tech.
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Google preps one-stop hub for all its location-sharing services on Android
Location sharing can be a useful tool, but if you lose track of what you’re sharing, it can be a headache to find it all. On Android, Google is now prepping a dedicated page that will host all of your location-sharing services in one spot.
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‘Pixel Experience’ Android ROM shuts down new builds after nearly six years
Custom Android ROMs aren’t nearly as common as they once were, but many were still useful for getting additional functionality or changing up the experience on the device. “Pixel Experience,” a custom Android ROM that echoed the UI and features of Goog...
AirTag-like trackers for Android’s Find My Device network will ship in May
Google today revealed that the Find My Device network is going live on Android starting this week, but the best part of the network is a ways off. AirTag-like trackers for Android won’t be coming until May 2024.
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Sunbird, the security nightmare that tried to bring iMessage to Android, is returning
It’s pretty clear that iMessage for Android is not going to be an easy task, but one of the apps that tried to do it (before we found out that it was a terrible security nightmare), Sunbird, is giving it another shot.
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