
By PETER BAKER and MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2S4OkzR
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Telegram is finally adding a revamped, full suite of customization options for chat backgrounds. Whether you want solid colors, patterns, or motion effects, this update adds them. While most new versions have several additions or improvements, Telegram is keeping things simple with v5.3.
Here's the changelog:
Telegram 5.3 brings new custom chat background options [APK Download] was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
[Update: Another 8 more] Google Pay extends its US reach with support for 36 new banks was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Yesterday Apple booted Facebook's Research VPN app from its App Store in the wake of an investigation performed by TechCrunch, which alleged that Facebook was not only paying teenagers to use the app as it recorded their actifity, but that the app was also abusing Apple's Enterprise Developer Program to be distributed in the first place. In follow-up coverage, it was noted that Google was also using the same method to distribute a consumer-facing app called "Screenwise Meter," which Google subsequently pulled from the App Store.
Read MoreApple kills Google's internal iOS apps for violating App Store rules was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Previous leaks of the Galaxy S10 and S10+ have been somewhat underwhelming. While the S9 and S9+ have minimal bezels and a full 18:9 display, Samsung's upcoming flagships will still have roughly the same size bezels... but with a camera hole at the top right of the screen. WinFuture and 91mobiles have published press images of both phones, and it looks like Samsung is already trying to hide the camera hole.
Read MorePress renders of the Galaxy S10 and S10+ show Samsung is already trying to hide the pin-hole camera was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Samsung promised it would start rolling out Pie updates in the US this month, and it's technically living up to that. However, only a few phones have gotten the new version so far, including Verizon and Sprint's Galaxy S9s. Today, AT&T becomes the first carrier to deploy a Note 9 Pie update. You'll have to find some WiFi to get started.
The update hitting phones clocks in at 1.8GB, and it sounds like AT&T's servers are getting hammered.
Read MoreSamsung Galaxy Note 9 on AT&T gets its Pie update was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Many were sad to see Criterion's film collection leave Hulu back in 2016 as the service moved to FilmStruck, its new (and short-lived) collaboration with Turner. Shortly after FilmStruck was wound down, Criterion revealed its plans to launch its own streaming service, continuing the "Criterion Channel" name. Now we've got all the details about the new service, which is scheduled to launch on April 8th for $10-11 a month.
Read MoreCriterion's new classic movie streaming service launches on April 8, discount for early subscribers was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Gboard already has support for a huge number of languages, but Google still manages to add more every few months. Today, Gboard is adding support for 50 more languages including Alur, Limbu, and Northern Hindko. You probably haven't heard of any of these, but more people can use Gboard in their preferred language today.
Here's the full list of new languages.
The new languages should be live in Gboard right now.
Read MoreGboard adds support for 50 new languages was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Back at IFA last year, Lenovo announced that it would be releasing a premium Chromebook, which got a bunch of us excited. Dubbed the Yoga Chromebook, it impressed with its clean visuals and promising spec list and price tag. The base i3/1080p model was available back in October for a mere $599.99, but the 4K configuration was yet to be seen. Well, Lenovo sneakily put it up for purchase, along with a new 1080p variant.
Read MoreLenovo's 4K Yoga Chromebook C360 is now available for $900, 1080p with backlit keyboard for $720 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
The movie industry wanted to create a universal online locker for digital content when it announced UltraViolet in 2010. The service has limped along for years, but the movie industry is finally reading the writing on the walls. UltraViolet will shut down on July 31st, and shocker, this convoluted DRM scheme makes it confusing to retain access to your purchased content.
The pitch for UltraViolet was that you could buy a physical copy of a film and get a digital copy via UltraViolet.
Read MoreThe UltraViolet digital movie locker is shutting down on July 31st — act now to save your movies was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
As is tradition, Dead Zebra is ringing in the upcoming Chinese New Year with an appropriate mini bugdroid figurine, shaped like a pretty cute, Androidesque pig. And, technically, there are two figurines: 1 in 10 purchasers will receive an even more limited edition Gold colored one, rather than your more standard (and perhaps cuter) pink bugdroid pig.
If you've purchased any of Dead Zebra's minis, you know the drill. If not, they're ~3" tall plastic sculptures with articulating arms and rotating heads.
Read MoreDead Zebra reveals upcoming Year of the Pig Android figurine to celebrate Chinese New Year was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
If you're not familiar with it, Android Go is a lightweight version of Android designed for phones with 1GB of RAM (or less). A few manufacturers have already made Go devices, including Alcatel and Asus, but now Xiaomi is entering the game with its 'Redmi Go.'
Read More"GO" for something new!
[Update: Coming to Philippines first] Xiaomi's first Android Go phone is the Redmi Go, will reportedly cost under $90 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
It's easy to find yourself buried in remotes as you seek to build the perfect home entertainment system. Logitech's Harmony remotes have long sought to reduce the clutter, but they're spendy. The flagship Harmony Elite usually costs a whopping $350—you can get a TV for that price. It's $100 cheaper right now, and Best Buy will even throw in a $50 gift card.
The Harmony Elite is essentially an internet connected universal remote.
Read MoreLogitech Harmony Elite on sale for $250 ($100 off) at Best Buy with a free $50 gift card was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
If you're looking for a new pair of solid Bluetooth headphones, and you happen to be a Rakuten member (or considering becoming one), then this deal is one to pay attention to. Normally $339.95, Sony's excellent WH-1000XM3 are now $289.95 with a coupon code, making them just a tad cheaper than we saw last week.
Find out just why we like these headphones so much by checking out our review.
Read MoreSony WH-1000XM3 ANC Bluetooth headphones drop to $290 for Rakuten members with coupon code was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Team 17 has officially released its latest strategy game The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout on the Play Store. Two weeks ago we learned that the prison escape sequel would be landing on Android on the 31st, and Team 17 has indeed delivered. You can pick up The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout for $6.99, and there are no advertisements or in-app purchases included with the release.
The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout brings a lot of new elements to the brand's familiar prison escape gameplay.
Read MoreThe Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout is officially available on the Play Store was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Thanks to iRobot's Roomba and Braava automated cleaners, floor caring is effortless and can be initiated by telling Alexa or Google Assistant to vacuum or mop. The same privilege is coming to the outdoors with the Terra, iRobot's new autonomous lawnmower, which will make grass trimming as painstaking as speaking to a smart speaker or pressing a button.
The Terra follows in its cousins' footsteps and uses the same navigation and mapping systems. It mows without human intervention, maps the area it has covered, and returns to its base automatically.
Read MoreRoomba's outdoor cousin, the iRobot Terra, will mow the lawn for you was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
It's time for full-year 2018 financial results. Samsung has already posted numbers showing less than stellar profits for its mobile division, and now its the turn of South Korea's other tech giant, LG. The story is pretty much unchanged since Q3 results came out — the company is profitable overall, but its mobile division persists in underachieving.
Full-year revenue of $54.4 billion dollars is a record for LG, with profits increasing by almost 10% to $2.4 billion.
Read MoreLG's mobile division continues to struggle amid otherwise strong 2018 financial results was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Samsung started rolling Android 9 Pie out to some variants of the Galaxy S9 across the globe this month, but scant few phones in the US have the update. That changes today with the Verizon variant, which is getting a taste of Pie as we speak.
Read More[Update: Sprint too] Verizon's Galaxy S9 and S9+ get the Android 9 Pie update was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Phishing attempts involve a lot of trickery. You think you got an email from your colleague at androidpolice.com when you really received it from someone at androidpollce.com. Or you mistype one letter in a URL and you're taken to a site that looks exactly the same, but isn't the one you wanted. One minute later you've entered your email, password, and maybe credit card on an unknown site and your details have been stolen for good.
Read MoreChrome will soon warn you if you visit a phishing site with a lookalike URL was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Samsung Electronics just published its 2018 financial results, and the figures are not looking good. Compared to Q4 2017, sales went down 20% and profit dropped 29%. The overall performance for the year has slightly progressed compared to 2018, though, with revenue up 1.75% and operating profit growing 9.77%. The Korean conglomerate's mobile division is the one with the worst realization, as both revenue and profit have decreased, comparing quarter to quarter and year to year.
Read MoreSamsung's mobile division had its weakest quarter since the Note 7 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
A ton of Google apps have already gotten Material redesigns, and Voice is the latest to join the party. Following yesterday's Gmail redesign, several readers have tipped us off on a new and improved UI in Voice. And yes, we have the APK for you guys to download.
left: Old. right: New.
Arguably the most noticeable change is the whitening of the status and navigation bars. I'm not really sure why Google left the bars dark for so long, but that update alone makes a big difference.
Read MoreGoogle Voice is the latest app to get a Material makeover [APK Download] was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
If you're in the market for a new TV, this pre-Super Bowl week is your best chance of getting a great price on one. Just yesterday David rounded up the best TV deals at a variety of budget and size preferences. Today, Sam's Club has new markdowns that warrant a mention — 4K TCL Roku TVs in a variety of sizes, starting from $199.
We found particularly good prices on these three mid-range TCL Series-4 models: $200 for a 43-inch (43S403), $270 for a 49-inch (49S403), and $480 for a 65-inch (65S423) 4K Roku TV.
Read MoreSam's Club has select 4K TCL Roku TVs on sale: 43" ($200), 49" ($270), 65" ($480) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
In the run-up to Samsung's Galaxy S10 event, new information has emerged concerning the company's forthcoming wireless earbuds. The details come courtesy of the FCC and Samsung Turkey, providing name confirmation and a partial illustration of the charging case for the accessory, which is expected to become the successor to Samsung's Gear IconX earbuds.
The first tidbit of news comes via Reddit, where users spotted spotted that the company's Turkish website listed "Galaxy Buds" on its warranty information page.
Read MoreSamsung Turkey accidentally confirms Galaxy Buds as the wireless in-ear headphones pass through FCC was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Covering a topic as massive as Android, and trying to do a comprehensive job of that, often requires tracking down information from multiple sources and doing a heck of a lot of cross-checking.
Read More[Update: Samsung Galaxy J5, J5 Pro] Google formally welcomes OnePlus 6T, Xperia XZ3, and more to the ARCore club was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
When it comes to charging and audio accessories, Anker is one of the more trusted brands out there — it makes well-rounded Bluetooth earbuds and USB-C chargers. Today, we found a deal on the recently released top-of-the-line Soundcore Model Zero speaker, bringing it down to $140 from an original price of $200. To take advantage of this 30% discount, you need to simply clip the coupon on the Amazon listing.
Read MoreThe Anker Model Zero speaker will shake your chandeliers and is discounted 30% to $140 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
The Google Arts & Culture app started as little more than a web wrapper, but Google has added new features and given it a UI overhaul since then. There have been some fun camera-based tools like the artistic doppelganger ID and color matcher. Now, there's a new camera tab that puts them all in one place.
Just grab the latest version of the Arts & Culture app, and tap on the camera icon at the bottom.
Read MoreGoogle Arts & Culture app gets a 'Camera' tab with all its experimental features was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Google announced its plans to sunset its Google+ social media network for consumers on a sour note in October. The platform, which has a small but dedicated user-base, would shut down following Google's acknowledgement of a data exposure that affected up to 500,000 Google+ profiles. Shortly after, in December, the shutdown timeline was expedited due to another, larger bug that had the potential to reveal private user information and impacted approximately 52.5 million users.
Read MoreGoogle+ reveals shutdown timeline for consumers — and it's coming fast was written by the awesome team at Android Police.