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11 best dark and atmospheric Android games
Set the mood with the best hauntingly inviting Android games
When adding more titles to your trusty Android gaming phone, you'll notice no shortage of puzzle and arcade games on the Android platform. Mainstream titles like Angry Birds and Cut The Rope attract a wider range of audiences with their (more) casual gameplay style. However, stumbling upon games with darker psychedelic themes, such as World Of Goo and Badland, brings a mesmerizing, haunting experience like no other. The powerful effects of mixing audio and artistic expression can put forth an entirely different tone to some genres. So, to inspire people to try out another style of Android games, we've created a roundup of the best atmospheric games that will hauntingly stay with you.
Why is switching accounts in Chrome such a hassle on mobile?
Most Google apps let you swipe to switch accounts, but not Chrome
Life must be easy if you have just one Google account. It must be nice to store all of your data and digital ephemera to a single Chrome profile. The sad truth, however, is that many of us juggle several accounts. We have our personal account and often another for work. There's also the family account, that Gmail account for junk mail, and maybe another left over from your days in college.
WhatsApp is a powerful end-to-end encrypted messaging app with many useful features. However, its functionality falls short in one area: sending a message to an unsaved number or contact. Usually, you need to add a contact to the WhatsApp app before you can chat, which can cause problems if you need to send an urgent message.
Download all 310 Pixel ringtones, alarms, and notifications from Google's Sounds app
Including Android 12's new alarm and notification sounds
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The Pixel Sounds application comes pre-installed on Pixel phones and is stock-full of ringtones, alarms, and notification sounds for you to choose from. It also works on some non-Pixel phones too, like a few Galaxy S phones, but not on all. That's why we've decided to share with you all the sound files included in it, so you can use them on any device (including your desktop, if you like that).
It’s been nearly a year since Google launched its latest Chromecast, the one that introduced us to a new Google TV interface and created a schism with the hundreds of Android TV devices we’d seen to date. A low price and a good experience made this new Chromecast one of the most no-brainer purchases for many Android lovers, and even more non-techies.
I’ve always wanted to try immersive TV backlights and I finally did
At $80, Govee has democratized the product category
The geek in me has always stared in awe at images and videos of people’s living rooms and desk setups where ambient light shines behind the TV or monitor to create an immersive experience. I’ve always wanted to try that for myself, but I also wanted those lights to integrate with my Google Assistant setup, which meant paying a prohibitively expensive price for a pair of Hue Play.
This smart Rubik’s Cube helped me get my solve time under a minute
Competitions and tips gamify the whole experience
Over a decade ago, when I was still decorating my pharmacy, I bought two Disney-themed Rubik’s Cubes (Mickey Mouse and Winnie The Pooh) to add a fun touch to the children’s section. I was hoping no kid would ever ruin the cube so much that I’d never be able to retrace their steps back, but that was not taking into account how fast kids can be. They messed up the first cube, then the second, and that’s when I decided to learn how to fix them — the cubes, not the kids. I couldn’t leave them all disordered like that. Between watching YouTube tutorials and trying to make sense of an image cube (more annoying than a regular colored one), my first solve took over two hours. Today, I just went under the one-minute mark thanks to the smart cube from Rubik’s Connected.
Marrying a tech writer might seem like the most exciting thing for many hardcore geeks, second only to becoming a tech writer themselves. Imagine all the gadgets that would come to your door, all the access to the latest features and hardware, all the nerdy things you could do! When I met my now-husband, a developer and Geek with a capital G, the idea appealed to him too. It wasn’t the only reason he married me — at least I hope so, hah! — but it was certainly a perk.
Over the last couple of years, I have floated between three different desktop operating systems for my work and personal use. Depending on where I am and which computer is in front of me, I’ve been using mac OS, Chrome OS, and less frequently, Windows. I’ve become more or less comfortable with all three platforms and I’m able to keep a similar workflow across them all, save for one teeny tiny missing key that ruins my Chrome OS experience: there’s no skip button on my Pixelbook’s keyboard, and many Chromebooks don’t even have the play/pause one.
I’ve always liked colors. Simple, bright or saturated, sometimes flashy, riveting light reflections that catch your eye and make you stop for a second and think, “Wow, that’s beautiful.” For me, there’s nothing interesting about grey or black, or at least there’s very little that’s interesting and very little any object can do to be interesting if its outward appearance sits somewhere on the greyscale. This personal opinion holds for a lot of items in my life, and it certainly is true for my smartphone, the one object that I carry everywhere I go. But flagship after flagship, manufacturers seem hellbent on disappointing me recently.
30+ forgotten or hidden shortcuts for your Android homescreen
Stop wasting your time digging into apps and settings
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When you spend a great deal of your day digging into Android like we do, you start looking for ways to get to things faster. One shortcut can save us several taps and seconds of valuable time, which add up over a day, week, and more. Over the years, I've uncovered more and more interesting Android or Google-specific shortcuts that save me every day from the menial and repetitive task of digging into settings or apps. In this article, I'll share some of these shortcuts with you so you too can feel the small joy of reaching your favorite features and settings faster and more efficiently.
My desk deserves the best tablet stand and I finally found it
Taking a break from our Android coverage to bring you this $30 accessory recommendation
I'm almost done with the process of getting my personal work desk set up. After switching to a fully-remote job, I started with a blank canvas, got a new blue M1 iMac, a USB-C hub + stand for it, a minimal headphone stand, and the neatest USB-C desk lamp I could find. Add a Droid and a Donald plush (because why not) and I was nearly done. All that remained was to find a good stand for my iPad Air 4. I searched and I searched until I found this one from Baseus. It's sturdy, it's simple, and it does everything I need it to do.When going through the hundreds of tablet stand options on Amazon and various accessory sites, I had a clear idea in mind for what I wanted: a white or silver stand, with adjustable but significant height (around the 30cm / 1ft mark), where I could place my iPad both in landscape and portrait, and that kept it more or less upright (for Sidecar use with my iMac) but could also be tilted if needed (when used independently). I was also trying to avoid clamps, because I knew I'd be taking off the iPad quite frequently and I didn't want to bother with an extra step to do it. But that meant the stand had to be very sturdy so that my $600 dollar tablet doesn't fall or slide off at the slightest movement.
Buying a new USB-C hub: Lessons learned
Cable length and position, form factor, ports, everything matters
A couple of months ago, I only had one USB-C hub, a simple Moshi adapter that I've owned since 2018 and that offers HDMI, USB-C and USB-A ports. But I got tired of carrying around a separate MicroSD USB-C reader, so I thought I'd buy a fully-featured hub with all the ports I needed. My husband needed one too because of the demands of his new job. Somehow, a simple purchase or two turned into a USB-C hub experimentation, and we now find ourselves with a bunch of hubs that we've either bought or received for free (through his work or mine).
The big white wall in my apartment just got an Android TV upgrade
Xgimi's new Elfin projector is an excellent solution for new or shared apartments
Forcibly uprooting your entire life isn't easy, just ask me about it. One day you have all the small luxuries of life that you've worked hard to get, the next you're in a strange apartment you don't own, that you have to momentarily share with others, and you're wondering how come you're starting from zero in your mid-thirties. There's also only one TV to share with people whose entertainment taste differs so much from yours. Then you look at the lifeless white walls surrounding you and you think, "huh, I have an idea." So you go get that Android TV projector, turn it on, point it at a white wall away from your roommates, and you've suddenly got a solution to both of your problems: no more white wall and a TV you can call your own.That's my current situation and the projector in question is the latest addition to the XGIMI line-up: the 1080p and 800 ANSI Lumens Elfin. It doesn't have a battery like the Mogo and Mogo Pro that I reviewed earlier, but it's significantly brighter.
Here's the one desktop Chrome feature I wish Google would bring to mobile
This time-saving feature would be more than welcome on mobile
I'm a big fan of time-saving features on my computing devices. Keyboard shortcuts, text expansion snippets, clipboard managers, my keyboard-fu arsenal is full of tips and tricks that reduce the grunt of my daily tasks. After all, the less time I spend doing basic chores, the more time I have to focus on interesting ones, like writing articles or assisting my colleagues. But the all-time most awesomest bestest feature among these tricks is custom search engines on Chrome. I use them daily, all the time, and I've sung their praises enough times that I've made a few converts. What baffles me, though, is that the Chrome team has been busy adding more complicated and powerful features to Android, but it has yet to implement this very old and simple one.
Apple's convinced me: reports of the death of small phones have been greatly exaggerated
The iPhone 13 Mini and Galaxy Z Flip3 are proof that there's still a market for small phones
Over the past months, I haven't been shy about expressing my appreciation for the Pixel 5's physical dimensions. After years of carrying larger and larger phones, which culminated with the Pixel 4 XL, it felt great to go back to a smaller device that just fits in my hands and my tiny female pants' pockets, and where I don't have to stretch my thumb like Mrs. Incredible to reach the opposite top corner. However, for a brief moment, it looked like we were starting to dig the grave to bury the idea of smaller phones, but there's a new wind blowing and it breathed new life into the category. We're now seeing both the death of small phones and their rebirth at the same time.
The new Apple Watch makes me wish for a rectangular Wear OS competitor
The obsession with rounded watches needs to stop
Apple announced the seventh iteration of its famous Watch today. The design and signature look remain, despite many small adjustments, but the biggest improvement that Apple touted is a 20% larger display compared to the previous Series 6. Looking at that big, beautiful screen, then glancing down at the Galaxy Watch 4 on my wrist, I couldn't help but sigh and wonder, once more, why we couldn't have more choice in the Android world. I would love to have a rectangular watch running Wear OS.
A lot of virtual ink has been spilled about Google's upcoming flagship line-up. From leaks to quasi-announcements to teasers, we've nearly seen everything the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro will offer, and through it all, one conviction has remained immutable in my head: I want that telephoto lens and I want it on a Pixel camera.
Nova Launcher 7 goes live with a visual refresh and new features in tow (APK Download)
Widget corner radius, swipe down gesture, and more
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Nova Launcher has always been among the most popular third-party launchers, even with great alternatives like Niagara popping up left and right. After what felt like months of stagnation, the latest visual refresh and rewrite of Nova is finally starting to roll out on the Play Store, dubbed Nova7. It's based on the latest AOSP launcher code and comes with new animations, styles, and features.
WhatsApp's bigger, bolder link previews are rolling out in beta
"Watch this adorable cat chase a cock..."
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WhatsApp is working on implementing bigger link previews. The news comes to us courtesy of the folks at WABetaInfo who love to dig into the app and figure out what the devs have in store for us before the features are made public.