APK BRO™ - Download APK Android Apps: 05/17/16

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Report: Project Chirp, Google’s Amazon Echo Competitor, to be Called Google Home

On the eve of Google I/O, details are emerging regarding Google’s Project Chirp. If you have missed the previous reports, Project Chirp (otherwise known simply as Chirp), is the Amazon Echo competitor device that Google is working on, said to be powered by Google Now and other Google technologies. According to the latest report from the New York Times, Chirp will be officially called Google Home, set to be unveiled during Google’s keynote address tomorrow morning in Mountain View, CA.

Detailed in the report, Google Home will do essentially everything Echo can do, which is answer simple questions using the web, as well as possibly connect to other smart devices in your home. That’s the goal, at least. Not too many tidbits on operation were given, but considering we are potentially less than 24 hours away from unveiling, we will know everything soon enough.

According to the source of the New York Times, Google Home will not be available for purchase until this fall, but with an unveiling during Google I/O, you can expect that Google is looking to bolster app integration and support for 3rd-party systems by the time launch comes around. The Echo from Amazon has had nearly two years to build on the platform, so Google has a bit of catching up to do.

Let’s see a show of hands for who is anticipating the announcement of Google Home.

Via: The New York Times

Hugo Barra Teases Xiaomi Mi Android TV Reveal for Google I/O?

Hugo Barra, former master presenter of Android at Google who now overseas the fun happening with Xiaomi, teased a couple of interesting bits of Google I/O related material this week, prompting those of us in this tech sphere to wonder if Xiaomi has co-developed a product with Google to be announced tomorrow. You can see the tweets below that prompted the speculation, both of which appear to show something gaming and TV focused.

See them? First we have a gamepad combo and then we a volume up switch that could be sitting below a power button for a remote, next to the shape of the device? Maybe? Your vision may come up with something different, but that’s what I’m seeing.

Barra did say specifically that they “will be a part” of Google I/O, so this isn’t him just running with the hype and teasing a product that will launch outside of I/O. Xiaomi is also no stranger to TV-like products. They currently sell a stand-alone TV along with a TV box, like a Nexus Player or Fire TV.

Could this be a new Nexus Player with extra gaming capabilities? Maybe it’s just a new Mi product that has official Android support? I don’t know, but I’m excited.

Guess which super combo move we’ll be making at #io16 http://pic.twitter.com/eDVGNbz6vs

— Hugo Barra (@hbarra) May 17, 2016

Beyond thrilled to share that Xiaomi will be a part of Google I/O. A sneak peek of what you'll see from Mi at #io16 http://pic.twitter.com/GP3HHE3F6c

— Hugo Barra (@hbarra) May 17, 2016

Question of the Day: What are You Hoping to See at Google I/O Tomorrow?

So, umm, Google I/O starts tomorrow. You didn’t forget did you? If so, be sure to read our quick preview, as it dives into the latest rumors and also includes predictions on what we may or may not see.

Since we are on the eve of the magic that is I/O, we thought we would give you one last chance to weigh in with thoughts everything before it becomes official. Let’s talk about what we want to see the most, which sessions have grabbed our attention, and how awesome Matias’ outfit is going to look on stage at an amphitheater.

Ready? Go!

Starz App Updated to Support Android TV

The Starz app, available on Google Play, has been updated to support Android TV devices. This support includes set-top boxes, like the NVIDIA SHIELD and Nexus Player, as well as HDTV sets that have Android TV baked in. Based on a subscription model, like many other channels, users pay $8.99/month for access to Starz’s programming, which includes Outlander, The Girlfriend Experience, and Power.

With a subscription, up to four viewers can watch content simultaneously, as well as download titles for offline viewing. However, if a user already pays for Starz via their cable TV provider, simply use your existing credentials to log into the Starz application for easy access. For anyone subscribed to the Starz sister sites, Starz Encore or MoviePlex, use the official Starz app for the one-stop shop streaming experience.

The newly added Android TV support is available in the latest update, downloadable now on Google Play. As a programming note, you can expect to see a few posts like this over the week, thanks to Google I/O taking place.

Play Link

Via: Starz

Report: Moto X Line to be Replaced by New Moto Z Phones

According to a report out of Venturebeat, the Moto X line may have been unceremoniously retired by Lenovo in favor of a new Moto line dubbed Moto Z. This news comes on the heels of Lenovo announcing new Moto G phones that may show up later this summer in the US and just before Lenovo shows off new Moto products at its Tech World conference in early June.

Today’s report claims that unpublished marketing materials have revealed the new branding, which also might shift the DROID line at Verizon into Moto Z branding. Let’s talk about what we are being told today.

The Moto X line is dead and the Moto Z line is taking over. The two Motorola phones under codenames Vector Thin and Vertex, whose details were leaked last week, will arrive publicly as the Moto Z Style and Moto Z Play, respectively. Those names certainly match up to last year’s Moto X Pure Edition, which was more widely presented as Moto X Style outside of the US. Its counterpart, as you may recall, was the Moto X Play.

As for the DROID line, Verizon and Moto may end up ditching the Turbo and MAXX lines in favor of this Moto Z branding, only they’ll be dubbed “DROID Edition.” So we could have a Moto Z Style “DROID Edition” and Moto Z Play “DROID Edition.” That’s ridiculous, but then again, these are DROID phones we’re talking about.

Finally, we have additional information on the modular aspect to all of these phones. According to today’s report, the individual modules may end up being sold as MotoMods instead of Amps, which was previously rumored.

So much re-branding. I hope you know what you are doing, Lenovo.

Via: Venturebeat

This is the OnePlus 3, a Mix of HTC One M9 and iPhone

Thanks to Evan Blass, this is likely our first good look at the upcoming OnePlus 3 from OnePlus. As you will see, the phone appears to be the perfect blending of a One M9 from HTC and an iPhone from Apple. It’s not that this is a bad thing, or that we’re calling OnePlus out, it’s just happens to be the best way to describe what the phone looks like, in our opinion.

According to Evan, at least one of the specs we reported on yesterday in our rumor roundup is correct, which is the AMOLED display. The only other spec listed by Evan is a 3,000mAh battery, which does not align with the previously reported 3,500mAh battery size. Other specs we are expecting, thanks to previous leaks, are a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB and 6GB RAM models, 16MP rear-facing camera, and Android 6.0.1.

Looking over this render, I would say that the OnePlus 3 looks pretty good. On the lefthand side, we have the notification toggle, just as it is on the OnePlus 2. There is a front-facing fingerprint reader, volume rocker on the left side, power button on the right side, USB Type-C, single bottom-facing speaker, and 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom of the phone.

We still don’t have a date from OnePlus for when to expect a launch, but we’re getting close.

Thoughts on the render?

Via: @evleaks

T-Mobile Ups Binge On Services With Google Play Music, TIDAL, Spotify

T-Mobile announced today that its Binge On video service now supports over 80 streaming platforms, thanks to the addition of a new wave.

New video-only services include NBC, Univision, and Qello Concerts, but T-Mobile has also added in music services that happen to show videos. Services like Google Play Music, Radio Disney, Spotify, and TIDAL all have videos within their apps and so it only makes sense that Binge On add them to help ease data concerns of T-Mobile customers.

This is the 5th amping of Binge On since its launch, which means there are few video services left that aren’t a part of the throttling fun. If you want to ~~help reduce the network strain on T-Mobile~~ reduce the amount of data your video watching takes up, Binge On should get you there.

The full list of today’s additions is:

Google Play Music
Great Big Story
NBC
Kiswe
Ligonier Ministries
NOGGIN
Qello Concerts
Radio Disney
Univision
Univision Noticias
Spotify
TIDAL
Toon Goggles

Via: T-Mobile

AT&T Galaxy S6 is Getting Its Marshmallow Update

Galaxy S6 owners who are stuck with AT&T, your Marshmallow update is incoming. In fact, you may be able to pull it right now. A number of owners of the phone over at reddit have been downloading and updates their Galaxy S6s all morning, so you may want to take a look.

The update supposedly weighs in at about 1.5GB and software version “PD6.” I wish I could tell you more, but AT&T has all but abandoned their individual device support pages these days and has yet to update with Marshmallow info for the Galaxy S6. Feel free to keep checking here for the latest.

To check for the update, which should be Android 6.0.1, head into Settings>About device>Software update>Check for updates.

Anyone seeing it?

Via: reddit

Cheers Red5!

WatchESPN Streaming Hits Android TV Through ESPN App

Those interested in shooting balls through hoops, shooting pucks into nets, hitting balls over fences, kicking balls into nets, or watching James Harden reinvent the pratfall, access to WatchESPN has been added to the official ESPN application for Android TV. To watch the action, users will need the ESPN app installed, available on all Android TV models, and will also come shipped on all new Nexus Players, according to ESPN.

Bundled into the new offering, ESPN will also provide access to short-form video clips, as well as ESPN Classic on-demand content for streaming. As stated by ESPN, “Delivering our content seamlessly within this app-like user interface on Android TV embraces a growing trend in consumer behavior and consumption habits.”

To have access to all of the videos, a user will need a paid TV subscription from pretty much any cable provider in the US. That also includes satellite TV. If you pay for TV at home, it’s likely that you have ESPN, so to use the ESPN app, simply log into your TV account via the ESPN app and then you are all set for sports watching.

How about them OKC Thunder, yeah?

Play Link

Via: ESPN

Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus, and Moto G Play Specs (Official)

Looking for the full specs for the new Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus, and Moto G4 Play? Here they are.

Now that Motorola has re-opened their website with all of the details, we’ve laid out each in the table below to help you compare the new Moto G family. As we mentioned in our initial write-up, the Moto G4 Plus is the higher-end of the three, while the the Moto G4 Play falls somewhere around Moto E territory.

But thanks to the full specs lists, we now know that we are dealing with Snapdragon 617 and 410 processors, that the G4 Play only has a 720p display, and that you may get up to 4GB RAM and 64GB storage on the G4 Plus.

Have at ’em!

	Moto G4	Moto G4 Plus	Moto G4 Play
Software	Android 6.0.1, Marshmallow	Android 6.0.1, Marshmallow	Android 6.0.1, Marshmallow
Processor	1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core Adreno 405 GPU	1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core Adreno 405 GPU	1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core Adreno 306 GPU
RAM	2GB	2GB/4GB	2GB
Storage	16GB/32GB, up to 128GB microSD	16GB/32GB/64GB, up to 128GB microSD	16GB, up to 128GB microSD
Dimensions	153x76.6x7.9-9.8mm 155g	153x76.6x7.9-9.8mm 155g	144.4x72x8.95-9.9mm 137g
Display	5.5" Full HD (1920 x 1080), 401 ppi	5.5" Full HD (1920 x 1080), 401 ppi	5" HD (1280 x 720), 294 ppi
Battery	3000mAh TurboPower charging	3000mAh TurboPower charging	2800mAh
Water Protection	Water repellent nano-coating	Water repellent nano-coating	Water repellent nano-coating
Camera	Rear: 13MP, f/2.0 Front: 5MP, f/2.2 wide-angle	Rear: 16MP, f2.0, laser and phase detect autofocus Front: 5MP, f/2.2 wide-angle	Rear: 8MP, f/2.2 Front: 5MP, f/2.2
Connectivity	WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.1	WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.1	WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz), Bluetooth 4.1
Ports	MicroUSB, 3.5mm headphone	MicroUSB, 3.5mm headphone	MicroUSB, 3.5mm headphone
SIM	Micro SIM, nano SIM with adaptor	Micro SIM, nano SIM with adaptor	Micro SIM, nano SIM with adaptor
Fingerprint	None	Yes	None
Colors	Black or white, with Moto Maker shells	Black or white, with Moto Maker shells	Black or white

Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus, and Moto G4 Play All Announced, Coming Soon to North America

Moto and Lenovo unwrapped a new Moto G family this morning in India and Brazil, a family that includes three phones, not two. Please welcome in the Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus, and Moto G4 Play, three phones that should match up to the world’s “unique” people who all “use their phones differently.”

The Moto G4 (or Moto G 4th gen) sports a 5.5-inch Full HD display (1080p), 13MP camera, 3000mAh battery, Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB or 32GB internal storage with SD support, and charges quickly when needed with TurboPower. Like previous generations, this new Moto G also has interchangeable shells, so that you can customize the look and make it yours.

The Moto G4 Plus is the exact same phone as the Moto G4, only with a handful of addition features that might make it slightly more appealing. You still have the 5.5-inch FHD display and 3000mAh battery with Turbo charging, but Moto also tossed in a 16MP camera with laser and phase detect autofocus. Moto used DxOMark to either test or optimize their camera, so DxOMark says that this camera is among the best and tops the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. And finally, the Moto G4 Plus has a fingerprint reader as well, but can be found with 64GB internal storage and 4GB RAM, along with the 2GB version.

On the lower end, we have the Moto G4 Play, a phone with a “reliable” Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 5-inch 720p display, and 2800mAh battery. Motorola’s press release isn’t saying, but my guess is that this is more like a new Moto E than a true Moto G.

You can find full Moto G4 specs here.

The Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus arrive in Brazil starting today, while the Moto G Plus, by itself, hits India. Moto says to expect both of these phones to show up in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific before long. The Moto G Play arrives this summer.

UPDATE: Motorola is now saying to not expect the Moto G4 or Moto G4 Plus until “mid-Summer.”