“Android Pay” likely to be introduced as a full-blown wireless payments platform at Google I/O

Before you freak out, no — Google Wallet is not dying. In fact, it might actually get better. Google’s Sundar Pichai spoke at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this morning about the company’s plans for mobile payments in the future. This comes at a time where Apple and now Samsung have thrown their hats into the arena with exciting platforms of their own.

Google Wallet in the now slightly pales in comparison to those guys, but Android Pay will hopefully look to change that. The first thing to know is that Android Pay won’t actually replace Google Wallet.

Instead it’s a full-blown payment platform and API that Google and third-party developers alike can tap into. Google Wallet will likely still exist as its own app and service, but Google will use Android Pay as the backbone. Don’t like Google Wallet? Another developer could come along and do things differently, but still enjoy the same secure backbone that Google uses with little issue and you’d be free to give that service a go if you so wish.

For its part, Google says they aren’t necessarily threatened by Samsung’s move to enter the wireless payment space. In fact, Google hopes the two can work together in some way and get the idea of wireless payments into the hands, pockets and minds of more people. Google has a leg up on Samsung thanks to their acquisition of Softcard (formerly ISIS) which is already backed by most of the United Stats’ major carriers.

Unfortunately that’s all we know at this point. We’re not sure what other plans Google has to affect the wireless payment scenes in a powerful way, but we should be treated to more details once Google I/O arrives.

LG G4 teaser shows off impressive photo samples, likely after editing in Lightroom [VIDEO]

It’s been said that for an Android manufacturer to beat the iPhone, they first have to beat its camera. It’s true. On a software level, Android is constantly evolving, adding intuitive features that leave iOS behind in the dust. While that’s all good and dandy for some of us, software features don’t often sell a phone. When shopping around for their next smartphone, we’re seeing consumers place a higher priority on a phone’s camera capabilities (you can thank social networks for sparking this trend).

With both the HTC One M9 and Samsung Galaxy S6 readily available for purchase, it’s clear LG has to do something to keep our wallets closed just a little longer. Despite a massive LG G4 leak last week, LG continues teasing the device, highlighting some of the phone’s standout features ahead of launch through a series of teaser videos.

We’ve already seen a brief teaser showing off some of the G4’s upcoming camera hardware — more notably its new f/1.8 lens — but as my mother always told me, the proof is in the pudding. For all those curious to see actual output, LG has enlisted the help of professional photographer Colby Brown to tout the phone’s photo taking abilities.

The 2 minute video shows off a variety of actual photos taken with the LG G4, showing rich vibrant colors with samples that easily rival full-sized DSLRs. What LG doesn’t mention is how much time and effort was spent in post editing to get the photos to look just right.

In the video, you can clearly see Mr. Brown using Lightroom 4 (photo editing software) to view the images, so it’s not exactly like they’re trying to hide it. Not only that, without actual photo samples, 1080p video makes it tough to see other aspects of the image. Things like noise or fine details — all the other things that make up a quality photo. So it’s hard to judge by these photos alone.

One thing LG forgot to mention — but was revealed in last week’s leak — was the stock camera app will also provide an option to shoot in RAW. Something the Galaxy S6 doesn’t provide, not even with its “Pro” shooting mode. Because the video runs by the sample images rather quickly, we took some snapshots and put them in a gallery for your viewing pleasure. Check ’em out.

You may have seen a similar ad campaign from Apple called “Shot on iPhone 6″ which shows off various photographs of breathtaking landscapes taken with the phone. Sure they look amazing, but the truth of the matter is most people will never travel to the Alps or jungles of Venezuela to take a photo. Instead, it’s the real world things like kids running around a naturally lit living room, or food in a restaurant I’d be more interested in seeing. What do you guys think? Will the LG G4’s camera live up to the hype?

5 Nintendo games coming to mobile starting in 2015, Android likely included

Nintendo announced in their most recent earnings call that they have a plan to launch 5 new games for “smart devices” by Spring of 2017. The first title is slated to launch this year, with others sure to be littered throughout 2016 and the early parts of 2017.

Nintendo didn’t confirm any platforms they’d be targeting, but we imagine Android won’t be left out of the fun. It’s the biggest smartphone operating system by market share, after all, and if there plans were exclusive to Apple it’s likely they would have mentioned so.

So what’s coming? Early murmurings tell us not to expect direct ports of existing Nintendo games, and there’s no guarantee anything they’re planning will take their cue from existing intellectual properties, either. Whatever the case is, Nintendo says they’re expecting to promote each game strongly and support them like the “hits” they want them to be.

The one thing we do know is that there’s no need to worry that Nintendo will be bringing some heat. The company’s track record for producing and developing quality games is near flawless, and considering they’re one of the few console makers who have their attention focused exclusively on games there’s no reason to believe they won’t do much of the same for their mobile efforts. We’re likely to hear more at E3 2015 next month, which our friends from Wii U Daily, PS4 Daily and Xbox One Daily will be attending in full force.

[via Wii U Daily]