All posts tagged: android

Everything You Need To Know About The Android 17 Release

Published by skeptic

The Android 17 update introduces a significant evolution in smartphone operating systems, bringing a host of innovative features designed to elevate your mobile experience. With advanced AI integration, enhanced customization options, improved app functionality and fortified privacy measures, this update aims to make your device more intelligent, intuitive and secure. Whether you’re managing daily tasks, creating content, or staying connected, Android 17 adapts seamlessly to your lifestyle, setting a new standard for modern smartphones. The video below from Beenom gives us more details on Android 17 and its new features and updates. Gemini Intelligence: Transforming AI Integration At the core of Android 17 lies Gemini Intelligence, a sophisticated AI tool that redefines how you interact with your device. This feature automates routine tasks such as booking appointments, managing online orders and filling out forms with remarkable precision. Gemini’s auto-browsing capabilities allow it to summarize web pages, execute complex tasks and provide actionable insights, saving you valuable time. By integrating seamlessly with autofill systems, Gemini ensures both accuracy and efficiency, making your smartphone a truly intelligent …

I changed one Android setting and improved performance while gaining battery life

Published by skeptic

Android phones today are more powerful than ever, yet they somehow still end up feeling slower after a few months of use. It’s the same processor, same software, and same amount of RAM, but it just feels slow. The real difference is usually the number of apps installed on the phone. The more apps you have, the more background processes Android has to deal with. So I recently decided to manually manage background permissions for apps on my phone to see if it’d help. Not only did my phone feel more responsive, but with less background activity, battery life improved too. Related Your Samsung phone can optimize itself overnight — here’s how to set it up Make these changes for a faster phone each day. How background apps can drag performance down The RAM hogs you never see Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf RAM plays a huge role in how smooth your Android phone feels in daily use. It’s what allows your phone to keep apps ready in the background, switch between tasks quickly, and make …

My new favorite Android file manager is way better than Google’s default – and it’s free

Published by skeptic

Jack Wallen/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET key takeaways Material Files is a well-designed Android file manager. This app blows away the competition. Material Files is free and can be installed from the Play Store. I’ve tried so many Android file managers over the years. I’ve seen those that look good but lack features, those that have too many features and a pleasing aesthetic, and those that look terrible and don’t have enough features. It’s been a tiresome journey, one that eventually had me giving up and sticking with the default. Until now. Also: 7 apps I use to lock down, encrypt, and store my private files – and most are free Recently, I stumbled upon Material Files, which is an open-source Android app, and I almost instantly proclaimed it the perfect Android file manager. It looks native on my Pixel 9 Pro and has exactly the right amount of features. When you open Material Files, you would think that it was built by Google specifically for Android, but it’s …

Google Unveils Googlebook, a New AI Laptop Built Around Gemini

Published by skeptic

Google today announced a new series of Googlebook laptops that will be built with Gemini at the core. Googlebooks will run software built on a foundation that combines Android and ChromeOS. Google says the new laptops are designed for Gemini Intelligence for a more personalized and proactive experience. Instead of a cursor, Googlebooks have a Magic Pointer that users can wiggle to activate Gemini. Gemini can then provide contextual suggestions and answers based on whatever the user is pointing to on the screen. Pointing at a date in an email sets up a meeting, and selecting two images allows them to be visualized together. There are ask, compare, and combine tools available with the Magic Pointer. Create My Widget, a new Android feature, is coming to Googlebooks. Users can create custom widgets with a Gemini prompt. Gemini is able to search the internet and connect with Google apps like Gmail and Calendar to create a personalized dashboard that can be used for widget creation. Since Googlebooks will run Android, it will be easier to switch …

The Android Show I/O Edition: All the biggest announcements

Published by skeptic

Google I/O 2026 takes place on May 19, but today, Google hosted a livestreamed warm-up event called The Android Show: I/O Edition. As you might have guessed, it’s mostly focused on Android news. In the past, Google I/O was focused on new Android developments. Now, Google gets that stuff out of the way a week in advance, clearing the decks for Gemini and artificial intelligence to take center stage at I/O. Much of what was shared at The Android Show was fairly small and incremental, but between a new Google laptop brand and some useful-sounding Gemini features, there’s some meat to chew on here. So, let’s dig into everything we learned at The Android Show. Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Vote for your favorite creator today! The Android Show: I/O Edition’s biggest announcements Here’s what stood out the most from The Android Show. Meet the Googlebook Here it is. Credit: Google Certainly, the biggest announcement of the show was Googlebook, a new class of laptops from Google and its hardware partners, including Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and …

I disabled these 5 Android defaults and my phone finally feels like mine

Published by skeptic

As I dig around in my Pixel’s settings app, I realize I’ve never really chosen any of them, really. Most of the settings on your Android phone are given to you by Google as defaults, just sitting there and doing things in the background that we never really think to question. So I started turning some of them off. Five settings later, my phone feels noticeably cleaner, less cluttered, and maybe a bit quieter overall. Here’s what I found and what changed after I switched each one off. Related Your Android Phone’s Default Settings Are a Privacy Nightmare—Here’s What to Change Right Now Your Android’s out-of-the-box settings aren’t doing you any favors when it comes to privacy. App suggestions in the dock and app drawer Don’t let Google decide what’s in your dock The Pixel launcher watches how you use your phone and fills the bottom dock with apps it thinks you’ll want to use next. Most people’s docks, though, are full of pinned apps, so they never see this feature in action. It’s running, …

Googlebook Is Google’s New AI-Powered Laptop Platform Built on Android

Published by skeptic

Almost exactly 15 years since Google introduced Chromebooks and ChromeOS—which ushered a wave of cheap, functional, web-based laptops that would come to dominate the US education market—the company has announced a new laptop platform called Googlebook. It’s built around artificial intelligence and Android, and while it isn’t replacing Chromebooks, it could give the company a more meaningful foothold in the premium computer market. Google announced the platform on The Android Show on YouTube, where it also detailed new features coming in Android 17 and Gemini Intelligence (you can read more about that here). Google is purposefully not sharing the operating system’s name yet (it was codenamed Aluminium OS internally); Googlebook is the platform, and Dell, Acer, Asus, HP, and Lenovo have all signed up to produce Googlebooks coming later this fall. The company says it will share more information later this year, but I spoke with Alexander Kuscher, senior director at Google leading Android tablets and laptops, to glean more details. Kuscher says there’s an immense amount of innovation in the Android ecosystem right now, …

The Top New Features in Google’s Android 17—and Gemini Intelligence—Coming This Summer

Published by skeptic

“Our goal is to be able to have it as customizable as possible, pulling from all sorts of data sources that you ask it to be able to create a custom widget for you,” Brooks says. Maybe that means creating a weather widget that shows Celsius and Fahrenheit for when you’re traveling abroad. Or a countdown to your next marathon. Or a widget that shows three new high-protein meal prep recipes every week. What does this mean for the future of the home screen? Will we still have app grids? Or will every person’s phone have its own look and feel, drummed up by natural language? Brooks says Android has always been good at customization, so we should expect even more control over how our phones look and work. “I think you’ll see a lot more of that in the future on how we can continue to do this in a delightful way, to make your device truly yours.” Rambler Courtesy of Google The voice dictation feature on Google’s Gboard keyboard is getting a Gemini …

GameHub 6.0 Review: The Next Step for Android PC Emulation

Published by skeptic

PC game emulation on Android has taken a notable leap forward with the release of GameHub 6.0 Beta. As demonstrated by ETA Prime, this update introduces a range of enhancements, including a redesigned interface that features two new view modes—“Explore” and “Handheld”—to improve navigation and customization. Additionally, the app now integrates directly with platforms like Steam and Epic Games Store, streamlining access to existing game libraries. These updates reflect a clear focus on usability and accessibility, making GameHub 6.0 a promising option for both modern and retro gaming enthusiasts. Explore how GameHub 6.0 optimizes performance with features like frame generation technology and customizable GPU drivers, designed to cater to high-end Android devices. Learn about its compatibility with frameworks such as Proton and Wine, which expand the range of playable PC games and discover how community-driven profiles simplify game-specific settings. This explainer provides a detailed breakdown of these advancements, offering practical insights for users seeking to enhance their Android gaming experience. Enhanced User Interface: Intuitive and Customizable TL;DR Key Takeaways : GameHub 6.0 Beta introduces a …

Skeptic Society Magazine

for honest conversations

Years

Authors

Filter by Month

Filter by Categories

Filter by Tags

All posts tagged: android

Everything You Need To Know About The Android 17 Release

I changed one Android setting and improved performance while gaining battery life

My new favorite Android file manager is way better than Google’s default – and it’s free

Google Unveils Googlebook, a New AI Laptop Built Around Gemini

The Android Show I/O Edition: All the biggest announcements

I disabled these 5 Android defaults and my phone finally feels like mine

Googlebook Is Google’s New AI-Powered Laptop Platform Built on Android

The Top New Features in Google’s Android 17—and Gemini Intelligence—Coming This Summer

GameHub 6.0 Review: The Next Step for Android PC Emulation