There are so many apps out there that it can be hard to decide which ones you should keep on your phone, especially if you're working with limited storage capacity. Sure, you can install and uninstall apps depending on when you need them, but that can be a little tedious.
By default, the Play Store app on Android is set to automatically update your apps in the background. This definitely makes it easy to ensure that you're always running the latest versions, but it does come with some downsides.
Android Marshmallow introduced a pair of new battery-saving features called Doze and App Standby, and according to the general consensus, both features are a rousing success. Average battery life has increased dramatically for virtually every phone or tablet running Android 6.0, so there's nothing to complain about here, right?
Whether you're ready to admit it or not, we've all got our alter egos—especially when it comes to the internet. Perhaps you have one Facebook account that you use publicly, while maintaining a second account for more private interactions.
The awesome thing about Android is that you rarely need to settle for what comes stock on your device. If your music app sucks, switch it. If you don't like your home launcher, swap it for a better one.
Whether it's delivery drones or getting the U.S. Postal Service to ship packages on Sundays, Amazon continues to remain innovative and ahead of the game, as further evidenced with their mobile app, Amazon Underground.
Your average Android phone or tablet comes with quite a few apps already installed—even before you turn the device on for the first time. These pre-installed apps are certainly helpful when it comes to getting your feet wet with Android, but in many cases, they're not always the best apps available for accomplishing the tasks that they perform. Additionally, many third-party apps can add lots of cool functionality to your device, so you might say that sticking with only the pre-installed apps...
As Android owners, we ultimately have to look at our device and ask the difficult question: "Where the hell did all these applications come from?"
Depending on how many Watch-compatible apps you have, the Home screen on your Apple Watch is either insanely clean or absurdly messy. When I first synced my Watch with my iPhone, I was attacked with a huge honeycomb of apps, strewn across my Home screen in no particular order.
Regardless of the size and metal-type you purchased, storage and space are limited on the Apple Watch, so stuffing it full of apps like you'd do on your iPhone may not be in your best interest. If you went app crazy when you first set up your Apple Watch, don't worry—it's easy to uninstall some of them. Just know that you can only delete third-party apps, which means stock apps like Photos or Workout are there to stay.
When it comes to app permissions, Android takes an "all or nothing" approach. You have no granular control over what data apps can access, so the only way to prevent an app from seeing your location or starting up on boot, for instance, is to not install the app in the first place.
Android's permission system doles out access to certain system-level functions. Without it, our favorite apps wouldn't be able to perform their most basic operations. Picture a camera app that didn't have permission to access your camera sensor—now that wouldn't be much fun at all.
When Google announced its new Android TV platform, one of the features they advertised was a home screen that automatically reorganized your apps based on how frequently you used them. Unfortunately, this feature either didn't make the cut, or is still under development, since the home screen on the Nexus Player always remains static.
Apple has a built-in way to protect you from opening up potentially malicious apps on your computer in Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, and macOS Sierra. This setting, named Gatekeeper, will never stop you from installing apps from the Mac App Store, but it could from anywhere else. If it's an app you're sure you want to install on your system, here's how to do it.
App switchers are a great way to conveniently access your favorite applications from any screen, but most limit the number of apps you can use. That means that whenever you want to switch over to another app, you have to leave your current one, and either find the one you want in recents, on your home screen, or in your app drawer.
Spotlight is awesome for finding items in the stock Apple apps, but what if you want to search through the rest of the apps on your iPhone?
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside and the University of Michigan announced recently that they have developed a hack that works 92% of the time on Google's Gmail system on Android, as well as with the H&R Block app.
Normally, it's good to automatically update your apps to the latest version, but sometimes those updates take away features that you've grown to love.
The first thing we usually do with a new smartphone is download apps, and lots of them. There are your must-have games, utility apps, and of course—the free daily "app of the day" from Amazon. If you're like me, you'll install every single one of these free apps, and whether they get used or not, they'll be waiting in the app drawer.
Even though there are over 1.3 million apps available for Android, we normally confine ourselves to a select few for day-to-day usage. With an average of 41 apps installed per user, most apps on our smartphones lay idle for the majority of the time we spend using them. Instead, we find ourselves constantly coming back to that small set of apps that meet almost all of our needs.
There are over 60-something Android apps cluttering my app drawer. While I'm constantly on the look out for new mods and apps to install, the default way of managing them is cumbersome and just feels unintuitive. I mean, who on Earth would wants to individually manage each app on their device?
Android uses a set of permissions that apps can request to perform certain actions, and you're notified of these permissions each time you install an app. The problem here is the fact that you aren't given any built-in way to deny apps these permissions (although Danny just showed a workaround for this).
Tricking out your phone is nice, but there's nothing better than saving money in the process. Google Play is full of apps that offer great functionality, but some of them are not always cheap, and that's why AppSales was made. AppSales is an app browser that lists apps that are currently on sale, and can also keep track of those you are interested in buying in case the price drops.
A recent security risk exposed by software engineer Szymon Sidor has raised a few eyebrows amongst the Android community.
By this point, you've definitely come across an app or two that wasn't designed with the HTC One in mind. Either the resolution is too small, the status bar stays active when it shouldn't, or the font isn't the ideal size. There are ways out there to get that changed, but up until now it wouldn't just change one app—it would change all of them.
If you lend someone your phone, even if it's just for a second, there's a chance they can enter an app and see something you'd rather they didn't. Whether it's a personal email or a private photo, there are plenty of reasons why you'd want to keep snoops out of certain apps.
In today's dog-eat-dog world, every minute matters. Whether you're in school or working for the Man, a huge amount of your day is consumed by tasks, assignments, and other kinds of work. Then there's the time you spend playing video games, watching TV, or screwing around on your Samsung Galaxy S3.
Now that the Chromecast development kit has been out for over a month, more and more Android apps are being released or updated to work with the Chromecast.
Keeping unwanted clowns off on my Samsung Galaxy S3 is priority number one. I've shown you how to snag a picture of people opening your apps and how to lock your screen for whenever you hand off your phone, allowing them to access only the page you left open.
Apps sure do run great on Android tablets! If you caught that little whiff of sarcasm, you probably already figured out I was lying. There is a definite lack of good, high-quality apps specifically made for Android tablets. If you've ever tried Facebook or Twitter on a tablet, you know exactly what I mean.
If you have an iOS device, chances are you've spent a decent amount of time in the App Store—without at least a few apps, smartphones are pretty boring. There's an app to do just about anything you could ask for, but the problem is finding them. Searching the App Store sucks.
The Gallery app attached to the Android OS is a great way to view your photos, as well as friend's photos, on the Motorola Droid Bionic smartphone sold by Verizon Wireless. It serves to aggregate pictures from Flickr, Picasa, Facebook, and other photo hosting services. This Motorola support tutorial will show you how to manage the photos in the Gallery application.
Motorola's Droid Bionic has several Android apps built into the device that allow you to speed up your workflow. For example, with the MotoPrint app you can print from the Verizon Wireless smartphone to a printer. With it, you can print everything from photos, PDF's, documents, or emails directly from your Bionic.
If you want to watch all the different movies and TV episodes available to you through a Netflix subscription on the go, try installing the Netflix app for Nintendo's 3DS handheld. Even cooler, Netflix is releasing 3D movies and the device's built in capabilities will allow you to watch these 3D movies on your Nintendo 3DS! You'll need to have upgraded your 3DS software so that you can access the eShop before you can install the Netflix app.
Similar to the Wii, Nintendo frequently updates the apps and software on the Nintendo 3DS. These upgrades are always available using System Update under the system settings on the gaming handheld. Take a look at this guide on how to access the System Update feature, download, and install the updated software. Now you can always access the latest version of the Nintendo 3DS software and apps, such as the eShop and internet browser.
If you want to capture HD video using your Motorola Droid 3 smartphone from Verizon, you'll want to learn all the features and functionality of the Camera app. Be sure to switch the camera to video mode so that you're able to record all those memories in full HD for editing later.
The Xperia Play is a Sony Ericsson smartphone on Verizon built for gaming on the go. The mobile phone features a slide-out gamepad that you can use to navigate the web and play different gaming apps preloaded on the phone or downloadable from the Android market.
One of the many new features in Mac OS X Lion is the new Launchpad utility. Launchpad allows you to gain access to all of your apps quickly by showing an overlay on the screen with several different icons. You can organize the icons into different catagories such as "Music" and "Photography." This way, all of your apps are just a click away on your Mac computer!
As long as your Nintendo 3DS is connected to an internet connection, you can access the eShop on the gaming device at any time and download or purchase games, apps, or movie trailers straight to your handheld. This tutorial will show you how to access and use the eShop, including adding funds to your account with a Nintendo 3DS prepaid card or with a Visa or Mastercard.
One of the many features of the webOS tablet, the HP TouchPad, is a full featured mail app. Before you can use the app however, you will need to setup your email account on the tablet. Take a look at this guide to learn how to setup an account using the automatic method, or the more customizable manual mode.
