Pokémon GO took the mobile device nation by storm. The game has already been downloaded so many times that it's hit the top free app charts on both the iOS and Android platform, and it seems you can't go anywhere anymore without seeing amateur Pokémon trainers wandering about.
In this piece, we'll discuss the importance of PokéStops in the game, and what you can do to utilize them to their fullest potential.
Apple is opening a new facility in India early next year, aimed at improving the skills and success of Indian developers building iOS applications, and now Google hopes to do the same for Android. In introducing a new initiative this morning, called Android Skilling, Google hopes to beat Apple to attracting India's developer talent to Android.
Android Police ran a story two days ago, that's now picking up traction, learning from supposedly reliable sources that Google is secretly developing a pair of smartwatches—code-named “Angelfish” and “Swordfish”—that will run its latest Android Wear software, have circular displays and more.
One of the devices, ”Angelfish”, is said to have a subdued but sporty look and include a built-in heart rate sensor, embedded LTE cellular connectivity and GPS for truly standalone operation.
When Google officially announced Android N at its annual Google I/O developers conference in May, they ran a contest asking fans to submit their suggestions for the official name of the next major revision to the world's most-used mobile operating system. Yesterday, Google announced they've chosen “Nougat” as the official code-name of Android 7.0.
Pocket Tripod, a credit card sized phone holder that started as a Kickstarter project in 2013, has been updated to accommodate iPhones and Android smartphones of all sizes, with or without a case. Created by Geometrical Inc.‘s Rambod Radmard, this tremendously useful accessory fits in your wallet and unfolds into a phone stand.
More importantly, it doubles as a mini-tripod for times when you need your iPhone's camera to be steady. The updated version is expected to ship in October.
Although Google's Android software is on four in five phones sold worldwide, the iPhone remains the king of the hill when it comes to the lucrative premium segment of the handset market. The Telegraph is now reporting that Google will step up smartphone wars with release of its own handset later this year, a move that'd see it compete directly with the iPhone.
In a broad reflective piece on Apple's WWDC keynote, noted tech journalist Walt Mossberg made some interesting comments regarding a recent rumor that Apple was considering bringing its iMessage service to Android. Turns out that isn't happening, and won't be in the near future.
Speaking to a "senior Apple executive," Mossberg says Apple is happy with the 1 billion+ active devices it currently caters to, so it doesn't feel an immediate need to grow its user base by expanding to other platforms. It also still considers its iMessage service a major iOS-exclusive feature.
BatteryBox is launching a new pre-order special for its updated line of external batteries for Mac laptops and mobile devices that use a USB charger, such as iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and various other types of devices.
Dubbed BatteryBox Slim, the new battery not only looks better with its color-matched aluminum external finish, but it comes with a slew of new features that are going to make this one of the best options on the market to date.
Apple is planning to bring its encrypted messaging service iMessage to Android, reports MacDailyNews. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the site says that the company plans to announce the move at its WWDC keynote next week.
If true—and that's a big if—the move would push Apple further into the messaging space as it tries to grow its 'Services' category on the back of dwindling iPhone sales. Note that the Cupertino firm already offers Apple Music on Android.
Google surely didn't waste any time yesterday. Just a few hours into Apple's App Store announcements which revealed a new 85/15 revenue split for In-App Subscriptions, the Internet giant told Re/code that it, too, will be making a similar change concerning Android app subscriptions on the Play store.
But unlike Apple, which stipulates that devs will see the 70/30 revenue split turn into a 85/15 deal one after one full year of subscription, Google's Play Store 85/15 split would take effect immediately, without the one-year requirement.
Mary Meeker's 2016 Internet Trends Report is a treasure trove of surveys and predictions on the global trends concerning our industry. I found out this morning that half of the searches will be either through images or speech by 2020 and that Siri was handling more than one billion requests per week through speech as of June 2015.
I've now compiled the report's most interesting tidbits regarding Internet usage around the world, the iOS vs. Android battle and more.
The Google I/O 2016 keynote wrapped up so we compiled interesting tidbits that we think iDownloadBlog readers might be curious to learn about, because it pays off to keep tabs on what competition is doing.