MishaalRahman

How to enable the Pixel Watch's hidden grid view app launcher right now

In case you missed it, I published an article over on Android Authority earlier today that showed off some of the upcoming des...

How to enable Circle to Search right now on Pixel phones

If you didn't catch Samsung's launch of the Galaxy S24 series at Unpacked last week, Google announced a new feature called "Circle to Search". You just long press the home button or gesture nav handle to initiate the search overlay and then tap, scribble, or draw a circle around text or images on screen to search it with Goog...

This hidden Android 14 feature reduces system resource use of preinstalled apps

If you judge every new Android release by what Google's marketing or your OEM's update changelog tells you, then you'll probably be disappointed by how few new features there seem to be. In my experience, every new Android release has a ton of new features and changes that never get talked about. I'm still discovering new cha...

Android's new 3D robot: Coming soon to a boot screen near you

Happy New Year! Hope y'all had a wonderful break. I've had a lot of time to unwind and relax with family and friends, but I'm ready to kick things into high gear once again. I have quite a big backlog of content to get through, and this first one just happens to be perfectly timed since the new bootup requirement just went in...

How to enable Google Photos integration in Android's Photo Picker

Earlier today, I published an article about a feature I've been waiting a long time for: Google Photos integration in Android's Photo Picker. If you haven't 2023-12-16 00:35:50 +0000 UTC View Post

Niagara Launcher Pro giveaway!

In case you missed it, I just made a post about the latest Niagara Launcher beta release which adds a neat feature called Anycon. You can read my post about it on Twitter, 2023-11-14 18:42:26 +0000 UTC View Post

Confirmed: Pixel 8 supports display output. Here's a first look!

Y'all, it's real. The Pixel 8 series actually DOES support display output, and here's video proof that it does (thanks to Micha Lechner AKA @mile_freak07 for testing and sharing this video!)

How did Micha get it to work? He used th...

Here are the 164 wallpapers I made using the Pixel 8's generative AI wallpaper app!

The Pixel 8's generative AI wallpaper app lets you create brand new wallpapers that nobody else has ever seen just by choosing a few topics and colors from some preset options. While you can’t go wild with custom prompts, you still...

Android could finally be getting a native PDF viewer

After reading the headline, I know what some of you are probably already thinking: "Mishaal is crazy! Android already has a native PDF viewer app!" It might seem silly, but Android actually can't natively open PDF files.  If you boot up a vanilla build of Android from AOSP and try to open a PDF, nothing happens. That's b...

Google is expanding its war against 32-bit apps in Android 14

The vast majority of the Android apps you use on a day-to-day basis are either architecture agnostic or are explicitly compatible with 64-bit CPUs. Apps that don't support 64-bit CPUs are scarce nowadays, thanks to Google Play mandating back in 2019 that apps with native code include 64-bit libraries. 

However, Goo...

Android 14 QPR may bring "virtual" dual SIM active support to Pixel

While I personally only use a single phone line when I'm not traveling*, I know many people use two (or more) lines on a daily basis. Some keep multiple lines so they can have one for personal contacts and one for work contacts, while others do it because they can save money by mixing and matching plans from different carrier...

Sources: To improve security, Google's making it (slightly) harder to contribute code to Android

By now, I'm sure you're aware that the Android operating system running on your phone is based on open source code provided by Google. The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) comprises the core OS framework, libraries, apps, and other files necessary to boot the Android OS on mobile phones and other devices with compatible har...

Rumor: Google is finally pushing OEMs to enable key camera features for third-party apps

While there are many Android phones with exceptional camera setups that in many ways outperform the iPhone, to get the best image quality out of them, you have to use the stock camera app. Many users snap photos through third-party apps like Instagram or Snapchat, however, which are unable to tap into many of the same post-pr...

How Google verifies your phone's fingerprint scanner is secure

As I explained earlier today, biometric authentication methods are classified into three tiers: Class 3 (formerly Strong), Class 2 (formerly Weak), or Class 1 (formerly Convenience). While all 3 can be used to unlock a device,...

Pixel 8 may let you instantly reply to incoming notifications through Google Assistant

Getting Google Assistant to do something can be a chore when it struggles to recognize your voice, but it's also annoying that you have to say "Hey, Google" to get the Assistant's attention nearly every time you want to do something. If you have a Nest Hub Max, you can use the "quick phrases" feature to skip saying "Hey, Goog...

Android 14 can automatically add a URL if you share a screenshot of a web page

Raise your hand if you've ever done this: You took a screenshot of a webpage to send to a friend or colleague but you didn't also send the link along with it. Maybe you wanted to only show them a snippet from the page, so a screenshot was the quickest way to share that information. Whatever the case may be, they ask you for t...

You may eventually be able to use your Android TV as a Bluetooth speaker

Most TVs that run Android TV/Google TV let you connect a pair of Bluetooth headphones so you can watch your favorite content without disturbing others. If you want to do the opposite, that is, use your TV as a pair of Bluetooth speakers for your phone or other Bluetooth-enabled device, then you're probably out of luck. That's...

Google is preparing big upgrades for Android's taskbar

Android's taskbar for large screen devices debuted in Android 12L, but its current UI and functionality has changed significantly since then. For starters, the initial release of Android 13 brought an app drawer and context-menu support to the taskbar. Then in Android 13 QPR2, Google made the taskbar transient so it's hidden ...

Android 14 could add a bubble bar for large screen devices

One of the features pioneered by Meta's Messenger app for Android is the chat head. Chat heads were floating windows that allowed users to send messages to their favorite contacts from any screen. Seeing the popularity of this feature as well as the growing use of the System Alert Window API upon which it relied on, Google in...

Android may soon stop users from leaking their 2FA codes on the lock screen

It's going to take a while for everyone to switch over to passkeys, so in the meantime, we still have to contend with the fact that a lot of people use weak passwords and insecure two-factor authentication mechanisms like SMS authentication. While we should nudge people into using a 2FA method that's more secure than SMS, we ...

Sources: Google will soon require foldable phones to meet hardware quality standards

Foldable phones are continuing to become more and more popular, and with each new generation, they're getting more and more accessible. Flip style foldables like the Motorola Razr+ and Galaxy Z Flip 5 are sold for just under $1,000, while book style foldables are starting to creep towards that territory (the Tecno Phantom V F...

Here's when Google plans to release Android 14 (to AOSP)

When will Android 14 be released? I've gotten this question a LOT from users over the last few months, but it's something I've avoided answering because I didn't want to give out a date that later ended up being wrong.

So as long as you take this date I'm about to share with a pinch of salt, here's when I expect Android...

Android 15 will introduce a new "Remote Authentication" feature

Google introduces new Mainline modules with each Android release, and of course Android 15 "Vanilla Ice Cream" will be no different. The company is working on a new Mainline module called "RemoteAuth[entication]", but it's unclear exactly what it will be used for. Here's what I know so far.

A couple of code changes rela...