I am the former Editor-in-chief of XDA. In addition to breaking news on the Android OS and mobile devices, I used to manage all editorial and reviews content on the Portal.
Every Pixel launch event is a delight for themers, because Google is one of the best in the business at making new wallpapers. It's pretty normal for a new phone's wallpapers to be plastered all over the Internet, but in the case of Pixel, the new wallpapers generally leak ahead of the new phone's launch....
The next Pixel phone won't charge as slowly as previous models. Starting with the original Pixel in 2016, Google has shipped an 18W USB-C charger in the box with each Pixel phone. Google, like Apple and Samsung, has been averse to shipping faster chargers, instead opting to stick with the same 18W USB PD charger...
The next big update to Android is launching on October 4th according to a document reviewed by XDA. Android 12 will be the biggest Android OS update in years, bringing a complete redesign, a new theme engine, a one-handed mode, and much more. Because of how extensive the update is, it's possible that Google ran out...
"The sky is not pink", reads the title of a code change Google has just submitted internally to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) Gerrit. The code change replaces the default "pink sky" wallpaper that Google first introduced to the open source version of Android nearly 5 years ago. In its place is a new...
Ever since rumors arose that Google was developing its own chip for Pixel phones, one of the burning questions that we've been asked over and over again is: What are its specifications? Leak after leak have confirmed various tidbits about the Google Tensor chip, but none have confirmed details on the most important part: the...
Apple may have just launched the iPhone 13 series today, but they're not the phones I'm most excited about this year. My attention is focused on the Google Pixel 6 series, of which the Pro model will be Google's first-ever ultra-premium flagship smartphone. The Pro model has it all: a high-resolution and high refresh rate...
Ahead of the iPhone 13 launch tomorrow, Samsung has just announced an incentive to keep some users from switching: a major software update for the Galaxy S21 series. Starting September 14th, owners of the Galaxy S21, S21+, or S21 Ultra in select countries can try out the Android 12 update ahead of its stable release....
Xiaomi is launching its first smart eyewear product today, the Xiaomi Smart Glasses. The company joins the ranks of Google, Snapchat, Nreal, and Lenovo in launching smart glasses, but unlike the products sold by those companies, Xiaomi's offering doesn't immerse the user with an augmented reality view of the world. Rather, they're akin to the...
Google is testing a new UI in the Android Auto projected car interface that appears when you connect your device to a compatible head unit. This new UI, code-named "Coolwalk", is seemingly designed to reduce the number of times the user leaves the navigation screen, potentially saving drivers from missing their next turn.
Screenshots of the...
On the eve of the iPhone 13 launch, we've finally been handed a ruling in the lawsuit filed by Epic Games last year. Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, sued Apple last year over claims the company was violating U.S. antitrust law by prohibiting developers from implementing alternative in-app purchase methods. Today, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers...
Last week, Google released the fifth (and final) beta build of Android 12 for Pixel phones. Google says we should expect the stable update to launch in just a few weeks from now, but they never gave a firm date. Now, we've seen evidence pointing to what may be the tentative launch date of the...
After shutting down Google Play Music last year, Google was criticized for failing to have its replacement — YouTube Music — ready for Wear OS, Google's smartwatch platform. We only learned about Google's plans to launch YouTube Music on Wear OS this May, but sadly, the app requires the latest version of Wear OS —...
