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An Update on XDA Labs
XDA Labs is an app distribution platform for developers that couldn’t host on Google Play. And we have an important announcement to make.
It was five years ago that we launched XDA Labs after hundreds of hours of development. The primary purpose was to create an alternate app distribution platform for developers that couldn’t host on Google Play. Labs had other features such as beta and alpha channels (before Google added the same to Google Play) to enable developers to have more control over their app distribution and testing. Not only that, but Labs let users get early access to new versions of popular apps with an update mechanism that would “push” updates to phones often days or weeks before Google or other big developers did full rollouts of new app versions.
Download Navi is a free and open source Android download manager that supports phones, Android TV, and Chrome OS
Download Navi is a free and open-source download manager for Android phones that is also compatible with Android TV and Chrome OS.
The simple and fairly transparent download manager is one of Android's many advantages. Though it is miles better than any competitor can offer on mobile, it still lacks some very desirable functionality. That's where third-party download managers come into play. There are a bunch of them available on the Play Store, but they often have ads and fishy behavior. That's when you turn to the XDA forums, where you'll now find Download Navi - a free and open-source download manager which has everything you need.
Wallpaper Changer for Reddit automatically updates your home/lockscreen wallpapers from your favorite subreddits
Wallpaper Changer for Reddit is an app that can automatically update your home/lockscreen wallpapers from your favorite subreddits.
There have been a number of applications that will automatically change the wallpaper of your home screen and/or lock screen for you. There have even been some made available specifically for your favorite subreddits, but XDA Senior Member chibichuba felt mostly unsatisfied with what was available. So they spent 6 months creating Wallpaper Changer for Reddit, which they feel ramps it "up to a level of fine-tuning and features that would give even the most particular technophiles something to chew on."
Smart Navigation Bar lets you add photo slideshows to your nav bar
Smart Navigation Bar lets you add various types of elements like the battery bar, wallpaper, and more, to your navigation bar.
One of the most praised key features of Android is the customization capabilities. You can change everything starting from fonts with Magisk all the way up to System UI with Substratum. The whole point of our forums is to help users customize devices to their liking. Our Apps and Games forum is full of interesting projects from developers all around the world and Smart Navigation Bar is definitely one of them. The application by XDA Senior Member yogi.306 lets you add various types of elements like the battery bar, wallpaper, and more, to your navigation bar. Here are the key features of the app:
Widget Drawer is an Android app that lets you access your widgets from anywhere
Android widgets can only being placed on the home screen, but many wish they could use them elsewhere. This is where Widget Drawer comes in.
Widgets have been a staple among Android users for years, but where we can place those widgets has changed. With the introduction of Android 5.0 Lollipop, Google felt that the lock screen shouldn't be a place for widgets because notifications were more important. This change relegated Android widgets to only being placed on the home screen, but many wish they could use them elsewhere. This is where Widget Drawer from XDA Recognized Developer Zacharee1 comes into play.
OH Web Browser is a simple browser made for One Handed Use
XDA Member onehandyapps has an application out called OH Web Browser (OH meaning One Handed) for using big displays with one hand.
Smartphones are getting equipped with screens that are getting larger and larger. It seemed we had hit a stopping point when devices were using a 16:9 aspect ratio but once things started to shift to ~18:9 styles, it has become harder and harder for people to use their phones with one hand. We came up with our own application called One Handed Mode to help with this issue but XDA Member onehandyapps also has an application out called OH Web Browser (OH meaning One Handed).
SamFix is a simple tool to fix annoyances on Samsung Galaxy phones
Samsung Experience still has a lot of little annoyances in the software that could be fixed. SamFix is a tool that lets you fix some of those annoyances.
Samsung Experience has long been known for its slow UI and annoyances. Over the past couple of years, Samsung has made the experience a lot better. With Samsung Experience 9.0, and the Samsung Experience 10.0 alpha, it has become almost perfect. There are still a lot of little annoyances in the software that could be fixed. SamFix is a tool that lets you fix some of those annoyances.
VPN Hotspot lets you share your VPN connection over a hotspot
VPN Hotspot is an app that lets you share your current VPN connection to people near you by using a hotspot/system tethering or repeater.
There are a lot of people who worry about the privacy of their online activity these days. Companies are releasing entire web browsers that focus solely on blocking the countless number of trackers that companies have embedded into their websites. Then we have internet providers who try to snoop in on what you're doing, there are hackers who scan through entire publish WiFi networks, and so much more.
1 Lyrics shows you lyrics for songs in Google Play Music, Spotify, and more
1 Lyrics shows you lyrics for songs playing in Google Play Music, Spotify, and more. Check it out here for some screenshots and a download link!
It's always annoying when you find a cool Android app but it doesn't just work. Maybe it has some extra feature baked in that messes up the whole app, such as an abundance of advertisements or other needless features. This is especially frustrating when you're looking for something simple, like a lyrics app. "1 Lyrics" on XDA Labs is a new application that does exactly you want. A simple overlay can be displayed over any app with the lyrics of the song you're currently listening to. It works perfectly with Google Play Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and more!
PUB Gfx+ is a free tool for XDA members which improves PUBG's performance
PUB Gfx+ is a free tool for XDA members which improves PUBG in-game performance on your smartphone. Check it out here for our testing!
PUB Gfx+ is a free tool made by XDA Senior Member Abhinandan Trilokia. It has one simple goal - to improve the performance of PlayerUnknown's BattleGrounds (PUBG) on your mobile phone. How it works is simple, as all it does is modify the game's configuration files on your device. This and previous tools have not gotten users banned yet, but always exercise caution when using external tools to modify your gameplay. There is a myriad of options to choose from, between ultra high graphics settings to uncapping the FPS of your device, this app has it all. What's more, XDA members can get the full version of the application for free from XDA Labs!
"Night Light" is an Open Source app using KCAL to adjust Blue Light Intensity
"Night Light" is a brand new, free and open source application to help reduce eye strain and sleep deprivation caused by blue light using kcal.
Blue light at night is bad for us for a few reasons, including affecting our sleep or straining our eyes. Blue light can confuse your circadian rhythm, disrupting melatonin production in the brain, and inducing a lagged sleep schedule. It can also lead to increased eye strain in low-light, especially upon waking up or going to bed. On Android, you get many applications which generate an overlay to cancel out blue light, and OEMs have begun adopting blue light filter features as well. Normally the third party options don't work too well and prevent the user from doing things that won't work with overlays, such as application installers. This is a security feature, but can be annoying for the end user. Thankfully there are other, better options available such as Night Light using KCAL.
Walls for Reddit Pulls Wallpapers from Various Subreddits
The Walls for Reddit application pulls image from about 11 different subreddits and applies them as the wallpaper for your Android device whenever you want.
There are a number of subreddits that focus entirely on beautiful portraits, landscapes, and other amazing images. Walls for Reddit currently pulls these images from about 11 different subreddits (including /r/Art, /r/EarthPorn, /r/spaceporn etc.) so you have something new to look whenever you want. The application has an automatic feature that can change your current wallpaper every day, hours or minutes, and you can set exactly which subreddit these images are pulled from. Along with the listed features below, Walls for Reddit even has integration with Muzei with filters for NSFW and HD images.
Smartphones can be used for a lot of different functions with many people using older phones as dash cams, dedicated music players, etc. Developer Aiuspaktyn recently published an application called Auto Recorder to XDA Labs that will start and stop recording audio when it reaches and drops below certain levels. This can even let you use your current phone as a voice operated switch, also known as VOX or Voice Operated eXchange. The base Auto Recorder app is free but the pro version comes with additional features.
While many of us don't stay at the home screen of our phones for very long, some like to use black wallpapers and themes to help optimize battery life for AMOLED panels. We have a lot of wallpapers in our XDA Labs application and legnastudios has put together a collection of black wallpapers that work really well on AMOLED smartphones and tablets. This Ultimate Black Wallpaper collection is available right now via a simple APK install.
Magisk Manager Removed from Play Store, Developer Comments on the Future of Magisk
Magisk Manager has unfortunately been removed from the Google Play Store. Developer topjohnwu has responded on the future of Magisk. Read on!
Eagle-eyed community members spotted that one of the community's beloved projects, Magisk, was no longer available on the Google Play Store. The Play Store URL for Magisk Manager would 404, indicating that the project was taken off the primary and most popular source of Android app distribution. Even if you had the app downloaded previously, the listing would no longer show up on your 'Installed Apps' tab in the Play Store.