Google may not be releasing Android 7.0 for older Nexus phones and tablets, but that hasn’t stopped independent developers from doing it. Xda-developers forum member Santhosh M has released an early build of Android 7.0 Nougat for the Google Nexus 5, one of the phones Google is leaving behind. I suspect this is just the […]
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Huawei Honor 8 to get two years of software updates, maybe custom ROM support
Now that Huawei’s Honor 8 smartphone is launching around the globe, it’s getting pretty good review for its distinctive design, decent specs, and strong performance… especially when you consider that the phone has a starting price of $400. But we’ve seen phones with mid-range specs and high-end features in the past… and sometimes they don’t […]
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CyanogenMod 13 gets security, feature updates
The developers of CyanogenMod have released a new stable build of their operating system for dozens of phones and tablets. CyanogenMod is an open source operating system based on Google Android. It can be installed on a wide range of phones, tablets, and other devices as a replacement for the operating system that came with […]
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Custom ROMs, kernel source released for some MediaTek-powered phones
MediaTek’s processors have proven immensely popular with Chinese smartphone makers in recent years. But phones with those chips haven’t received much love from the folks who develop custom ROMs, kernels, and other altered firmware for Android devices… largely because MediaTek’s habit of failing to release the kernel source code for its chips, as required by […]
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Paranoid Android is back with a new Marshmallow-based custom ROM
Paranoid Android is a custom version of Android known for building unusual features on top of Google’s mobile operating system. Halo, PIE controls, and Hover, for example, presented new ways to multitask, deal with on-screen navigation buttons, and interact with notifications. But it’s been a few years since Paranoid Android released a new ROM. Phone maker […]
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CyanogenMod 13 released, brings Android 6.0 to dozens of phones, tablets
The next version of Google Android may be coming soon, but the vast majority of Android phones and tablets on the market are still running Android 5.x or earlier versions of the operating system, even though Android 6.0 has been available for almost a year. Tired of waiting for your phone maker to release Android 6.0 […]
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Windows Phone Internals opens door for root, custom ROMs on Lumia phones
Some folks like to hack their smartphones to add support for apps and features that wouldn’t otherwise be available. That’s why there’s a community of iOS users that jailbreak their devices (or find new ways to do so), and a huge community of Android users rooting their phones and tablets, unlocking bootloaders, and installing custom […]
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Hacking Amazon’s Fire tablet
Amazon’s Fire tablet is probably one of the best tablets you can buy for $50… and on Thanksgiving weekend Amazon is selling it for just $35, which makes it an even better bargain. Update: This article was originally published in 2015, and while some of the tips below are still useful, Amazon has released several software […]
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CyanogenMod users can now install Cyanogen OS apps
CyanogenMod is an open source, custom version of Android developed and maintained by a community of volunteers, while Cyanogen OS is a commercial operating system developed by Cyanogen Inc… a company founded by some of the lead developers of the open source project. In other words, while you can install CyanogenMod on dozens of Android […]
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Android 6.0 comes to the HP TouchPad (unofficially)
It’s been years since HP has released an official software update for the long-discontinued HP TouchPad tablet. But independent developers have been keeping the tablet up to date by porting various versions of Google Android run on the tablet for ages. Now it’s Android 6.0 Marshmallow’s turn. Developer Flintman has released an alpha build of Evervolv based […]
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Now you can install Android 6.0 on a Nexus 4 (unofficially)
Google recently released Android 6.0 Marshmallow for recent Nexus phones, tablets, and TV boxes. How recent? If you’ve got a Nexus 5 smartphone you’re good to go. But if you’ve got a Nexus 4, not so much. At least that’s true if you want to install an official version of Android 6.0 distributed by Google. […]
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Free and open source Android framework attempts to replace Google Play Services
Google’s Android operating system may be open source software, but some of the most popular Android apps including YouTube, Google Maps, and the Chrome web browser are not. Neither is Google Play Services, which is a framework that many apps from Google and other developers tap into. So while any device maker can load up […]