What should I buy Thursday (May 19 2016) - Your weekly device inquiry thread!

What should I buy Thursday (May 19 2016) - Your weekly device inquiry thread!


What should I buy Thursday (May 19 2016) - Your weekly device inquiry thread!

Posted: 19 May 2016 04:02 AM PDT

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The Google Play store, coming to a Chromebook near you

Posted: 19 May 2016 11:03 AM PDT

Reddit Sync v11 beta has been released

Posted: 19 May 2016 09:46 AM PDT

I honestly find this whole Allo/Duo thing the most confusing move Google has ever made.

Posted: 19 May 2016 12:56 PM PDT

I seriously just don't get it. It is the complete opposite of what everyone has been asking for. How did this even get approved at a corporate level?

Users have been begging for a unified messaging solution. The present situation was pretty reasonable: Messenger for a lightweight SMS app, and Hangouts for cross-platform messaging and video calling with optional SMS integration if you don't want two apps.

Hangouts is everywhere throughout the Google ecosystem. You can access it from either Gmail interface, through G+ on the web, through the standalone Hangouts site, through the Chrome extension, and through your phone or tablet. It may not be the best-developed app in the world (though I personally don't have too many issues with it) but the cross-platform usability is killer and works perfectly.

Soooo...now what? Separate video and messaging apps that have neither Hangouts NOR SMS integration? What happened to RCS? Who do they imagine is the target user for Allo? Do they think the average user gives a shit about end-to-end encryption? Do they think the average user is going to give a shit if some magical AI can write "lol" for them? AND you need a separate app for video calling, which only does video calling? And apparently it's slated to be the default messenger on Android N. It's a little late for that, don't you think, Google? You've had Hangouts out for years. It's been installed over a billion times according to the Play Store.

Who thought of this? Who managed to not only come up with this terrible idea, but actually got it approved? Who the hell approved it?

I kind of get the intention behind it: they want to provide multiple messaging services for different target audiences. Unfortunately, I don't think they have any freaking clue what those actual audiences are. Business Insider seems to be under the impression that Hangouts is for enterprise use? What???

What's the point? I'm so confused by this announcement that I can barely articulate just how confused I am.

submitted by /u/hett
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The Play Store will soon have "Early Access", with hand picked open betas of apps & games

Posted: 19 May 2016 11:11 AM PDT

Dark mode goes away in latest Android N preview

Posted: 19 May 2016 08:51 AM PDT

After watching google I/O I got the distinct feeling that google is heading in a direction that apple can't or will struggle to follow.

Posted: 19 May 2016 01:54 AM PDT

I don't want to start an Apple vs Android thing but, while watching the keynote I got the distinct feeling that Google is building on its strengths for Android and they happen to be in places that Apple will find it hard to compete in.

Instant Apps Aims at the heart of the modern app ecosystem and is a win for consumers but something Apple won't even attempt.

Google assistant leverages Google's significant lead in AI compared to most of its competitors.

Google Home Also plays on the Google AI and Google Cast ecosystem

Android VR This is one place Apple can easily compete if they choose to do so. But if Google plays it right they can have the mindshare before Apple even gets in the game.

Allo Bots and AI again(iMessage won't be able to compete because of E2E encryption). And with it being based on phone numbers they can turn it into an iMessage competitor...eventually(but this is something that only really concerns the US)

Wear 2.0 Apple does compete here and in many ways they are already winning. If google can get more famous brands in and the self contained smart watch thing(no phone needed) work as they are advertised they may be able to take the fight to apple.

Of course Android Update problem is going to hold VR back and Allo will depend on adoption but everything else will jump ahead quickly. All in all I think this is a good play by Google to focus on their strengths.

Anyway that's my 2c, what do you think?

p.s. before I get accused of it i'm not counting Apple out, I'm just saying Google is smart to focus on their strengths and double down on it. I'm sure Apple will do the same with their hardware and ecosystem integration.

submitted by /u/punIn10ded
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Bring Your Android App to Chromebooks | Android Developers Blog

Posted: 19 May 2016 10:56 AM PDT

Allo might support SMS (found by /u/droiddragon)

Posted: 19 May 2016 01:57 PM PDT

I used Xposed & Database modifications to make Allo run without authentication using dummy messages. It doesn't actually allow you to use the service, but here's a UI & feature tour

Posted: 19 May 2016 09:47 AM PDT

Google isn't abandoning Hangouts for its new chat apps

Posted: 19 May 2016 08:29 AM PDT

CEO Larry Page defends Google on the stand: “Declaring code is not code”

Posted: 19 May 2016 11:06 AM PDT

THE ANDROID SYSTEM ICON HAS FINALLY CHANGED

Posted: 19 May 2016 11:16 AM PDT

As above, on the N Dev Preview 3 http://imgur.com/DLxyW41

Edit: clarity

submitted by /u/opticalgenesis
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On the latest N preview, double tapping the power button to open the camera no longer locks the device. (/r/Nexus6P)

Posted: 19 May 2016 03:38 AM PDT

Footage of Android apps on Chromebooks

Posted: 19 May 2016 12:00 PM PDT

You don't need an Android Auto-compatible car to use Android Auto anymore

Posted: 18 May 2016 09:00 PM PDT

Motorola teaser for 9th June 2016

Posted: 19 May 2016 01:16 PM PDT

ELI5: What is so bad about the hangouts app?

Posted: 19 May 2016 11:20 AM PDT

Now that Allo and Duo have been announced, I've finally noticed that people have been casually saying that "Hangouts kinda sucks" for years now (I guess I've been under a rock).

Personally, I love hangouts! I use it for all my SMS, MMS, and PMing needs. I love how it syncs notifications between all my devices, and I love how there is a desktop app which also syncs well. I was genuinely confused at yesterday's announcement of 2 new messaging apps, and I don't understand the need to replace hangouts. In fact, the thought of migrating again just sounds exhausting.

So /r/android, why do you hate hangouts so much?

submitted by /u/bevardimus
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Bank of America Cardless ATM Technology Featured at Google IO Conference [Android Pay at ATMs]

Posted: 19 May 2016 06:59 AM PDT

Finally, a material design weather radar app w/ a good feature set & nice interface (NOAA Weather Radar)

Posted: 19 May 2016 11:17 AM PDT

Current Nexus Devices Will Not Get The New Seamless Update Feature From Android N

Posted: 19 May 2016 05:43 PM PDT

Unreal Engine 4 Supports Google's New Daydream VR Platform

Posted: 19 May 2016 09:49 AM PDT

PROJECT SVELTE - Google is planning to restrict background services in the future and "force" devs to use Job Scheduler API

Posted: 18 May 2016 06:00 PM PDT

I just watched io session about battery and memory optimizations in Android N. As some of you may know in Android N Google deprecated some implicit broadcast (CONNECTIVITY_CHANGE,ACTION_NEW_PICTURE and ACTION_NEW_VIDEO) so this will stop apps starting up in background as soon as you change network or take a picture.

As you know there are apps like dropbox that run a service as soon as you take a picture to check for backup. Now those apps will need to use Job Scheduler and schedule their job . That should bring huge performance improvements .

But there is still one problem. Remember all that services in the background that stay in your ram even if you turned that feature off ? Apparently Google is planning to fix that by deprecating "startService()" in the future releases of Android and apps will need to use Job Scheduler to get job done. Only Bound services will be allowed which means the service will not run when app is closed .

Image http://imgur.com/L3NRp5j .

This is such an important thing and can improve memory management to the level we never seen on Android(basically ios level). Hopefully moderators will allow this post btw.

submitted by /u/philosophermk
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PSA: Retrorika is on sale(0,10€)

Posted: 19 May 2016 12:49 PM PDT

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