Update

How to create awesome pixel art for your games and apps

Pixel art has a certain retro appeal to it that harkens back to the 8, 16 and 32 bit console eras. Today though, it is more likely to be found in any number of indie and mobile games and is currently enjoying something of a resurgence. It’s a fantastic way to get around the technological limitations that come from being an independent developer and from mobile hardware. This way, you can make less work for yourself and shrink your file sizes – but rather than looking cheap, it will look like a deliberate stylistic choice.

Pocket Pixel Horror will make you scared of 2D pixels

Halloween 2016 has been over for a few weeks now, but everyone likes a good scare at any time of the year. Developer Jesse Makkonen hopes to bring Android gamers some creepy experiences with DISTRAINT: Pocket Pixel Horror, which is now available on the Google Play Store after making its debut on PC in 2015. 10 best Android horror games for a good scare Apps The game centers on a character called Price, who apparently is one of those upwardly mobile folks who would do anything to make a business deal.

Samsung could bring Google Assistant to TVs, lowering wall around Bixby

A new report from Variety suggests some interesting news: Samsung could bring Google Assistant to its 2019 televisions. This would be the first time Samsung has allowed a virtual assistant on its TV products that isn’t its own Bixby. Although information is scarce at the moment, Variety suggests the two virtual assistants will live next to each other in harmony, similar to how Google Assistant and Alexa are both made available on LG televisions.

Andru, one of the best chargers, is about to get its dark side on

Phone chargers aren’t really the type of accessory that excites people. Usually it’s some black or gray cord that plugs into the wall, the computer, or your car and provides your phone or tablet with power. No one really thinks about chargers too much. GEN, a new company that makes chargers, does think about it and that’s when Andru was born.According to their official website, they created Andru chargers to bring a little fun to charging.

Google Camera update strips wide-angle astrophotography from Pixels

David Imel / Android Authority TL;DR Google has quietly ditched astrophotography support for the wide-angle shooters on Pixel phones. Version 8.1 of the Google Camera app now only allows night sky shooting at 1x zoom or tighter. It’s unclear if the option to switch between the two cameras will return to these phones at a later date. Google initially allowed users to shoot astrophotography images using the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5‘s primary or ultrawide cameras.

Google Flutter - what is it, and how to use it for cross-platform app creation

Porting your Android app to iOS requires time and effort. Along the way you may start to wonder whether this is really the best use of your time — wouldn’t it make more sense to concentrate on polishing the work you’ve done so far, rather than simply re-creating it on another platform? Ideally, you’d be able to cut your development time by creating a single app that can run across multiple platforms.

Google Handwriting Input adds Arabic, Urdu, and three other languages

Google Handwriting Input has been the savior of the keyboard-remedial since its inception. It got its own stand-alone app earlier this year, but since then, we haven’t seen much action on the Google Handwriting front. Google Handwriting Input app comes to Google Play, supports cursive, print and emoji input Apps If you’re looking for a quicker and easier way to input text in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hebrew, or Burmese, your ticket just arrived.

T-Mobile, AT&T open networks for Hurricane Sandy victims

In a press release today, T-Mobile and AT&T announced that they will be entering a temporary agreement to allow roaming for customers of either network in the areas hit by Hurricane Sandy. While the worst of the storm has passed, Hurricane Sandy left a lot of damage in its wake, and at one point millions were without power. While a lot of people are working to help get things back in order as quickly as possible, some of the hardest hit areas are still looking at a difficult time ahead.

Google may have used influence to curb Galaxy Store

Joe Hindy / Android Authority TL;DR Information related to Google’s antitrust suits suggests that the company may have tried to curb the growth of the Samsung Galaxy Store. Allegedly, Google offered Samsung large lump sums of cash and partnership perks with the intent of preserving the Play Store’s dominance. Notably, Google did not offer Samsung revenue sharing because that would expose just how lucrative the Play Store is for Google.

T-Mobile rolls out Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus update, improves camera and face unlock stability

Report: Samsung sets high Galaxy S9 sales goal, despite low pre-order figures News The update brings devices up to firmware version G960USQU1ARBG (S9) or G965USQU1ARBG (S9 Plus) and comes in at 260 MB. The patch notes state that the face unlock security method and the camera stability has been improved, but the update may include other miscellaneous bug fixes. The devices ship with Android Oreo and include Project Treble support, meaning they should receive major OS updates shortly after they are rolled out by Google (or at least more quickly than Samsung phones have previously).