AppsRobert Haba
Google Photos overnight backup feature surfaces in app teardown
Google Photos is testing an overnight backup setting that keeps phones awake to complete uploads. The feature is not yet available to users.
Browse all articles, news, and guides tagged with apps on Droid Tools.
Google Photos is testing an overnight backup setting that keeps phones awake to complete uploads. The feature is not yet available to users.
Learn how to install Solipsism Browser on Android, manage background updates, and use its vertical navigation rail alongside built-in privacy tools.
Google is rolling out gradient icon redesigns to Phone and Contacts apps, with subtle gradients and cleaner edges across mobile and web platforms.
WhatsApp is testing a new way to keep selected conversations off a person's linked devices, such as a laptop, tablet, or secondary phone. The company is expanding Advanced Chat Privacy with a new restriction that limits a chat to each participant's primary phone, and renaming the setting to Restricted Chat to make its purpose clearer.
Google Messages is now widely rolling out its new Keep Notes integration, following last week's September 2026 Android Drop announcement. Opening the “plus” menu inside a conversation reveals a new Keep Notes shortcut, and those pills can be reordered like usual. Alternatively, Google might surface a contextual “Create list” shortcut directly in the suggestions row.
Developers have discovered that Android 17 quietly blocks apps from checking whether Developer Options and USB Debugging are turned on, in what's being described as one of the release's hidden changes. Regardless of whether Developer Mode is actually enabled on a device, apps that try to read its status in Android 17 will always get
Samsung is retiring two of its longest-running AR apps for Galaxy phones. Galaxy Store listings confirm Quick Measure and AR Doodle will shut down on December 31, 2026, with Samsung saying both tools will return later in improved form. Quick Measure lets a phone's camera estimate real-world distances, while AR Doodle lets users sketch virtual
Google is rolling out a new Motion Assist Android feature as part of its September Android Drop, giving phone users a screen-based tool meant to reduce motion sickness during car rides. The feature places moving dots near the edges of the display, aiming to help connect what a person's eyes see with the motion their
Google is significantly raising the security bar for Android devices in 2026 with Android 17. The update delivers a broad sweep of security and privacy improvements targeting some of the most common threats users face today — financial fraud, physical device theft, and invasive app tracking. Android 17 tackles phone scams at the call level
There comes a point where upgrading your smartphone every year or two just does not make much sense anymore. My Google Pixel 9 Pro from 2024 is still performing well, and unless the next upgrade brings something meaningful, I do not see myself moving to the Pixel 11 Pro either. The trade-off for keeping a
The Play services, Play Store, and Play system update for Android phones and tablets, Wear OS, Google/Android TV, Auto, and PC are the main topics covered in the monthly “Google System Release Notes.” While certain features are intended for developers, others are applicable to end users. The “Google System” is made up of the following
Samsung has posted an official “End of Service” notice on its website confirming that its native Messages app will go dark sometime in July. The exact shutdown date hasn't been pinned down yet — Samsung says it will be announced inside the app itself when the time comes. But the message is clear: the company
Since its launch, sideloading has been a crucial component of Android, giving it a great deal of flexibility as well as a feeling of freedom and openness. The community (quite understandably) panicked when Google announced it would make significant changes to sideloading. However, since Google has now demonstrated how its new sideloading flow on Android
According to a survey by cloud security firm Zscaler, hundreds of malicious Android apps on Google Play were downloaded over 40 million times between June 2024 and May 2025. The company saw a 67% year-over-year increase in malware that targeted mobile devices during that time, with banking trojans and spyware being the most common threats.
For the Xiaomi 17 Pro series, Xiaomi has released a new software update that enhances the secondary display with a number of interactive features. The launch includes dynamic avatars, real-time translation, five live wallpapers, and two portable games, according to the company's HyperOS Weibo post. Animated profile photographs can now be set on the back
After setting up a new Samsung Galaxy, you should think about the apps you use and don't use. There are many unnecessary preinstalled apps on your phone that don't always enhance the user experience. Therefore, it is safe to remove any bloatware and superfluous apps. These apps clog your home screen, suck up storage space,
I have six computers of different sizes and specs, but lately I've noticed that I use my Chromebook more frequently. It has one amazing feature that I can't live without, despite its obviously poor performance and small 11-inch footprint: full-fledged Android app support. I'm not just saying this because I write for Android Authority; having
Free apps are a welcome anomaly in a world when nothing really comes free! Today, we're exploring a carefully chosen collection of free apps for iOS and Android smartphones that come in a range of categories, such as games and other practical utilities. Remember that these offers are temporary, and their availability may change at
Even while there isn't such a thing as a free lunch, there is such a thing as free apps! We'll look at a selection of free apps for iOS and Android phones today, which includes games and other kinds of apps. Please be aware that you must act immediately because these offers are time-sensitive and
Today, we need to discuss a few significant news from Nothing. First, for those who own a Nothing phone and would like to try out Android 16 before it becomes stable, Nothing has made the Nothing OS 4.0 Open Beta (Android 16) available. The other news relates to that since it presents the Playground and
