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Android powers a wide range of mobile features, from local artificial intelligence applications and navigation tools to messaging security measures. Hitechreports covers recent updates, software additions, and marketplace developments involving the platform.
Google Messages is now the default texting app on nearly every Android phone, including Samsung's. Here's where to find the settings that limit tracking, quiet notifications and rein in Gemini.
Google Messages' rigid spam filter is pushing some Android users toward QUIK, a free, open-source SMS app that lets people build their own block lists with regex and third-party caller-ID tools.
Tom's Guide's review of Amazon's new Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, a $499 Android slate replacing the Fire tablet line, calls out its aluminum build, 12-inch display and Alexa+ features, though Android's reliability draws a caveat.
How-To Geek dug into the settings menu and found four customizations most drivers miss. The McLaren F1 car icon is the flashiest, but the EV plug filter and offline-map controls may be the ones you actually use.
The Gemini app on Android now features a redesigned side panel with search at top right and a consolidated settings page, following last week's rollout to iOS, macOS, and web with Gemini 4 Argon.
Google Maps now includes a Lens search tool, an AI assistant called Ask Maps, 3D Immersive Navigation, Gemini-powered landmark directions, and proactive traffic alerts, though rollout varies by device and region.
An Android Police contributor walks through extracting app databases, decompiling hardened APKs, and feeding the results to Gemini to surface hidden trackers, cleartext traffic and excessive permissions.
Google Messages is rolling out an Enhanced Protection mode that leans on Gemini AI to catch scams and sketchy links, building on the Standard Protection the app already offers against spam.
Code inside a Google Messages beta build shows the app's settings screen getting reorganized into distinct sections, replacing today's single cluttered list of RCS, notification and bubble options.
Google has confirmed it is extending free Satellite SOS access on Pixel 9 phones by one additional year, with no word yet on pricing or whether the service will continue after that.
Meta has expanded its scheduled messaging test to iOS beta testers, letting users queue texts, links, and media up to two weeks ahead on their iPhones.
YouTube is moving the Subscriptions tab out of its mobile bottom bar to make room for prompt-driven custom feeds, with paying subscribers receiving extra slots across their devices.
Pixel users who want Waze instead of Google Maps as their default navigation app now have to fully disable Google Maps first, after an August Android update removed the simpler default-app switch.
A new iOS camera app called WorthWait forces users to shoot a 24- or 36-frame roll and wait 24 hours before seeing any of the photos, mimicking disposable film cameras.
Google is adding an opt-in Enhanced protection mode to Google Messages on Android that uses Gemini to flag drawn-out scam conversations and checks unfamiliar links before you open them.
Oppo's Find X10 Pro Max can now take a dedicated Hasselblad teleconverter attachment, tripling optical focal length to 230mm at the expense of accessing the other rear cameras.
You can delete Google Photos, disable Drive sync, and uninstall Gemini — then still browse your photos, back up your files, and run capable AI — all on stock Android.
Rambler voice typing is now running on Pixel 8 Pro — and any Android phone — via a modded keyboard called PixelBoard. No Pixel 11 required.
Google has launched the Pixel 11 Pro XL at $1,299 in the US and ₹1,14,999 in India — matching the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s price while delivering a camera system that reviewers call dependable, not dominant.
The Google Pixel 11 Pro HiLight launched with just five LED colors for contact notifications — despite hardware supporting more — and users are calling the slow, beta-only rollout of additional options 'absolutely insane' given the $999 price.
Audiophile.fm has launched on iOS and Android, offering free, ad-free streaming of CD-quality and hi-res FLAC radio stations across jazz, classical, electronic, and rock without subscription fees.
Starting November 17, 2026, Google will begin force-migrating Gems on personal Google accounts into Skills—and Gems disappear for good on consumer accounts. Scheduled Actions remain free. Spark is now Task in the UI, but requires Google AI Pro or Ultra. Back up your Gems now.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 owners are manually adjusting app aspect ratios — 4:3, 16:9, or full screen — because too many apps still assume a phone-shaped screen, not a foldable one.
Rambler — the Pixel 11’s smart voice-typing feature — is now installable on any Android phone. But it’s unofficial, unsupported, and comes with caveats.
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 3 launches globally — but not in India until January 2027. That’s confirmed by Daill Kim, Samsung India’s Head of Tablet, Note PC and Wearable, in a LinkedIn post cited by Gizmochina.
The Pixel 11 is out: faster than the Pixel 10, with marginally better cameras and quicker charging. But its headline feature — a new HiLight notification LED — has drawn muted reactions.
Tap, Tap brings back-tap gestures to any Android 7.0+ device — with double- and triple-tap support, conditional triggers, and Tasker integration. It’s free, open source, and available now on GitHub.
Samsung has scheduled the Galaxy F70 5G India launch for October 18. Teased on Flipkart below Rs 20,000, it brings a 120Hz AMOLED screen, Gorilla Glass Victus, and OIS.
Samsung is testing its in-house Exynos 2700 for the Galaxy S27 Ultra following thermal issues with Qualcomm silicon, while regulatory listings reveal a reshuffled four-phone lineup with stripped-back connectivity.
Link to Windows beta adds remote shutdown, restart, sleep, and update-install controls for Windows PCs — all from Android.