Netflix is arguably the best subscription video service on the market today, and their mobile application just got 10 times better. Many of us don’t have unlimited data but still want to be able to catch up on their favorite TV shows without burning through our data limits.
Starting today, you can download many of your favorite TV shows or movies, making them available for offline viewing. This is a feature that users have been clamoring for, and it has finally arrived.
Many of your favorite streaming series and movies are already available for download, with more on the way, so there is plenty of content available for those times when you are offline. For example, Orange is The New Black, Narcos and The Crown are available for download today.
Not every single title has been made available for offline viewing as of yet, but there are plans for Netflix to slowly make this a reality. This means you can download all the Game of Thrones that can fit on your device and binge while you wait until the new season comes out.
In order to get this new feature, you’ll need to download the latest version of the Netflix Android application. Then you’ll find a small download button on the sidebar of every eligible episode or movie.
The Pixel and Pixel XL are possibly the best Android devices to ever be released, and for that reason along with a few others, the devices are selling out everywhere. In fact, a new report from Fortune shows that the Pixel outsold every other flagship device on the market.
In order to get a proper gauge of how sales were going to be, the number of activations was calculated for four weekends leading up to Black Friday weekend. Once the average of total activations was calculated, this provided the base to be able to determine how well devices would be selling over last weekend.
The Pixel led the charge with an increase of 112% of total activations when compared to the base average. Galaxy S7 activations came in second with an increase of 36%, and Apple’s iPhone 7 only increased by a measly 13%.
Of the total number Pixels that were activated over the course of the weekend, 46% of those came from Verizon which isn’t surprising considering the deals that were being offered. Starting Black Friday, Verizon was offering a $432 bill credit spread across 24 months, amounting to being able to get the base model Pixel for just $10 per month.
The remaining 54% of Pixel activations came from either the Google Store or through other means of obtaining the new device.
Let us know whether you were able to take advantage of one of the deals going around fo the Pixel or Pixel XL in the comments below.
Time to purchase a new smartphone? Is this an upgrade from an existing device? We want to help you out either way.
To save you money, we’ve gathered up all of the promotions we could find from Verizon. Regardless of where you’re thinking of going for service, or what phone you are looking to pick up, you owe it to yourself to check below.
What follows is a mix of phone, rate plan, and accessory promotions worth checking out. It might not be an exhaustive list, but it’s a good collection of what’s currently offered through Verizon.
Although we’ve listed known expiration dates, we have no idea how long some of these other deals will last.
Let’s face it, looking at your notification and status bar for checking the battery level is boring. Truthfully, things haven’t changed much in that area over the last few years. Sure, some OEMs are building in things to display exact percentages and others offer widgets with battery status. But, by and large, looking at your phone to check how much juice is left can be a lot cooler. Enter an app called Energy Bar.
Available for free in the Google Play Store, Energy Bar lets users customize the way their phone displays battery levels. The app lets you replace the plain generic bar at the top of your phone with something more eye-catching. Or, perhaps you like the way things are and only want a super-thin line at the uppermost edge of your screen.
Would you prefer a nice thin hairline indicator that spans the width of your phone? Maybe you’d like something thick with multiple colors to help differentiate from 25% remaining and 50% remaining. This is exactly what Energy Bar does. And, yes, it plays nice with apps that take up the full screen, like YouTube or Netflix.
Note that some of the features are unlocked via in-app purchase for $1.99; doing so also removes advertisements from the settings screen. The free client allows for some decent personalization and can also show you how things would appear if you unlocked the full version.
Benefits of the Support Dev Pack (unlocked full version)
Status Bar: If you are on Android 4.4+ you can set Energy Bar as your status Bar. And just in case your status bar hides Energy Bar on some screens, the Bar’s thickness by default is a pixel or two more and so you’ll see a really thin Energy Bar below your status bar on some screens.
Gradient Bar: While you can already color code Energy Bar out of the box with segments, this feature let you set a gradient to the Bar, making the Bar fun to look at all the time yet delivering crucial information about your battery 😉
Merge Segments: If you have created multiple segments, you can merge and show at once. It’s like gradient, except that colors have sharp boundaries.
Because it allows for precise colors and/or gradients, you are sure to create a bar that perfectly aligns with your overall scheme or layout. If you’re a minimalist, go for something that’s different shades of a color and set it in the center. Want something more ambitious or attention grabbing? Pick four distinct colors and put a 30 pixel thick bar across the top.
There’s plenty of customization to be had with Energy Bar. While we like tailoring things with fine-tune precision, sometimes we enjoy serendipity, too. To that end, there’s a cool feature that randomly selects colors. Simply pick how many you want, all the way up to ten, and it can create a gorgeous palette. Now you’ll have a much cooler looking bar at the top of your phone to show how much juice remains.
2016 was a year of change in the world of Android. Gone are the days where all you had to choose from was a minor revision of the same phone with a spec bump. The trend of smaller manufacturers making great smartphones for dirt cheap that started in 2015 got a major boost in 2016 with new players like LeEco enter the game.
We all saw some giants falter in 2016. Samsung’s struggles with the Galaxy Note7 were well documented, but Android staple HTC had another bad year too when the HTC 10 gained critical success but fell flat commercially. HTC failed to such an extent that it was rumored that the Taiwanese giant would sell off its mobile division (HTC denied those reports).
With the Android world in such a volatile spot right now, here are the questions we hope to see answered in 2017.
Where do Motorola, LG, and HTC go from here?
The Moto Z Play Droid
Motorola found a foothold with the Moto Z line despite speculation about the company’s future. LG released one of the best phones of the year in the V20 after falling flat with the G5 earlier in the year. HTC released some midrange options after its flagship failed to impress customers again this year. So, where do these three very different companies go from here?
Motorola’s future has been talked about at great length since it was acquired by Lenovo in October of 2014. We’ve seen some worrying signs like massive layoffs of Motorola staff, but also some encouraging ones like the rumor that Lenovo would quit making its own phones and go all in with Motorola.
The Moto Z lineup was a big departure from what Motorola had been producing beforehand. The glass sandwich (pictured above) felt much more premium than previous offerings, and the Verizon exclusivity helped Motorola’s bottom line through a massive advertising campaign that enabled Motorola to post solid sales numbers. I called the Moto Z Force Droid the best phone Motorola has ever made in my review, and I actually liked the Moto Z Play even more than the Force due to its unbelievable battery life. By all accounts, Motorola had a good year.
The LG V20
LG had a rocky start to the year but released arguably one of the best phones, the LG V20. The success of the V20 should take the sting off the dud that was the G5. LG deserves credit for taking a chance with a modular design of the G5, but the execution was so poor that I’ve personally warned off friends from buying it multiple times. LG will need to rebound if it wants to keep its early year flagship competitive.
I think LG Mobile’s future will be determined in 2017. If it can rebound with the G6 and improve on the V20’s successor, I think LG will have a long future in the mobile space. If both phones are commercial failures, we may see LG exit the phone market and focus on its consumer electronics and displays.
The HTC 10
HTC is on the most unstable ground right now. As I mentioned before, HTC’s year was so bad that it was rumored that it would sell off its mobile division. Even though HTC denied those reports, it should give you an indication of the health of the company that it even has to defend itself from such claims.
The HTC 10 was by all accounts a really good phone. I didn’t have the pleasure of using one myself, but our Scott Webster named the 10 one of the best phones of the year in his review and had the following to say about the camera
We found the HTC 10 camera to be among the absolute best smartphone shooters we’ve ever tested. Time and again we were impressed with the shutter speed, focus, and colors. There are few things that we enjoy more about a handset’s camera than being able to set it on automatic and trust things would work. That’s exactly what we found with the camera in the HTC 10.
-Scott webster
But, creating a great smartphone isn’t enough. The market has spoken and consumers don’t want another iterative improvement from HTC. The HTC 10 looked exactly like the HTC One M9 and HTC One M8 and HTC One M7 before it. Consumers want something new, fresh, and powerful before they drop over $600 on a device. Getting rid of your standout BoomSound speakers does not qualify as new. While the HTC 10 might be an excellent phone, it’s not new and fresh. There is so much choice in the market right now that the HTC 10 was dead on arrival.
Can HTC come up with something new or has it lost so much talent and treasure that innovating is out of reach? If it wants to survive 2017, it better.
Can Samsung find redemption?
The biggest story in mobile phones this year was the disaster that was the Samsung Galaxy Note7. In a rush to steal headlines from Apple, Samsung threw caution to the wind and released the Galaxy Note7 a few weeks early. Well, it certainly stole headlines from Apple, but not for the reasons it wanted.
It cannot be overstated what a gigantic screw-up this was. Samsung pivoted the Note lineup from the power user’s dream to just be a trumped up Galaxy S device. It then destroyed what little good will it had left amongst Note enthusiasts by releasing a ticking time bomb. I know some will continue on with their Note7’s and feel like they are rebels, but limited battery capacity and no hope of ever getting security updates or new versions of Android are high prices to pay for feeling cool.
Rumors have been swirling about a redesigned and mindblowing Samsung Galaxy S8, and while that’s great Samsung needs to play a longer game here. If Samsung really wants to compete with Apple on its own turf, the Note8 will need to be the standout Android phone in 2017. Apple will be releasing its 10th anniversary iPhone in the fall of 2017 and will surely be bringing massive changes. Samsung will get pulled under Apple’s wake if it doesn’t bring its A-game.
Which manufacturer trying to break into the United States will have the best year?
OnePlus, LeEco, Huawei, Xiaomi, Gionee, Meizu, Ulephone, ZTE, Umi, Elephone, Leagoo… Besides being brands that you can import from sites like GearBest, they all share something else in common: they have little or no presence in the US before 2016 despite churning out excellent smartphones.
OnePlus and Huawei are leading the pack in the states so far, with the others having varying degrees of success. The second half of 2016 saw LeEco make a push headlined by the attractively priced Le Pro3 but also a range of consumer electronics like 4K televisions, Bluetooth headphones, and a Super Bike.
But, who is going to be the standout in 2017? OnePlus will have the best shot since it released a really stellar phone in the OnePlus 3T late in 2016, but LeEco is pushing the boundaries of what you can expect to get for your money. I ordered a Le Pro3 during its Black Friday sale for $250. This is a phone with true flagship specs (Snapdragon 821, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage). While it’s an unreal expectation to think we’ll see flagship phones at that price point in 2017, we can expect prices to sink lower and specs to rise higher. Can these disruptive companies drag down flagship prices from the $650+ prices we’ve seen in the last six or seven years?
The OnePlus 3 has been one of the best values of 2016
The wildcard in this situation, in my opinion, is Xiaomi. It has released some of the most stunning phones in the last part of 2016. The Mi Mix has taken all the headlines due to its 6.4″ bezeless display, but the Mi Note 2 is another gorgeous device that gives the Note7 a run for its money as the sexiest phone ever produced.
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 via Slashgear
Which company makes the biggest inroads? My bet is on LeEco… if they don’t run out of money first. Xiaomi makes some of the best hardware in the market but doesn’t seem to have the infrastructure in the US to grow fast enough. OnePlus is another strong contender but its prices continue to rise with every new phone. If OnePlus starts to release phones that play in the same waters as the Pixels, Notes, and iPhones of the world, can it stay above water or will it sink like other contenders?
Where do the Nexus and Pixel programs go from here?
Google shocked fans of its Nexus program this year. Instead of giving us our yearly refresh of a moderately priced flagship with stock Android, Google decided to shutter the Nexus phones and go with a higher-end Pixel lineup. This was a monumental shift for Google and many Android enthusiasts were less than pleased with the new direction.
Gone are the co-branded devices with HTC, Samsung, LG, and Huawei in favor of the Pixel, phone by Google. While Google still contracts out the construction of the devices (HTC for the Pixel and Pixel XL), Google is running the show. Optimizing the hardware and software in many of the same ways that Apple does with the iPhone. This is truly a Google phone instead of a joint project.
For years people have been clamoring for Google to make its own iPhone-like devices. Now we have them, but it appears to have come at the cost of the Nexus program. There have been tweets from so-called insiders that claim the Nexus program will live on, but it’s hard to see a path for it now. Google’s phones from here on out will definitely be Pixels, but could we see more Nexus tablets or perhaps a Nexus wearable like a smartwatch? Doubtful, but only time will tell.
Many are eager to see where Google will go in 2017. What will the successor to the Pixel and Pixel XL look like? Will we see an evolutionary device that resembles an “S” upgrade (iPhone 6 -> iPhone 6S) or will we see an entirely new device? Google will be fighting against Apple’s 10th anniversary iPhone and the Samsung’s Galaxy Note8 in the fall of 2017 which means there will be heavy competition, to say the least. Does Google continue on with Stock+ Android or will the search giant start implementing its own skin and features into its devices much the same way Samsung, LG, HTC, and more do?
Will tablets make a comeback or die a slow death?
Believe it or not, tablets used to be a pretty important part of Android’s ecosystem. Hell, there was even a special version of Android (3.0 Honeycomb) just for tablets. Google teamed up with HTC, LG, and Samsung in the past to make some excellent Nexus tablets and Samsung continues making Galaxy tablets that seem to be the only option out there.
The biggest Android tablets in terms of sales in 2016? Amazon Fire tablets. You’d be forgiven if you didn’t know Fire tablets run Android since Amazon makes no mention of it. Fire tablets use a forked version of Android with a heavy skin on top that ship without many Google services that you would see in a normal Android tablet (like access to the Play Store).
So, what happened? Where did all the momentum of Honeycomb, Nexus hardware, and a huge app library go to? Well, look at your phone. Now look back at this article. Now imagine what a tablet can do in 2016 that a phone can’t. Not much, right? The ever increasing phone display has basically killed off Android tablets.
My all-time favorite tablet, the Nexus 10
In a highly unscientific survey of the AndroidGuys staff, the most common answer of why you’d use a tablet over your phone ended up being to watch movies on a trip. Other popular answers included playing games (especially popular among our Nvidia Shield owners) and productivity software, but most agreed that an iPad is better suited to that due to app disparity. Most of our staff said there’s no use for a tablet when we have phones with displays almost 6″.
Tablets had a place when our phone’s screens were 3.5″. A 7″ or 10″ tablet just doesn’t cut it for most people anymore when tablets can cost anywhere from $200 – $600 and don’t offer more than a little screen real estate. Are you going to pay that just to watch PewDiePie on a bigger screen? I didn’t think so.
The outlook for tablets isn’t good right now. Someone is going to have to come out with a killer feature to make people want them again. Lenovo is trying with its new Yoga Book, but the option of getting the tablet with Windows makes the Android version far less desirable.
In a world where even the iPad’s sales are down, can the Android tablet market thrive again or will it wither away and die?
What is the next big trend?
Curved displays. Modular designs. More glass than you can shake a stick at. These were the trends in 2016. Samsung scored big with the beautiful Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and others like Xiaomi are now trying to emulate the curved display design. LG and Motorola both released what it felt like the future of modular smartphones would look like to varying degrees of success. Almost every phone released in 2016 had a glass front and back… or so it felt.
But, what is the next big trend? What are we going to see pop up in 2017? Sure, some OEMs are going to be playing catch-up, but what will the trendsetters do?
I hope 2017 brings a return to an old trend. Durable phones with big, removable batteries. Don’t get me wrong, I love how a glass phone feels in my hand and I love how it looks even more, but I want a phone that doesn’t give me a heart attack if I drop it on the floor. I’m currently reviewing the LG V20 and I know I don’t have to worry about it taking a fall or sliding off a smooth surface. Getting that piece of mind back is pretty nice.
I think the next big trend will be Services. We’re already seeing Apple moving into more of a services company than a hardware company, and I think Google is going to head there too. Google HAS to figure out its messaging ecosystem and fast. Apple still dominates with iMessage and Google’s four (or more) app strategy is a complete mess.
Google offers streaming music, streaming video, books, and pretty much every kind of media you could think of. But now is the time to bring it all together into one service. One subscription for Google Play Music, YouTube Red, a Kindle competitor, an Audible competitor, and streaming movies just makes sense. All of these huge companies (Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft) want to lock you into an ecosystem so it’s harder to move in between them. What’s easier than getting all of your media from one company with the ability to cast it to any TV or speaker connected to a Chromecast or a Google Home?
What do you think? What will be the next big trend for 2017? What do the futures of Samsung, LG, HTC, and Motorola hold? What do you want to see from Google next year? Let us know down in the comments.
Earlier this month, Huawei unveiled a premium new phone, perfect to fill the void left by the Note7 – the Mate 9. The handset was introduced in Europe and back then Huawei did not say anything about whether or not it will be bringing it to the States or not.
Well according to a source who talked to Phandroid, Huawei will be offering the beautiful Mate 9 in the country soon. But first it has to figure out some issues.
First off, since Huawei isn’t a big name in the US and is a China-based device maker, carriers might be skittish to strike a deal with it, citing security concerns. Carrier support is important for any company hoping to sale its phones successfully on US soil, since most customers prefer to acquire a handset from a carrier.
Huawei is also involved in several patent conflicts with T-Mobile, so it’s unlikely the two will strike a deal in the near future. However, the Chinese device maker believes that its premium phablet will be quite successful on the US market.
With this in mind, the report claims Huawei will probably end up selling the Mate 9 via Amazon. Earlier this month Huawei started offering a lineup of new tablets via the same online retailer.
Huawei has grown immensely in the last few years, but not in the US. In the country, Apple holds dominion with 29% market share, while Samsung holds on to 23%.
We can’t lie, we hope the Mate 9 makes it into the US and if you’re a fan of the Nexus 6P you know what we’re talking about.
The Mate 9 comes with a 5.9-inch display with 1080 x 1920 resolution (FYI Huawei doesn’t believe in QHD resolution) and takes advantage of the company’s home grown new octa-core Kirin 960 processor clocked at 2.4GHz.
Huawei also throws in 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable internal memory. The phone takes advantage of a main dual camera setup formed by a Leica-branded 20MP monochrome + 12MP RFB f/2.2, OIS. As for selfies, an 8MP camera has been added in front to do the job.
To conclude the description, the phone bundles a 4,000 mAh battery and runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.
Huawei hasn’t said how much will ask for the Mate 9 in the US, but we don’t expect it to be cheap. The European pricing translates to $775, so you’ll be paying as much as you would for a Pixel.
Chinese tech giant LeEco made a debut on the US market a few months ago. The company is tempting customers with affordable “disruptive” smartphones and smart TV sets, in the hopes of becoming the next big thing in the country.
In a bid to draw attention upon itself, LeEco has just posted the kernel source codes for 7 of its phones, a few TVs and a few smart boxes. It’s no secret that LeEco is not going through a great phase.
With cash supplies emptying and multiple cash sucking ongoing projects, the company is looking to focus on existing product lineups such as handsets and big screen TVs to get some revenue flowing.
By posting the kernel codes for some of its devices, LeEco hopes to get the attention of third party developers. Here are devices in question:
Smartphones: Le S3, Le 1s, Le 1s Eco, Le 2, Le Max, Le Max 2
TVs: Super 4 X55, Super 4 X43 Pro, Super 4 X65
This move might be part of LeEco’s strategy of conquering the US market, but also other untapped markets. With the kernel codes out, we can expect to see smooth ROMs and customization options to arrive soon.
Speaking of the US, LeEco announced yesterday that its products will now be offered with a variety of major US retailers including Best Buy, Target and Amazon.
LeEco seems to be doing everything in its power to grow on US users. The company offers affordable, but decently specced smartphones, alongside constant promotions and flash-sales.
The most recent ones, invites users to purchase one of its products to receive a free subscription to DirectTV Now, a streaming service that was just launched.
The OnePlus 3T was recently launched a few weeks ago, as a successor to the OnePlus 3 which saw the light of day in June 2016. While both the OnePlus 3/3T are worthy devices, more and more owners have been facing an particular problem – touchscreen latency.
The issue has been highlighted on the OnePlus official forums and also on Reddit under the “Help us raise awareness about the touch screen latency on the OP3/T” thread.
The story goes like this: at the moment the “move sensitivity” of the OnePlus 3/3T is set too big, which produces latency. When users touch the screen or move the finger around a little (like 3~5mm), the movement isn’t registered as a scroll. To make it more clear, touch latency represents the delay between the response on the screen and the physical finger input.
iPhones are famous for their low latency rates and iPhone switchers have already been noticing the latency issue on the OnePlus 3/3T. The conclusion is that the OnePlus 3/3T needs touch firmware to tune battery latency. According to users, the latest 3.5.3 update has not resolved the problem.
OnePlus 3/3T on both forums have been trying to get OnePlus to notice the complaints and do something about it.
Following the deluge of posts, OnePlus CEO, Carl Pei Tweeted the following:
We hear the touch latency feedback, and will look at it soon. N has higher priority.
So it appears that users of the OnePlus 3/3T will have to wait until an update will be issued to fix the touch latency of the devices.
As for the Android Nougat update on the two handsets, OnePlus is working towards releasing the update by the end of the year. However, as a user points out on Reddit, the issue might be eradicated by the arrival of Android 7.1 Nougat.
For many users of the OnePlus 3/3T the touch latency problems are a non-issue. However it’s unlikely one would notice these problems in quick reaction scenarios. The issue becomes visible when users have numerous screen interactions in a short period of time.
Is your OnePlus 3/3T affected by something similar?
Amazon’s Echo connected speakers has been dominating the smart home ecosystem for a few years despite Google offering its own alternative.
Now if you have considered purchasing an Echo this holiday season, you might want to wait a little bit. According to a new report coming out of Bloomberg indicates that Amazon is working towards a next-gen high-end speaker, due for release sometimes in early 2017.
Following the surprise success of the Echo, Amazon is now looking to introduce a successor in order to keep customers interested in its home gadgets lineup.
It appears that the next-gen gadget will trade the cylindrical design of the current Echo for a new one. The new speaker will take advantage of a 7-inch touchscreen which tilts upwards, so that people can have a better view when the device is placed on top of the kitchen counter.
The 7-inch screen will run a modified version of the Fire OS, Amazon’s own custom take on Android which currently runs on Fire tablets, Fire TV and the Fire TV Stick. Naturally, the new Echo will take advantage of Alexa’s services. To make it more appealing, Amazon will probably deliver an improved, more intelligent Alexa next year.
What’s more, the report at hand says that Amazon is currently testing a new feature that will allow users to pin things like image on the 7-inch screen. Think old school refrigerator notes or post-its.
Furthermore, the next-gen Alexa is said to feature a set of high-quality speakers which will be capable of delivering great sound.
As mentioned earlier, the new Echo is expected to make a debut in the first quarter of 2017. In the meanwhile, Amazon will continue to sell its affordable Dot, Tap and Echo speakers.
The home connected speaker market seems to be growing at fast rates. Google’s already offering its Home alternative and Apple is also said to be working towards a smart-home device with Siri onboard.
Here at Android Guys we’re big appreciators of the Amazon Echo, so we are pretty curious to see where Amazon takes it next.
Not so long ago Microsoft launched its iconic Windows game, Solitaire on Android and iOS. Now the company has unleashed another application in a bid to expand its colonization of Android.
The new application comes from Microsoft’s Garage lab – a project lab that lets Microsoft employees work on diverse projects. Like today’s app which is called Clip Layer.
There are many places in Android which don’t allow for the copy/pasting of text. Clip Layer aims to solve this issue and more, by allowing people to save relevant content from any app.
When activated, the app will add a universal overlay over any application. After which users simply tap on the fields they want to copy. To see what was selected, users should tap the text button located in the upper right, then copy it into the clipboard and share it with others. The clipped content can be saved to Wunderlist as well, thus making it accessible from other devices too.
The app was created by Steve Won, senior designer for Microsoft’s popular Office suite, who became frustrated with the inability to copy and paste content from certain Android apps. He also noticed that even though some apps did allow it, the process was not intuitive at all. So he set out to change that.
Won is no stranger to the experimental Garage division, as he previously worked to create the Hub Keyboard app which uses an Android keyboard to display things like clipboards, contact info, document links and much more.
With Clip Layer, Won hopes to solve the problem of content sharing from within an app which doesn’t offer such an option, initially. Won is also curious about people’s habits, what they do with the information? Do they email it or share it on social media?
Microsoft’s Garage hub recently celebrated 2 years of experimenting with new ideas and concepts. The division has previously released Android apps like Sprightly, Trip Tracker and Color Binoculars.
