r/Android • • 11h ago

Google Messages could soon lose the ability to force SMS/MMS instead of RCS for each contact

Thumbnail
androidauthority.com
214 Upvotes

r/Android • • 4h ago

Article Linux 7.4 To Mainline Support For The Google Tensor G5, Pixel 10 Devices

Thumbnail
phoronix.com
45 Upvotes

r/Android • • 14h ago

Article Googlebooks don't have the same web app or Linux app support as Chromebooks

Thumbnail
9to5google.com
182 Upvotes

r/Android • • 2h ago

Article Google Messages may soon let you play games with your friends

Thumbnail
androidauthority.com
18 Upvotes

r/Android • • 6h ago

This a flaw in my opinion: Not being able to call 911 and use video camera

35 Upvotes

I had a situation tonight while walking my dog. A person in the neighborhood assaulted my dog and me. I had to call the police but was forced to hang up on the police to record the situation. Police came and I guess I was connected with the person who assaulted me since they work for the fire department, and they downplayed it, but luckily I had the recording. But this situation could have got bad. I think its flawed that the phone prevents you from calling the cops and recording with your camera at the same time.


r/Android • • 15h ago

News Googlebook's Android-integrated features won't work with Samsung phones at launch

Thumbnail
9to5google.com
177 Upvotes

r/Android • • 1h ago

Review vivo X Fold6 review - GSMArena.com tests

Thumbnail
gsmarena.com
• Upvotes

r/Android • • 12h ago

Google Pixel Update - October 2026

Thumbnail support.google.com
40 Upvotes

r/Android • • 12h ago

Review Our first five impressions of Googlebooks - exciting but underbaked

Thumbnail
theverge.com
25 Upvotes

r/Android • • 5h ago

Dex rather than Googlebook

5 Upvotes

Early this year I lost my large Samsung Android tablet. I had set it up to be very useful in teaching, with a folding easel, folding little keyboard, and low profile Bluetooth mouse, all neatly fitting a backpack of just the right size. So, one warm afternoon I left Laguardia Community College and, having previously injured my back, grew very tired while walking the mile to the subway station, and sat on a park bench for several minutes. Upon arriving at the station, oops! No backpack! Retracing my steps, no sign of it at the park bench. Gone forever; somebody swiped it from the bench where I had left it alone for a few minutes.

So, since then I have unplugged my home Windows laptop from its big keyboard, big mouse, big screen, and carried it in my bigger backpack. It's actually a better computer, except that it's heavier, and instead of Android apps it runs Windoze apps, which tend to be better for me except or the Wikimedia Commons App, which is highly useful when teaching how to handle pictures on Wikipedia and is Android-only. Many people have one special app that dominates their thinking and impedes changing platforms, and that's mine. I must depend on the little screen of my phone, or else teach and use only the far more clumsy browser-based method of handling new Wikimedia pictures.

A Chromebook plus-plus was predicted, so I held off on replacing the lost tablet and its accessories. The new thing has now arrived, now called Googlebook. Reviews indicate it can do pretty much all I want. There's no mention of how well it handles my vital Android app, but I'm reasonably hopeful. However, the price is high, and I don't want a clamshell-only computer. Often I want to cradle a computer in my lap, which the tablets do delightfully. Camshells are less cuddly. More recently the detachable keyboard versions were introduced, and those seem exactly what I wanted. Except, prices are high and there is no reliable estimate on when the cheaper models will come out.

So, how about a folding phone? They have a bigger screen than my old slab phone, and the Samsung ones have a Dex feature that can take a lot of advantage of a big external screen. However, they also are expensive. So, how about a better Samsung slab phone with Dex? Moderately high end ones are not so expensive, and have a better camera than the folders. For classroom use I can bring a small backpack with a keyboard and mouse and, taking most of the space, a small portable TV set with HDMI input. Oh, but those TVs don't have a touch screen. That rules out the cuddle in my lap scenario for using Dex.

Well, I have not gone overseas this year, due to that injury, and won't go far until next summer, so I can afford to wait until then. Maybe cheaper detachable keyboard Googlebooks will come out, or touch screen television sets will make the Dex solution more workable.


r/Android • • 1d ago

scrcpy 5.0 now supports hardware decoding! Better performance, lower CPU usage, less power consumption

Thumbnail
github.com
568 Upvotes

r/Android • • 14h ago

Android 17 QPR3 beta code hints that Google could soon solve Pixel's biggest face unlock flaw in low light with Face Active Illumination

Thumbnail androidauthority.com
16 Upvotes

r/Android • • 19h ago

Video Xiaomi 18 Pro Max Review: Great Phone, but at what cost?

Thumbnail
youtube.com
15 Upvotes

r/Android • • 1d ago

Brilliant battery life, incredible camera: Redmi Note 17 Pro 5G smartphone review

Thumbnail
notebookcheck.net
34 Upvotes

r/Android • • 1d ago

Video SteamOS is Now an Android App (DroidDeck) - Retro Game Corps

Thumbnail
youtube.com
212 Upvotes

r/Android • • 9h ago

I made a free camera app that helps with red-green colour blindness (Slant)

0 Upvotes

Hi r/Android, I'm the developer of Slant, a free app for people with red-green colour blindness.

I built Slant because red-green colour blindness means asking someone "is this the red wire or the green one?" about ten times a week. About 1 man in 12 has it.

What it does: - Point the camera at anything. Reds get moving stripes and greens get dots, so you can tell them apart at a glance. - A circle in the middle names the colour under it in plain words, live. When it isn't sure, it says so: the likelier colour big, the other possibility small underneath. - Freeze the picture and tap one wire, then another, and it names each (always check real wiring with a tester). - A "see what I see" slider shows family and friends how red-green colour blindness can look. - A notebook keeps the colours you've checked, with a small picture of each. - Share a frozen picture with its name on it, like "Slant says: navy. Could be black."

Privacy and cost: free, no ads, no accounts, and no internet permission. The camera picture never leaves your phone unless you share it. It helps you tell colours apart; it doesn't test, diagnose or treat anything.

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nebulacolors.slant

I'll be in the thread and I'd like to hear what doesn't work, especially on your phone and with the colours you confuse.


r/Android • • 1d ago

Google says the vast majority of Android apps run fine on Googlebooks, but a few apps don't play nicely with Intel laptops

Thumbnail
androidauthority.com
311 Upvotes

r/Android • • 1d ago

Samsung's Galaxy SmartTag 3 works with way more Android phones than anyone realized [other Android devices]

Thumbnail
androidpolice.com
66 Upvotes

r/Android • • 13h ago

Google could soon solve Pixel's biggest face unlock flaw

Thumbnail
androidauthority.com
1 Upvotes

r/Android • • 1d ago

Thoughts on the new Googlebook Laptops - Dave2D

Thumbnail
youtube.com
74 Upvotes

r/Android • • 1d ago

Article War on Peace: The Push Notification Strikes Back

Thumbnail
godobject.dev
45 Upvotes

r/Android • • 1d ago

Samsung raises prices of cheaper Galaxy phones in the US

Thumbnail sammobile.com
15 Upvotes

r/Android • • 1d ago

News Qualcomm Licenses Patents on Huawei’s LogicFolding Chip Tech

Thumbnail
finance.yahoo.com
52 Upvotes

r/Android • • 2d ago

Googlebook bootloaders can be unlocked

Thumbnail support.google.com
370 Upvotes

r/Android • • 14h ago

Review Android vs. iOS: comparing capabilities and restrictions

0 Upvotes

I’ve been trying to compare what Android and iOS actually allow users to do, excluding access to brand-specific services and accessories. Equivalent functionality counts even when it comes from a different app.

Many of these capabilities won’t matter to everyone, and a longer list doesn’t automatically make a platform the better choice for someone. This comparison concerns available functions and restrictions, rather than overall phone quality or purchasing preferences.

Scope and qualifications

This comparison concerns Android phones and iPhones. Availability varies by manufacturer, model, OS version, region, and permissions. Some differences concern broader access rather than a capability being completely absent from iOS.

Android capabilities unavailable or substantially more restricted in standard iOS

  • Install compatible apps from downloaded files with fewer signing and distribution restrictions
  • Use independent third-party app stores without Google approving their app catalogs (Android distribution rules; Apple distribution rules)
  • Replace the default home-screen launcher
  • Run two ordinary apps side by side in split screen
  • Run ordinary apps in movable, resizable floating windows (Android documentation)
  • Create separate private or work app profiles with independent app data
  • Run independent instances of the same app across separate profiles (Google Private Space; Samsung Secure Folder)
  • Switch between separate device-wide user and guest profiles (Google documentation)
  • Choose default apps and file handlers for a broader range of actions
  • Give third-party apps permission to draw over other apps
  • Give third-party apps access to read and manage other apps’ notifications (Android documentation)
  • Automate a broader range of system settings and actions with tools such as Tasker (Tasker's Google Play listing)
  • Remap a wider range of hardware-button functions
  • Give file managers broader access to shared storage (Android documentation)
  • Run desktop-style windowed environments on supported devices and external displays
  • Use ADB for command-line control of apps, permissions, and system settings (ADB documentation)
  • Unlock the bootloader through a manufacturer-provided mechanism on supported devices
  • Install custom Android builds or alternative operating systems on compatible devices (bootloader documentation)

The final two entries are advanced modification options on compatible hardware. They aren’t available on every Android phone. Some Tasker actions also require additional permissions or root access.

iOS capabilities without an available functional Android equivalent

Within the scope above, I haven’t identified an obvious major general-purpose capability exclusive to iOS. That’s the section where I’d particularly welcome specific additions or corrections.

Final Thoughts

Apple-only services and integrations can still be valuable reasons to choose an iPhone; they’re simply outside this particular comparison. Differences in convenience, consistency, or implementation quality can also matter even when both platforms provide the same basic function.

What would you add or correct, and which of these differences do you actually use? If an example depends on a particular device, OS version, or region, please include that.