Android

The success of Pokemon GO opened up a new mobile gaming market that many want to cash in on. But as the reception of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite proved, not even developer Niantic Labs itself is always able to replicate that success. Many have tried to use that same collection and location-based formula and almost all have failed. Microsoft-owned Mojang is now also trying to get its and your feet wet with Minecraft Earth and it is now making its unique spin available in nine more locations around the world.

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If Google Maps is for locating places, Waze is for navigating the roads and highways to get there. Not everyone, however, drives or even use ride-hailing services like Uber or Lyft. While trains and buses are unlikely to stray off the beaten path, they are at the mercy of delays and incidents that could catch riders unawares. That's where the Pigeon app comes in to alert riders of any problem and maybe even prevent them from losing their cool, too. All with a little help from other riders.

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Even more than the Nexus phones before it, the Pixel phones, designed and "Made by Google", are supposed to represent the ideal Android phone. At least as Google sees it. That definitely works on the software side but by making its own phone, Google is risking that the overall package may be tarnished by the hardware. That may exactly be the case with the Pixel 4 XL whose price tag would make you presume it had more to offer.

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One of the perks of owning a Nexus device back in the days was the pure, unadulterated Android experience straight from Google as well as a regular and steady supply of updates faster than any OEM could muster. That, fortunately, carried over to the Pixel line but not even Google could keep the software updates coming forever. It doesn't need to be forever but every extension is more than welcome and that is exactly the news that OG Pixel and Pixel XL owners are now reading, courtesy of Google.

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The LG G Pad 5 10.1 tablet was revealed today with a design that might confirm your suspicion about the tablet-makers plans for future devices. Yes, LG does seem to be making a new tablet, and yes, it looks nothing like what we'd expect from a serious competitor for the very few high-end tablet makers on the market today. The LG G Pad 5 10.1 runs Android and has the potential to connect to 4G LTE mobile data - but the rest is a bit confusingly low-end.

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China-based smart device maker Xiaomi just released a "Xiaomi Mi Watch" that looks a whole lot like the Apple Watch. It has a very, very similar size and shape... and home screens (watch faces). See if you can tell which of these watches (at the head of this article) are from Xiaomi, and which are from Apple. There are some simple giveaways, but really - there's no getting around the idea that there's some MAJOR design inspiration going on here - to put it kindly.

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The Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro was released today with a set of 5 cameras on its backside. We've seen smartphones with 5x camera lenses before - a combination of front and back lenses - but never 5x on the back of a phone in an array so impressive as this. The primary lens amongst these monsters is a 108-megapixel sensor - a sensor that might well make its way to the Samsung Galaxy S11 in 2020.

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Google's grand plan for Android in cars is as clear as its grand plan for Android on TVs and wearables. Which is to say it's totally not. A few months back it promised a new chapter in the Android Auto story. Half a year later, Google accidentally broke Android Auto on phones while also delaying that promised Assistant Driving Mode. Now it's rolling out a fix to the former with a new Android Auto for Phone Screens that, for all intents and purposes, does what the disappearing Android Auto icon on Android 10 phones.

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It's a period of experimentation when it comes to foldable devices. There are, of course, literal ones that have foldable screens like the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X but there are also ones that use two screens like the LG G8X ThinQ and the upcoming Microsoft Surface Duo. And then there are prototypes like TCL's tri-fold phone and patents like this one from Oppo. What stands out from this patent isn't that it has a foldable tablet with a large flexible screen but that it practically requires a smartphone to be the brains and muscle behind the scenes, literally.

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Microsoft announced a great many things at its IGNITE conference but some might be disappointed by a distinct lack of the dual-screen Surface devices or even Windows 10X. Of course, that doesn't mean it is yet again ignoring the mobile market and has, in fact, one particularly curious announcement prepared. It has just started the public beta testing of a new mobile app for Office that, on the surface, seems to simply combine three Office apps into one. That, however, belies the paradigm shift that Microsoft is trying to push to mobile.

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Another month, another batch of Android security updates are starting to roll out. Of course, Google's Pixel phones will be the first to receive the patches while most OEM phones need to wait their turn after a month or so. While the monthly update does bring a couple of treats for Pixel owners, especially Pixel 4 owners, it does come with what may be sad news for those still holding on to the very first Pixel phones. It seems that the day has finally come for them to consider their devices orphaned, at least by official Android updates.

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Google is rolling out its Play Points reward program in the United States, the company has announced. The program has already been available in South Korea and Japan over the past year where it has millions of people who are participating. The program is free to join, offering points that can be used for discounts, special items, and more.

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