Welcome back to our weekly Top 10 Android App Updates column, where we take a look at the most frequently upgraded apps for the week. We’ve found that one of the best ways to discover useful apps is to find the ones that are actually being updated by the developers rather than selecting the apps with the most installs. As in the past, we’re going to filter out minor updates for the super-popular apps that have over 10 million installs, but we’ll make exceptions for apps that have had significant updates. We hope you enjoy this weekly feature and that you discover some apps that end up being useful.

VLC for Android – Version 1.6.0

What’s new in this version:

• We’ve worked a lot to improve the internal decoding speed and the interface speed, and at the same time, prepare for Android 6.0.
• The number of permissions needed were reduced, especially for KitKat (4.4) and more recent.
• We’ve accelerated the video playback speed, for 4K support.
• The interface was cleaned and speed up, with more Material look.
• And a few new features, like USB auto-detection, better audio/video sync or better chapters support.

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Lyft – Version 3.14.0

What’s new in this version:

• Take a trip down memory lane. We’ve added your ride history, complete with details about every trip, to the app.
• See the price breakdown, check out the map, report lost items, request a review, or pay a tip for every Lyft ride you’ve taken.

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BaconReader – Version 5.0.1

What’s new in this version:

• ALL NEW MATERIAL DESIGN UI
• Fixed downloading gifv files
• Fixed audio pausing when playing gifv and gfycat
• Fixed Image cache no such file error
• Changed Reply/Comment icon
• Fixed ‘Hide Read Posts’
• Fixed Expand/Collapse comments

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YouTube Gaming – Version 1.1.0

What’s new in this version:

• Mobile Capture! Live stream or record your mobile games. Host your stream with your selfie cam and record your commentary with your phone’s microphone. (Supported devices on Lollipop+)
• Faster discovery of live streams for games in your collection
• Support your favorite creators with Fan Funding (tap “$” and choose your tip)
• Easy video bookmarking with Watch Later
• Import existing subscriptions from YouTube in Settings
• Performance improvements and bug fixes

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CloudPlayer by doubleTwist – Version 1.0.9

What’s new in this version:

• Added Android Wear support. Control playback from your fancy watch.
• Added Android Auto support. Vrooom!
• Added support for AllPlay streaming devices.

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Yahoo Mail – Version 5.0.0

What’s new in this version:

• Add Outlook, AOL or multiple Yahoo mailboxes and easily switch between them.
• Attach multiple photos and videos, all at once.
• Search across all of your messages, contacts, files and photos, faster than ever.
• Use Smart Views to sort your emails by categories.
• Press down on the compose button to quickly compose a message to yourself.
• Stay in the know with news from Yahoo and the Yahoo Magazines.
• Enable Account Key for password-free sign in.

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Tumblr – Version 4.8.0

What’s new in this version:

• More substantiated visuals.
• Sturdier, more erect pixels.
• Reversed out-of-frame colors.
• Smoothed the visible plane.
• Re-proportioned user actuations.
• Divulgated temporal errors.
• Future-proofed for Android: Tangerine.

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Health Mate – Version 2.10.50

What’s new in this version:

NPR One – Version 1.5.0.3

What’s new in this version:

• Sharing stories that you heard on NPR One now include story and podcast images on social media. Now you can give your friends one more reason to listen to the stories you just shared with them.
• Google Sign-in no longer requests permission to access your friends or circles—we’ve never used that info, anyway.
• And we’ve updated the sign in screen to make it simpler the next time you sign in.

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Flipboard – Version 3.3.13

What’s new in this version:

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Despite the fact that manufacturers try to use different colors to spice up the look of their devices, these days it’s just the same colors over and over again. So what about not having any color at all?

One poster on Reddit (Skarface08) has answered that question with their Samsung Galaxy Note 5. According to the poster, they simply scraped off the color film that’s applied to the back of the device, and then reapplied the back cover to the handset. With this done, you can actually see the inside of the handset, giving it a distinct mechanical look, and something admittedly quite different from the other Galaxy Note 5 units out there.

The process, according to Skarface08, is relatively simple enough. You’ll just need to have access to a heat gun, suction cup, and a razor blade. With those tools, you’ll heat up the back of the cover, use the suction cup to pry the backplate off the device, and then scrape off the color film. Once that’s done, just replace the backplate. The branding left behind is a nice touch, too.

You can watch the process right here.

What do you think of the clear back?

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Throttling data for those still attached to unlimited data plans isn’t anything new, and apparently Sprint wants to jump onto that bandwagon, too.

Based on an announcement made by the Now Network on October 16, the carrier will rollout a new policy, one that it calls “Quality of Service” (QoS). With this new policy, heavy data users that find themselves on a congested site will see their network speeds throttled for a brief period of time. They can regain their normal high-speed data if they leave the congested area or the network unclogs.

The threshold for data usage to even be considered for throttling is 23GB of data, which the carrier says is “typical in the industry.” Indeed, T-Mobile, another one of the few carriers that offers unlimited data, has its own cap for heavy data users while connected to a site that might be dealing with heavy traffic.

The rollout of the new policy begins today, October 16, and it will directly affect new subscribers that sign up for an unlimited data plan. Existing customers, on the other hand, will only see the policy go into place if they upgrade their phone and stick with the existing unlimited data plan.

As usual, this policy won’t have any bearing on the majority of the carrier’s subscribers, as the Now Network points out that only 3 percent of its total postpaid subscribers use a “overwhelmingly disproportionate” amount of data.

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There’s a lot of interest surrounding the BlackBerry Priv, not only because it’s BlackBerry’s first Android smartphone, but also because it’s the first Android smartphone with a physical keyboard that we’ve seen in a long time. Unfortunately, BlackBerry hasn’t really given us much information on when we’ll be able to try the Priv, saying only that the device will launch later this year. The good news is that there have been plenty of images and videos of the Priv making their way online to keep us entertained.

The latest BlackBerry Priv hands-on video comes to us from UK retailer Carphone Warehouse. The company posted a minute-long video that gives us a walkthrough of the Priv’s hardware, complete with its dual curved edge display and vertical slider.

In addition to posting this video, Carphone Warehouse has put up a product page for the Priv so that interested consumers can pre-order BlackBerry’s next phone. What’s interesting is that Carphone Warehouse has also shared a full list of the Priv’s specs. So far, BlackBerry has been trickling out the Priv’s spec details, so this full list is a welcome sight.

According to Carphone Warehouse, the BlackBerry Priv will sport a 5.4-inch 2560×1440 AMOLED display and 2-megapixel camera on its face as well as an 18-megapixel rear camera that’s Schneider Kreuznach-certified and has a dual LED flash. Inside of the Priv’s 9.4mm-thick body is a 1.8GHz hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a microSD slot, and a 3410mAh battery. The Priv runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

BlackBerry CEO John Chen has said that his company is working with all major carriers to offer the Priv, which is good news for folks in carrier-centric markets (like the US) as well as BlackBerry, which has said that it could stop making hardware if the Priv doesn’t sell well. Now we just have to wait for the Priv to actually launch to see if the novelty of an Android-powered BlackBerry slider can translate into sales.

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First came the Ellipsis 7, then the Ellipsis 8, and now it looks like the Ellipsis 10 will follow.

Images of a Verizon-branded Ellipsis tablet have been leaked by Evan Blass. Included in the leak is some “Ellipsis 10” branding, and so considering both that and the landscape orientation of the tablet, it’s likely that this device has a 10-inch screen. We can also see that it’s running Android Lollipop and that it’s got front and rear cameras.

http://pic.twitter.com/mFntBJ7fWW

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) October 16, 2015

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Both the Ellipsis 7 and Ellipsis 8 were fairly mid-range tablets, and so it wouldn’t be a surprise to find out that the Ellipsis 10 falls into the same category. Both the Ellipsis 7 and 8 were also fairly affordable, coming in at $250 with 4G LTE connectivity, meaning that the Ellipsis 10 could be easy on the wallet. And when it comes to announcements, the Ellipsis 7 and 8 were announced on November 5, 2013, and November 6, 2014, so don’t be surprised if Verizon keeps up tradition and announces the Ellipsis 10 around the first week of this November.

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Motorola has accidentally confirmed the existence of the DROID Maxx 2 that’s coming to Verizon, though all proof has now been removed. The Moto Email app was put up on the Play Store with screenshots from a DROID Maxx 2, one of which shows a new email with the device name in the signature (and the Verizon 4G LTE logo).

The second bit of proof was a support page that temporarily went up on Motorola’s site for the DROID Maxx 2. Sadly, it is now a dead link.

Are any Verizon Wireless customers interested in this device? It’ll be based off of the Moto X Play, which isn’t coming to the US otherwise, and should be an excellent budget-oriented device.

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AT&T has announced its plans for NumberSync, a service that will allow you to use multiple devices with one phone number. This doesn’t only apply to smartphones, either: AT&T says that everything from tablets to wearables can be used with your phone number.

The service will depend on your devices being connected to AT&T, so there won’t need to be a direct connection between your primary phone and other devices. Your primary phone can even be turned off. Your other devices will be able to make calls, check voicemail, and send texts using your regular number.

T-Mobile is following suit, announcing its own service to share one number across multiple devices. In classic T-Mo fashion, the company claims that its service will be far better than AT&T’s from day one. T-Mobile operating chief Mike Sievert said, “Our strategy is to ask customers what they want and need, and then build it. AT&T’s is to build or buy things, and then try to convince customers they asked for it.” This is despite AT&T announcing the same service first, but T-Mo has to make some sort of controversial statement, don’t they?

Sprint has announced that it is considering its own version of the service, though there is no official announcement.

This type of service sounds like a great idea and will free people from the constant connection to their phones. Forgetting your phone won’t be so bad soon. No launch dates have been given so far. What do you think of these services? Will you be using them whenever they launch? Leave a comment!

Source: AT&T Blog, ReCode

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The Play Store is soon getting a whole new look, and I’m really digging it. In a photo showing the evolution of the Play Store (or Android Market, as it was known in the early years) and how far the app has come, we can see how it’ll look come next major update. And of course, there are a few more photos teasing the new look.

We had some great times with the original Android Market. Updating apps all at once instead of having each download one by one was definitely fun, even though it failed quite often. Then it was rebranded the Play Store, and though some didn’t like the change, it worked out well for Google.

The latest evolution of the app features the same search bar, but changes everything else. The many categories offered before are now condensed into two tabs, which are apps and entertainment. It sure looks better, and the animations are quite snazzy, but we’ll have to give it a shot to see if it’s an overall good change. It also features RTL support!

Kirill Grouchnikov shared this image as a sort of goodbye, as he’s leaving the Play Store team. We wish you our best in your future endeavors on the frameworks team!

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Welcome back to Android Gaming Weekly, our weekly recap of new game releases. We still plan to cover upcoming releases and games we’re playing, but this column is dedicated to new games that you can start playing right now. Check out our top picks and let us know in the comments section if you have any suggestions for next week’s post.

Osiris Battlefield

Description: You are man’s last hope against utter extinction. Located on a distant colony in the Osiris system, you must defend your base at all costs using anything you can to hold back the relentless alien threat.

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Heroes Reborn: Enigma

Description:  HEROES REBORN: ENIGMA is a first person action-puzzle mobile/tablet game that lets you BE THE HERO. 

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The Onion Knights

Description: Now you can collect heroes and upgrade the various knight’s skills to become the most powerful knight captain.

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Drive Ahead!

Description:  Drive ahead in gladiator arenas with off-road cars, garbage trucks and F1 racing cars. Each vehicle has its own strengths and weaknesses. The game features two different game modes: duel or single-player mode.

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Minecraft: Story Mode

Description: In this five part episodic series, play as either a male or female hero named ‘Jesse,’ and embark on a perilous adventure across the Overworld, through the Nether, to the End, and beyond.

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Football Kicks Frenzy

Description: Frantic head-to-head free-kick battle – impact your opponent with crazy obstacle raising SCORE STREAKS such as The Wall or Hurricane. SWIPE, SHOOT AND RULE!

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In Fear I Trust

Description: In Fear I Trust brings a new kind of nightmare to mobile with stunning visuals, brain-teasing puzzles, and terrifying revelations.

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PolyBlast

Description: A challenging arcade game with a puzzle twist that requires you to blast targets and eliminate moving shapes out of the way before they reach the bottom of your screen!

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The Mammoth: A Cave Painting

Description: In The Mammoth: A Cave Painting you tell the 5 million year story of the mammoth in 5 minutes. Inspired by prehistoric cave-paintings, act out a story written on the wall of a cave. Search for your lost herd on the wide plain. Gather and protect your children. Struggle with human hunters.

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Mucho Taco

Description:   Mucho Taco is an idle clicker game where you make zillions of tacos with the power of the sun tortilla and the guidance of Barbacoatl, an enigmatic taco connoisseur.

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Battery life is a matter of huge importance for smartphone owners. Fortunately, there are a couple of companies out there who are placing a focus on battery life, and BLU Products is one of them. The company has just announced its latest two smartphones, the Studio Energy 2 and the Energy X, both of which put a heavy emphasis on extra-long battery life at an affordable price.

Starting with the BLU Studio Energy 2, we’ll find a 5-inch 720p AMOLED display, 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of storage plus microSD card slot, 8-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, dual SIM card slots, Android 5.0 Lollipop and a whopping 5000mAh battery with quick charging capabilities. BLU says that the battery on the Studio Energy 2 can for three days with standard usage, which is awful big boast, but it is a huge battery.

The Studio Energy X is a slimmer, sleeker device with a 5-inch 720p display, 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage plus microSD card slot, 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, Android 5.1 Lollipop and a giant 4000mAh battery, which should also get about three days of usage. All of that is packed into an aluminum body that’s just 8mm thick, impressive for such an enormous battery.

The BLU Studio Energy 2 is selling for $179 and can be purchased here.

The BLU Energy X is selling for $109 and can be purchased here.

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