APK BRO™ - Download APK Android Apps: 08/13/15

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Verizon Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, Tab 4 10.1 Get Updates to 5.1.1 With Stagefright Patches

Verizon is pushing a handful of Android 5.1.1 updates this afternoon to the Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, and Galaxy Tab 4 10.1. Those updates, as you might have guessed, also include “Android security patches” for Stagefright.

Outside of the security stuff, the 5.1.1 update for the Galaxy S6 and Edge adds caller name ID to Advanced Calling 1.0, fixes a bunch of bugs, lets you turn the parallax wallpaper mode on or off, and adds a quick camera exposure setting. Hopefully, it doesn’t completely destroy the phone’s performance like the T-Mobile 5.1.1 update did.

The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are looking at builds of G920VVRU3BOG5 and G925VVRU3BOG5, respectively. Verizon posted the changelogs for them today, so I would imagine that the updates will begin rolling out tonight or tomorrow.

As for the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1, you are looking at a build of T537VVRU3BOG1 and all sorts of new changes. To see them all, check through the changelog below.

Via: Verizon [2] [3]

Fallout Shelter Now Available on Google Play

After a long wait, users on Google Play are crying out, “Finally!” as Fallout Shelter is now officially available on Google Play. Priced at completely free to download, players attempt to create the ideal post-nuclear Vault for “dwellers,” which are people who live in your underground Vault trying to escape the elements above ground.

As the leader, you are tasked with pretty much everything to keep the Vault habitable. You will need to fix up and upgrade your Vault, send dwellers outside to gather supplies, and even arrange relationships to help populate what is left of the world. Yes, it’s an odd game, but totally fun.

Fallout Shelter is free to download, but does feature in-app purchases. These IAPs are priced from $0.99 to $19.99.

Go grab it!

Play Link

Amazon Giving Away $90 Worth of Free Apps and Games

Amazon is giving away $90 worth of paid apps and games this week, and they are not garbage titles, either. For a limited time, you can pick up Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Goat Simulator, and Scribblenauts Remix for the price of absolutely nothing.

Other apps available for free are Ultimate Hangman HD, Mind Games Pro, Doodle Creatures, Fruit Ninja (5th Anniversary), Bridge Constructor, Trainyard, Photo Lab Pro, and many more.

To download these games, you will need the Amazon Appstore installed on your device, but that’s a small price to pay in order to get a few of these games for $0. Worth it.

Follow the link below to get started.

Amazon Link

Here is the Samsung Gear S2 on Wrist

This afternoon, just as Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge+, and Gear S2 talk had begun to calm, Samsung posted a fashion forward lookbook of all the products. We can admit that we don’t necessarily need more beauty shots of the two phones from earlier, but Samsung did toss in a couple of new shots of their round smartwatch on wrist and in hand of a couple of models. Who doesn’t want more unreleased product imagery?

The images don’t necessarily tell us anything new in terms of features or tech, but they do show a better shot of the band and overall design. It’s sleek, that’s for sure. By no means does it look ridiculously oversized, like some of the previous smartwatches released in the wild. One shot shoes a silver watch body with white strap, while the other could include a black strap, though it’s impossible to tell since the photo is in black and white.

Overall, the watch looks nice. Unfortunately, this thing will probably be tied exclusively to Samsung devices, so those without a Galaxy device won’t have a chance at owning one anyway.

Below are the full images without the models cropped, for those interested. If you want even higher-res goods, hit up the source link for the full lookbook.

Via: Samsung

Thursday Poll: Which New Phone are You Buying?

Within the last month, we have been introduced to four new flagship phones – the Moto X Pure Edition, OnePlus 2, Galaxy Note 5, and Galaxy S6 Edge+. While those phones will either be here in days or a couple of weeks, we also are expecting new Nexus devices within the next few months. Toss in the iPhones that should be here next month and this really is a pretty incredible time to be in the market for a new smartphone.

We’ll have time for official reviews of each as we receive them to hopefully help you decide, but if you were deciding today, which phone would you buy?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ Pre-Order is Now Live!

Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ are now live! Samsung said it would make them available today by 3PM Eastern and they delivered.

We have links to Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile devices below to save you a Google search and a few clicks. Keep in mind that T-Mobile is the only one that isn’t actually doing a pre-order, but if you at least pre-register, they will give you a free year of Netflix after buying one of the two phones. Everyone else will let you pre-order. Most also have promo offers accompanying the devices for a short period of time.

Get after it.

Verizon:

AT&T:

Sprint:

Pre-order for either device

T-Mobile:

Pre-register for either device

Best Buy:

Galaxy S6 Edge+
Galaxy Note 5

Samsung Teased Its New Gear S2 Round Smartwatch Today

That right there, is the new Samsung Gear S2, the Korean company’s next round smartwatch that will be unveiled on September 3 in Berlin at the IFA conference. Samsung showed a quick teaser video of the watch today, during its Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ event. I don’t want to say that it stole the show, but it sure has people talking.

The video was quick, but it showed a new UI (probably Tizen-based) that looks more Apple Watch-ish than Android Wear. It’s heavily black, with round icons that sure mimic that terrible app launcher screen from the Apple Watch. Samsung did show that the apps can be accessed via rotating bezel, which could be a play on Apple’s rotating digital crown. The video also showed the watch taking a heartbeat, timing a workout, motivational prompts to move, weather, world clocks, and a handful of watch faces.

As for the body, we don’t exactly know if this is what the watch will look like. My guess is that it will closely resemble the round metallic watch seen here or Samsung wouldn’t have even bothered to include one at all. The watch appears to be made of metal, doesn’t have much bezel, and is 100% round. It looks tightly put together, unlike LG’s Watch Urbane, which is a disgusting monster of a timepiece, and might look quite clean on wrist.

Here are a bunch of screenshots from the clip:

If you would like to watch it yourself, head to the 1:13:29 mark in the video below.

Well, what do you think?

Look at This Silly Detachable QWERTY Keyboard for the Note 5 and S6 Edge+

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ are going to have all sorts of official accessories available to them upon launch. So far, Samsung has announced fast wireless charging pads, fast charging battery packs, clear view cover cases, clear covers, glossy covers, S View covers, Flip wallets, and even Glitter covers. See, there are a ton of options. But one in particular gave us a chuckle while bringing back memories of the days when Blackberry once dominated. It’s the detachable QWERTY keyboard cover. Yes, it’s real.

Samsung has produced this detachable keyboard cover for both the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+, suggesting that it would be great for those “lengthy chatting sessions, emails and social media updates.” It has also been “designed for heavy-duty typing” and gets a “dedicated UI when on the front” of the phone. Plus, when you are done, you can swap it around to the back to keep it out of the way.

It even has physical navigation buttons that sit atop physical navigation buttons. Homebuttonception.

I don’t know what to say, really. It’s a detachable keyboard! I’m both amused and sort of feeling a need to take it for a spin.

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ Tour

Announced this morning alongside the Galaxy Note 5, Samsung introduced the Galaxy S6 edge+, another device for those who enjoy larger displays.

This device features identical specs to the Galaxy Note 5, with its 5.7″ QHD Super AMOLED display, Exynos 7420 64-bit octa-core processor, 32GB and 64GB of internal storage, 4GB of RAM, 16MP rear-facing camera, 5MP front-facing camera, 3,000mAh non-removable battery, with TouchWiz running atop Android 5.1.1.

In-hand, the S6 edge+ is exactly like the first Galaxy S6 edge, but larger. With the 5.7″ display, I found this device somewhat odd to hold, especially since the edges of the display are so thin. On the Galaxy Note 5, this design is reversed, with the edges curving on the back, allowing for a much more comfortable grip of the device. The S6 edge+, however, feels like the exact opposite.

Sadly, this device holds no real value over the Galaxy Note 5, unless you truly want those “edge” features. The device comes equipped with Edge Display and People Edge, but from what I found during my review of the Galaxy S6 edge, these features don’t exactly offer much in terms of value. For its size, an S-Pen would have made sense to me, but if we are talking about just a purely larger Galaxy S6 edge, I struggle to find the point.

Check out the full gallery of photos below, then watch the hands-on video.

If you have any questions, shoot them below.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Tour!

We are live from Samsung’s Unpacked 2015 event, and we just got done playing with the new Galaxy Note 5. The device is set to launch in the US next month, with pre-orders beginning this week for those interested.

For specs, the Galaxy Note 5 features a 5.7″ QHD Super AMOLED display (518ppi), Exynos 7420 64-bit octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 16MP rear-facing camera with OIS, 5MP front-facing camera, 3,000mAh non-removable battery, 32GB and 64GB storage options (no microSD), microUSB port, and “fast wireless charging,” with Android 5.1.1 running underneath TouchWiz UI.

In-hand, I must say, Samsung has me believing in large devices once again. While the display is rather large at 5.7″, the phone’s footprint in my hand feels much better than that of the Galaxy Note 4, as Samsung was able to slim down the body quite a bit. The exterior is much like the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, featuring metallic framing and glass, giving the Galaxy Note 5 a super premium feel while in-hand.

As for what’s new, the list is not that long. Yes, the device has an updated design and a bit of updated hardware, but that’s about it. Hardcore Note series fans will likely be left frustrated, as removable batteries and expandable storage have long been calling cards of the Note lineup. With the removal of both of those key features, we will see just how loyal Samsung buyers truly are.

Sadly, representatives of Samsung state the Silver model I fell in love with may not come to the US, but that Gold Platinum and White will be available. Check out our hands-on video below and gallery of photos, then let us know in the comments if you are picking this device up.

If you have any questions, shoot them below.

Video: Official Introduction Videos for the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+

Our hands-on coverage of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ will be here shortly, but until then, feel free to watch Samsung’s recently uploaded official introduction videos for each device. These clips walk you through the differences between each and their predecessors, what their stand-out features are, and what makes each design unique.

Once you finish these, feel free to check out the list of carriers selling the device next week (with pricing too) and also the specs for each phone (Note 5 specs, S6 Edge+ specs).

Then, it’s time to weigh in. What are your thoughts so far on each phone?

Galaxy Note 5

Galaxy S6 Edge+

Sorry, Verizon Unlimited Data Users, You Still Can’t Upgrade Cheaply

Verizon’s new “The Verizon Plan” is now live and available for those interested in a simplified S-M-L-XL approach to voice and data service. We’ve talked a lot about it over the last week, even sharing exclusive details that were unavailable until today. But even with the info we were privy to, there was one subject we did not yet have an answer to that many having been on edge about – how does this all affect unlimited data users?

The subject was brought up because Verizon has insisted since announcing the new S-M-L-XL plans that if customers wanted to keep their current plans and still upgrade, they could without moving to the new plan. That news excited the hell out of unlimited data users who for all of these years have had to pay full retail for phones in order to keep their plans alive. Could Verizon be giving in to the handful that are left?

Sorry, no.

While there are situations where customers get to keep their current plans, upgrade to new phones at a discounted rate, and sign a new contract, unlimited data users cannot. According to a FAQ dedicated just to unlimited data users, Verizon states the following:

I have unlimited data on my account. Do I need to change to The Verizon Plan if I want to get a new device?

No, you’re not required to switch to The Verizon Plan when you get a new device; however, you’ll only have the option to keep unlimited data if you pay the retail price for your new device. When you upgrade to a phone at a discounted price, you have the option to choose from either a voice plan with a standalone data package or The Verizon Plan.

There you have it. In order to keep your unlimited data plan, you still have to pay full retail.

Via: Verizon

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ Specs (Official)

Next Friday, August 21, you will be able to buy the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ from all of these carriers. For those who skipped on the regular S6 Edge because of its somewhat smallish size, now you have the oversized option to hopefully satisfy your dual-edged needs.

Samsung, like with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, didn’t hold back here. We have glass and metal, the newest Exynos octa-core chip, fast storage, fast wireless and regular charging, plenty of RAM, sizable battery, what we are assuming will be the new best display in any smartphone, high-end camera with OIS and a unique dual-edge design.

Yep, this is as good as it gets for today’s mobile standards. Well, this and the Note 5.