#android

#android

The Galaxy S26 Ultra represents a philosophy built around heavy customizations and heaps upon heaps of features, while the Pixel 10 Pro XL embodies Google's take on the Android experience.

The most useful new feature improves the ease of transferring your chat history cross-platform from iOS to Android. You can't save your call history, display name, or media you've received over channels, but you can save your account info, profile photo, individual and group chats, communities chat history, and settings.

As has been the case for several years, Google revealed the conference's dates for 2026 after enough folks completed a puzzle on the I/O website. This year's puzzle has multiple "builds" to play through, all of which use Gemini. They start with a mini-golf game in which a virtual caddy that's powered by Gemini offers some of the most anodyne advice imaginable.

Bash scripts are a great way to automate all sorts of repetitive tasks -- you can run backups, clear temporary files/logs, rename or batch-rename files, install or update software, and much more. Although writing such scripts isn't nearly as hard as you might think, it does take some time to learn the ins and outs of bash scripting. Also: 6 hidden Android features that are seriously useful (and how they made my life easier) Good news: If you have an Android device, you can enable the Linux terminal, which means you can create or practice your bash scripting on the go.

You may not give this feature a second thought, but allow me to set a scene for you. Say you're having visitors for the holidays and want to grant them access to your Wi-Fi network. Instead of making the password public (so anyone can use it), you could share the Wi-Fi credentials via QR code. Not only does this approach simplify adding another device to the network, but it also does so with a nod to security.

All you've gotta do is tap on any open space in that part of the Android Calendar app, and you'll see an event creation box right then and there: Also worth noting: The same tricks we went over a second ago for sliding around or extending your event's time will work in this context, too, once you've brought that box into focus.

"Phone theft is more than just losing a device; it's a form of financial fraud that can leave you suddenly vulnerable to personal data and financial theft. That's why we're committed to providing multi-layered defenses that help protect you before, during, and after a theft attempt," said Google in the announcement. Your phone now fights back when stolen The most impressive upgrade targets the moment of theft itself. Android 's enhanced Failed Authentication Lock now includes stronger penalties for wrong password attempts, extending lockout periods to frustrate thieves trying to crack your device.

Epic sued Google over five years ago in August 2020, and in December 2023 a jury unanimously handed it the win. An appeals court upheld that verdict, and the US Supreme Court didn't step in to save Google from the immediate consequences. Judge Donato ordered Google to crack open Android in the United States, forcing Google to eventually host rival app stores inside its own store, among many other punishments.

On those rare occasions when I use AI, I always opt for a local version. Most often, that comes in the form of Ollama installed on a desktop or laptop. I've been leery of using cloud-based AI for some time now for several reasons: It consumes vast amounts of energy. There's no way to be certain it honors privacy claims. I don't want any of my queries or data to be used for training LLMs.

Lately, I've tried more overhyped, overly ambitious apps than I can even remember - all of 'em with lofty promises of completely changing my life and/or the way I get stuff done. Spoiler alert: None of those has lived up to that promise or really even stuck as something I'm still actively using in any significant way, as of this current moment.

Sometimes, you stumble onto a digital discovery of some sort and need a touch of time to wrap your head around if or how it could help you. Other times, you slap something new onto your favorite phone and instantly realize your life has been upgraded. Today, my friend and fellow holiday-hibernation waker, we've got a treasure of the latter variety to feast on for the start of 2026.

When was the last time you opened your contact app? Do you even bother with it? If you use email, chances are you also use your contact app -- perhaps without realizing it. However, not all contact apps are created equal. Some contact apps are very basic, while others are overly complicated. And then there's the sweet spot -- those apps with just the right number of features wrapped up in a well-designed GUI. Are you ready for this? Let's get connected.

As an avid book lover, I'm a sucker for a great e-reader. Yet many of these devices are way too limited to really become a companion device. This is why I loved the TCL Nxtpaper tablet so much; however, the new DuRobo Krono is here to address that tablet's single downfall: it's a pocket e-reader and productivity device that is finally available for preorder.