APK BRO™ - Download APK Android Apps: 03/29/16

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Snapchat Intros Chat 2.0 With Reworked Features, Auto-Advance Stories

One aspect of Snapchat frequently overlooked is the ability to “chat” with friends. Similar to Hangouts or any other instant messaging app, you can whip up a few sentences, then send them along to a friend who maybe sent you a really funny snap recently. It is sometimes easier to reply with words than with a snap of your own. With that said, Snapchat announced Chat 2.0 today, brining a more intuitive chatting experience to users of the service.

According to Snapchat, they wanted users to more easily share videos, short audio notes, and even stickers to help friends communicate within the application. As stated on the Snapchat blog, “What we love most about the new Chat is how easily you can transition between all these ways of communicating — just like you do in person. When that’s possible, you aren’t texting, calling, or video chatting… you’re just talking.”

In addition to updated features for Chat, the service is also including Auto-Advance Stories, labeled as the “fastest way to catch up with your friends.” When you are finished viewing a Story, the next one will begin automatically. You can swipe to skip ahead in a Story, or pull down to exit the story completely.

Chat 2.0 for Snapchat is rolling out now, so be sure to update your Snapchat app by following the Google Play link below.

Play Link

Via: Snapchat

SoundCloud Go Subscription Now Available in US, Priced at $10/Month

SoundCloud Go, the service’s paid subscription model, is now available to all users in the US. With SoundCloud Go, normal operation of SoundCloud will remain the same, but members who sign up will receive added benefits, such as a deeper library of things to listen to, an option to listen offline, plus an ad-free listening experience.

With the increased library, SoundCloud details that users will be able to access “massive hits,” the “latest tracks from the biggest names,” as well as a larger number of underground music tracks and podcasts. All of this music can be discovered directly within the SoundCloud app for Android.

The ability to listen to your tracks offline is also included, meaning that even if you don’t have Internet access via WiFi or cell signal, saved (cached) tracks on your device can still be heard. This is the same functionality you see from apps such as Google Play Music.

Here’s what you get with SoundCloud Go.

Even more tracks from emerging and established creators – including the massive hits, the latest tracks from the biggest names, the sounds of the underground, the most engaging podcasts and the best of what’s up-and-coming – all in one place
The ability to listen offline on your mobile device without a cell signal or internet connection
An uninterrupted, ad-free listening experience

Ready to give it a shot? SoundCloud Go can be taken on a test drive for 30 days free of charge, but after that, the service costs $10 a month, or $13 a month if purchased through the SoundCloud app for iOS devices.

Via: SoundCloud

NCAA Final Four and National Championship to be Viewable in Virtual Reality Thanks to Gear VR

Announced by the NCAA this week, viewers of the Final Four and National Championship will have the ability to watch the games in virtual reality, thanks to a special app created for owners of the Gear VR by Samsung. At game time, you will open up the app, slap on your headset, then find yourself sitting court side for a perspective that is usually only enjoyed by those with enough money to afford those types of seats.

During the stream, you will hear commentary from Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and Tracy Wolfson, along with sounds directly from the arena. Additionally, a “virtual scoreboard” will be available for viewing, as well as detailed stats.

If own a Gear VR, be sure to download the NCAA March Madness Live VR app directly from the Oculus store on your mobile device. For the rest of us who enjoy watching the tube as we regularly would, you can watch the games on their usual stations or online via the NCAA website.

I read somewhere that only 0.1% of all brackets had these schools in the Final Four. Funny, that’s about the same percentage of chance there is of me wearing Gear VR to watch the games.

Via: NCAA

Latest HTC 10 Teaser Says to Expect “Fastest and Smoothest Android” Yet

In the latest teaser for the HTC 10, HTC, the VR-focused electronics company who now makes phones on the side, is bragging up their next phone’s performance. Not only that, but they have confirmed the Samsung-esque button setup on the phone’s chin, although it is at least in the correct arrangement.

The teaser says that we should expect the “fastest and smoothest Android” yet, which is actually something we love to hear as Android elitists. Android “jank” has almost always been a problem on phones not made by Google, so hopefully HTC can prove to the world that all Android skins really aren’t “created equal.” I would imagine that the next version of Sense that will be coupled with the HTC 10 will be leaner than ever, helping it with performance.

As for the button setup, well, you can see it there. We are looking at a centered home button that doubles as a fingerprint sensor, with back and app switcher flanking it. It’s not a setup I would typically prefer, but as I mentioned above, at least they put the buttons in the correct spots with back on the left and app switcher on the right. Even Samsung can’t seem to get that right.

Part of me is still holding out hope that we’ll be able to turn off the capacitive buttons and go with an on-screen setup, like we saw on the OnePlus 2. Will HTC? We haven’t seen any indication of that happening. A boy can dream.

After seeing this new teaser, specs from GFXbench, and all of those leaked pictures from yesterday, your interest has to be growing some? Come on, you have to be at least a bit curious, right?

Not all phones are created equal. The fastest and smoothest Android. You’ll feel it. #powerof10 http://pic.twitter.com/LXx3ahbj32

— HTC USA (@HTCUSA) March 29, 2016

DEAL: dbrand Hosting Storewide 30% Off Sale Because Bamboo

dbrand, sponsorer of half of the internet’s content, but also maker of fine skins for your tech products, is hosting a storewide 30% off sale to celebrate the fact that bamboo skins are back. Bamboo, kid!

If you want something as simple as a new back for your Galaxy S7 or Nexus 6P, you are looking at spending just $5.97 at the moment. If you want a bigger option for something like a Macbook, a top skin could run you as little as $15. Of course, their skins still come in a variety of textures and colors, including metals, matte finishes, wood, leather, and yes, bamboo.

The deal runs for 48 hours, but we could already be a handful of hours into it. Better get after it.

dbrand Link

Many More Banks Adding Support for Samsung Pay, Here’s the List

A large number of banks across the US are adding support for Samsung Pay this week, which is great news for owners of the Galaxy S7 or any other Samsung device that supports the company’s mobile payments platform. In the list of new banks supported, there are multiple credit unions from all over the place, including Altra Federal, Blackhawk Community, and Fidelity Bank.

On Samsung’s website, they detail which exact cards are supported from these banks. For example, one bank will support its entire card portfolio, while others will only support consumer credit or debit cards. It is all dependent on the bank.

See the full list of added banks below.

Added Banks

Altra Federal Credit Union
Bank of England
Benchmark Federal Credit Union
Blackhawk Community Credit Union
BHCU
Fidelity Bank
Founders Federal Credit Union
Greater Texas Federal Credit Union
Henrico Federal Credit Union
Kern Schools Federal Credit Union
Justice Federal Credit Union
MSU Federal Credit Union
NuMark Credit Union
Old National Bank
Star One Credit Union
TruWest Credit Union

For detailed info on any of these newly supported banks, follow the via link.

Via: Samsung

Tuesday Poll: Do You Have a Home Phone?

Google introduced Fiber Phone, today, a home phone service that seemingly exists because there are real humans in the world that still need a home phone. I don’t personally know any, but today’s poll should fix that. Actually, we are curious how many of you still have home phone service and what your reasons for doing so are.

So that’s it, we just want to know if you have home phone service. Easy enough?

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

Instagram Rolling Out 60 Second Video Support for All

When Instagram launched the ability to share videos to those who follow you, let’s face it, they basically killed Vine. Now, Instagram is upping the support of video length, from 15 seconds, to an entire 60 seconds (aka 1 minute). That means longer kitty videos, your friends throwing out longer political rants, and probably even longer advertisements.

According to IG, this change will begin rolling out today, and all users should see it within the upcoming months. For those on iOS, they will soon have the ability to create videos from multiple video clips in their gallery, a feature currently unavailable for Android.

There is no guarantee that your account will see support for this feature today, as Instagram is pretty loose on their timeline. However, to ensure you have the best chance at taking advantage of the longer videos, be sure to always run the latest version of the Android app available.

Cool?

Play Link

Via: Instagram

Google Introduces Fiber Phone, Faxing and Dot Matrix Printing Likely Next

Today, because it is “still important to many families,” Google introduced Fiber Phone, a home phone add-on to its Fiber internet service. Fiber Phone is a new way to help you stay connected, because it’s a lot like having Google Voice for your home.

With Fiber Phone, you are looking at a $10 per month charge for unlimited local and nationwide calling, along with Google Voice rates for international calls. Google says that if you sign-up, you get to keep your old phone number (can pick a new one too) and can use call waiting, caller ID, and 911 services like before. Fiber Phone will also transcribe your voice messages through text or email.

As for the Google Voice comparison, Fiber Phone gives you access to your calls from almost anywhere in the world. As Google notes, your Fiber Phone lives in the cloud, so you can have calls to it ring through to not only your home phone, but to your phones or tablets as well. As a Google Voice user, I can’t even try to explain how important of a feature this is.

Google says that Fiber Phone is available in a “few areas” now, but will arrive to new areas before long, You can sign-up here.

Via: Google Fiber Blog

HTC 10 Hits GFXBench With 5.1″ QHD Display, Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM

The HTC 10 has arrived on GFXBench, giving us a fantastic overview of the specs we might expect to see launch with the device next month. However, until the phone is official, spec listings should be read with a bit of skepticism, but at this point, we are so close to an unveiling that the chances of these specs being spot on are very high.

According to the listing, the HTC 10 will come wielding a 5.1″ QHD display (2560 x 1440), Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of onboard storage, 11MP rear-facing camera (4000 x 3000 max resolution) with 4K shooting capability, 5MP front-facing camera, and Android 6.0.1. One spec that is not present, is the battery.

Comparing these specs to other devices currently available, the one phone that sticks out in my mind is the Galaxy S7 from Samsung. That phone also features a 5.1″ QHD display, Snapdragon 820, and 4GB of RAM. Differences will include the IP68 rating, and the custom OEM skins that Samsung and HTC deploy on their smartphones, of course.

As we lead up to the device’s unveiling, we have seen many reported photos of the device, and HTC continues to tease features that will launch with it. April 12 can’t come soon enough.

Do these specs, which are very similar to what the Galaxy S7 features, interest you?

Via: GFXBench

T-Mobile Might Launch Data-Only Plans on March 30

Because T-Mobile is “about giving customers the freedom to use their devices however they want,” the company is planning to launch data-only plans on March 30, at least according to a leaked document posted by Tmonews.

Why data-only plans? Because not everyone places phone calls these days in the traditional sense. Some use VoIP (voice-over-IP) services and don’t think they should have to pay for the minutes portion of a wireless service plan. Others, well, they may not even want to be able to place calls at all, but still want the wireless data connectivity.

The new data-only plans are going to be available to GSM devices only and are not eligible for T-Mobile’s $10 Automatic Mobile Internet Discount. They do include unlimited texting, though.

The plans will look like this:

2GB for $20
6GB for $35
10GB for $50
14GB for $65
18GB for $80
22GB for $95

Below is the document.

Interested?

Via: Tmonews

Report: Facebook Messenger to Offer “Secret Conversations,” In-Store Purchase Feature

According to code buried within the Messenger app from Facebook, new features may soon be available that will lead to a more secure chatting experience for users. As detailed by The Information, secret conversations, which is likely a reference to encrypted messaging, would allow users to chat a bit more privately, a feature that is currently available to users of WhatsApp.

Beyond encrypted messaging, a feature for in-person shoppers is also being hinted. Apparently, with a future update to Messenger, you would be able to make purchases for items at select stores, then pick up the item in person. For example, you could purchase a large quantity of paper towels through Messenger from Target, then go pick them up while you are running errands later in the day. This is only an example, as how the service actually works is still unconfirmed.

Additionally, if you are already in a supported retailer, you could pay for your items straight from the Messenger app, no cash needed. This will only be possible if your payment information is already stored on Messenger, which exists already for sending friends money.

Facebook declined to comment on any of The Information’s findings, but if the code is readily viewable by those willing to dig, it would seem that we must be getting close to a launch.

Would you use Messenger to pay for goods at a retailer, instead of your wallet?

Via: The Information [Subscription]

Latest Google Photos Update No Longer Defaults to Creating Copies of Edited Photos

In Google Photos v1.17, which should be available to all this morning, Google has changed the way photo edits work, likely in a move to help save space on your phone. After editing a photo, your phone will no longer default to saving a copy of the photo and will instead replace the original with the changes you have made. Don’t worry, though, as Google is still letting you undo all of the edits and return back to the original if you need to.

With this change, phones with little storage or no SD card support will be able to save some space. It also helps clean up photo galleries that may otherwise look like they have duplicates. Overall, it’s a simplification of the editing process.

Still, you can save copies of edited photos if you want to. While editing a photo, you’ll see the “Save” button in the top right corner of the edit screen next to an action overflow button (menu). If you don’t want to save a copy and instead overwrite the original, just tap “Save.” If you want a copy, tap that menu button and choose “Save copy.”

Finally, if you do choose the “Save” route and write over the top of your original photo, you can always tap that menu button and choose “Undo edits” to get it back to that original state.

Play Link

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Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Via: Snapchat

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