I know most of us think 4K displays in smartphones are useless. Sony gave it a shot with the Xperia Z5 Premium, but didn’t even bother running the display at 4K full-time. Even Samsung isn’t pushing for 4K displays, instead opting for the same 2560×1440 resolution on the Samsung Galaxy S7 as on the Galaxy S6 (to great results, we might add).

But that doesn’t mean 4K is truly useless in smartphones. Samsung believes it has a future, but not because the human eye will see improvements in daily use. Having a phone display in a Gear VR or a Google Cardboard right up against your face can really expose individual pixels. This is where 4K displays can truly shine. Kyle Brown, Samsung head of technology, content, and launch management, says 4K displays aren’t a gimmick and will eventually become mainstream:

Once we believe it’s the right time to move [to 4K displays], the same as the decision on USB Type-C for example, and we think it’s the right point we can mass produce a 4K screen that will be enough of a consumer benefit to make it worthwhile.

Not only does this make perfect sense, it also explains Samsung’s reasoning for skipping USB Type-C and potentially Quick Charge 3.0. Samsung doesn’t believe they’re quite ready for the mass market for whatever reason, but they’ll get it eventually.

With VR growing and smartphones trying to do everything in our daily lives, it’s easy to see how a 4K display in your phone would benefit your virtual reality headset. Let’s hope VR headsets with slots for smartphones stick around!

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New apps need lovin’ too, right? Every day there are thousands of additions to the Google Play store, but many go unnoticed and never receive the attention they deserve. We’ve shown in the past that this community can discover great apps and propel them to new heights. Our weekly Fresh Meat column highlights new apps with fewer than 100,000 installs. Browse our new Android app picks below and let us know which ones you enjoy.

BBC Music

Description: Just tell the app what kind of music you’re into, and it’ll serve up a curated stream of exclusive live sessions, interviews and playlists from your favourite presenters, programmes and events.

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League Friends

Description: For League of Legends players who need to organize a late-night scrim with their ranked squad (or just talk shop with their buds), this little app is here to help.

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Livecoding.tv

Description: This App is a unofficial App for http://livecoding.tv. Watch Livestreams and have a chat with them. Livecoding.tv is a brand of our parent company LiveEdu, Inc. Livecoding.tv is an interactive social coding platform where you can watch professionals code in real time. Like a TV.

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HOUND Voice Search & Assistant

Description: The fastest and easiest way to get the information, entertainment, and communication services you want, Hound is built for your busy life, allowing you to get what you need and move on. You can use it hands-free by saying, “Ok Hound…”

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GoToMeeting (beta)

Description: Meet where you want with the power of GoToMeeting on your mobile device. You’ll never miss another meeting — unless you want to. Use the GoToMeeting app to join, host or schedule a session from your Android device for easy online meetings when you’re on the go.

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Booyah Video Chat for WhatsApp

Description: To video call and chat with your friends just install the app and open it and from here you can create instant live parties with your friends and groups with the tap of a button.

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Font Changer Free Style

Description: My Fonts is an amazing application help you change font style for android easily. With millions of beautiful fonts for Android. Editing text font on phone beautifully with My Font.

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Boost for reddit BETA

Description:Boost your browsing experience with Boost for reddit. Enjoy the best content of the most popular social news site. Featuring: Multi account support with secure OAuth2 login, Filter posts by content type: image, album, gif, video, text posts or links, Customize browsing interface: Cards, list view, gallery or slide show with in-app media previews, Intuitive Material Design user interface, Preview images, GIFs, Gfycat, GIFV, galleries and videos.

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phraser

Description: Every user unlocks his phone to check notifications more that 100 times per day. Imagine that one notification is a definition of unknown for you phrase or word. And every time you check notifications you catch sight of this word and remember it.

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DRIVECLUB™

Description: Hook up to live DRIVECLUB™ challenges whenever you want and wherever you are with the DRIVECLUB™ app. Are you wondering how many rivals dared to take on your blistering lap time? Do you want to see how your clubmates are doing in the latest Evolution challenge?

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Many of us are still adjusting to life with the convenience of Android Pay (Google is quick to point out that Android Pay isn’t going anywhere.), but Google is always looking to the future, and South Bay residents can get an early glimpse by joining a pilot program for Google’s new payment app Hands Free.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard about Hands Free, but it has been close to year since Google first announced the project, so they’ll forgive you for not remembering it.

As the name suggests, the app frees you from having to produce anything to make your payment; you just walk up to the cashier at a supported location (a limited number of McDonald’s, Papa John’s and local South Bay spots at the moment) and say “I’ll pay with Google.” The app is working in the background via Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi and location services to detect that you are in a participating store.

You will need to provide your initials to the cashier and they will refer to the picture that you added to Hands Free during setup to confirm your identity. An even more limited number of locations will feature in-store cameras that will attempt to automatically match you to your Hands Free profile picture and streamline the checkout process even further.

While we are still getting over the hump of Android Pay being available in enough locations to make its use seamless and easy, Hands Free certainly sounds like a logical evolution for mobile payments. I won’t hold my breath for this to hit wide rollout in the next year or two, but I’ll be surprised if this isn’t a reality in 5-10 years.

The app is available for both Android and iOS, and Google will give you a $5 discount on your first Hands Free purchase. Hit the link below for more info and to sign up for the pilot program if you are in the South Bay area.

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The Moto X Pure Edition has always been a solid deal, but today only B&H has a particularly compelling offer for those of you that don’t want to worry about running out of storage space on your device.

Until midnight Eastern time tonight, or while supplies last, you can score a 64GB unlocked Moto X Pure Edition in black, white or bamboo for just $399, and B&H is tossing in a $25 gift card as well. Taking the gift card into account, that’s a $125 savings.

While Motorola has damaged its solid update track record with most of its devices in the last several months, the Moto X Pure Edition was one of the first non-Nexus devices to receive the Marshmallow update, and since then, it has continued to receive security updates on a regular schedule.

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It was not that long ago that Samsung Pay first launched, but the mobile payment option has already picked up plenty of support. That continues today, with Samsung announcing another big partnership moving forward.

Samsung has confirmed that it has added support for Wells Fargo banks, for both the establishment’s debit and credit cards. Samsung also confirmed that purchases made with Samsung Pay using an attached Wells Fargo card means the user will get the same protection from the bank itself, thanks to fraud and risk detection systems.

Samsung Pay is officially supported on several different handsets, including the Galaxy S7/S7 edge, Galaxy S6/S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy S6 active, and Galaxy Note 5.

Any Wells Fargo customers out there with a supported Samsung phone that plan on using Samsung Pay from here on out?

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Many Chevy models with a 7-inch MyLink entertainment system include both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but some with the 8-inch system do not. Thankfuly, Chevy is planning to update qualifying 2016 model year cars with the 8-inch system to software with Android Auto support, and they aren’t going to charge for it.

If you have a qualifying Chevy vehicle, you’ll be contacted by Chevrolet about the update. You’ll have to head to a dealer, and the update will take 30 minutes. It’s a small price to pay for Android Auto support, which seems pretty awesome. Hit the source link for more info!

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The Pebble series of smartwatches have been very successful, beating Android Wear to the market and undercutting it in terms of costs. What’s not to love about a smartwatch filled with features and a battery that lasts all week on one charge? And with the success of the new Pebble Time line and Pebble Health, which two-thirds of Time users use it at least weekly, the company is dropping the price on two of its models.

The Pebble Time is dropping to $149.99 and the Pebble Time Round is dropping to $199.99, both of which are $50 price cuts. Even better, the company has improved pricing for the UK and EU, including VAT and import fees in the price and making the prices closer to those in the US. On top of that, the Time Round will now be available in the UK and EU in retail stores.

If you bought one of the models that dropped in price after January 21, you can email Pebble and get the price adjusted. Hit the source link for more info.

Are you still rocking a Pebble? Are you considering buying one at only $150? Leave a comment!

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The Android 6.0 Marshmallow rollout has been slow for Android Wear. Some devices have received it — the original Moto 360 being one of them — but many more modern devices are still waiting. Thankfully, Huawei announced that its smartwatch is going to be getting the update today.

The Huawei Watch has a built-in speaker that has been dormant until now. The Marshmallow update will enable it, making this a huge update for this watch. The update also features new gestures, an updated Do Not Disturb mode, and more, but I suspect people will mostly be excited about the speaker.

If you want to check for updates, go to Settings > About > System updates and check to see if you got it. If not, you may have to wait a while for the rollout to reach you. Let us know when you get the update!

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Do you need a ridiculous amount of storage in a tiny little card? SanDisk has you covered with an Ultra 200GB microSD card. The card is UHS-1 for read speeds up to 90MB/s, and Amazon currently has it for only $79.99. This is down from the original launch price of $249.99, a price that it actually sold for at one point.

With storage technology advancing quickly (remember when a 32GB flash drive was considered huge?) and prices falling rapidly, mobile storage is getting fast and affordable. Hit the source link if you want to grab a 200GB microSD card for your new Android phone or for accessories like cameras and ultrabooks.

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Huawei has a new flagship on the way, and with it, the company is looking to make the market interesting.

Thanks to VentureBeat, we’re getting a look at the Huawei-branded P9, a device that offers plenty of specifications under the hood and a sleek design. If the photos are indeed of the P9, then we’re looking at a metal phone — par for the course these days — with a design that offers a 5.2-inch 1080p HD display. Under the hood is said to be an octa-core Kirin 950 processor along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in storage. On the back there’s a fingerprint sensor, and the battery is said to be measured in at 3900mAh. As far as the software goes, it’s said to be running Android 6.0.1.

Huawei did offer a dual-camera setup back in 2014 with the Honor 6 Plus, and the company is bringing the feature back with the P9. This time around, though, the two cameras on the back are said to be 12-megapixel shooters. Unfortunately, there’s no word on what the front-facing camera offers at the moment.

The report indicates that the P9 could see an official debut sometime in the second quarter of 2016, which is right around the corner at this point. As to where it will be available and how much it will cost, those facts remain a mystery.

What do you think of the P9′s design?

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