It is technically possible to replace the Samsung Galaxy S6’s battery

With great advancements in design come great sacrifices that must be made. For the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, those sacrifices had to be made in areas of expandable storage and user-replaceable batteries.

The latter shortcoming is causing a few of you to steer far clear of Samsung’s latest darling, but what if we told you it actually is possible to access and replace the Samsung Galaxy S6’s battery? Samsung even has a section detailing how to do it buried at the bottom of the device’s user manual we uncovered last week (which you can dive into right now over at AndroidForums.com).

 

But there’s a big catch — these instructions aren’t meant for you. Samsung left the goods in there for repair technicians who might need a refresher on how to get skin deep. In fact, we have it on good authority that Samsung will use new versions of the manual that completely omit this section altogether.

What the instructions don’t mention is that there’s a big slab of glass stopping you from simply prying the back cover off. Getting through said glass is likely to require a heat gun and some fine-toothed tools to get it off cleanly and without a break.

Even if you do manage to get it off, getting it back on cleanly is another story. One screw-up and you could find yourself covered in shards of glass or a very messy-looking back plate not worthy of being called “beautiful.” Samsung’s big warning about your warranty being voided through unauthorized repairs should be reason enough to shy away from giving it a go yourself.

Long story short, if you aren’t professionally trained to make delicate smartphone repairs then you shouldn’t even try to replace your own battery. Let Samsung’s repair technicians handle that should you ever need some fresh lithium inside your Samsung Galaxy S6, or if you can’t handle not being able to gain easy access to the battery compartment you can simply choose to go with a different smartphone altogether.

Google Play Services 7.0 will make it possible to use your Android device as a game controller for Android TV

Google has announced the rollout of Google Play Services 7.0 to give developers new tools to make even more awesome apps. Highlights of this update include the ability to use Google’s public Places API to easily support Places in your apps.

Other notable changes in today’s update include a more robust Google Fit API, improvements to the AdMob SDK, improvements to app indexing and more. The most exciting change of all today, though?

This version of Google Play Services will make it possible for folks to use their Android smartphones and tablets as game controllers for Android TV games. This is made possible by the Nearby Connections API that will let an Android devices and your Android TV set discover each other seamlessly and wirelessly.

This is a great solution for households who invite friends and family over to play games, but were only able to snap up one controller with whatever Android TV set they have. Here’s a quick video of it in action:

Not looking bad at all, Google. Developers can get their hands on all these tools within the coming days. In the meantime, put your thinking caps on and explore how you can make your apps better with these latest changes.

[via Google]

Rumor: Microsoft could make it possible to run Android apps on Windows 10

Microsoft’s big developer conference is coming up next week, and while there normally wouldn’t be many implications for Android outside of announcements pertaining to their Office suite of apps, there’s even more reason to pay attention to this year’s conference.

Windows enthusiast blogger Paul Thurrott has revealed that Microsoft will most likely announce that Windows 10 will support Android apps. The details are slim, but we imagine it wouldn’t be much different than what Blackberry did a couple of years ago. The Canadian company created an Android runtime that would allow Android apps to run as long as the app was properly ported by a developer, a process which only took about 5 minutes of work.

Microsoft has struggled in the apps department to this point, with many developers opting to skip their platform altogether when it comes to mobile apps. The likely reason is that there simply isn’t a big enough user base on Windows Phone for developers to commit resources to. On the flipside, users aren’t going to want to use a platform that doesn’t have as many apps as the competition.

It’s your classic chicken or egg scenario: something has to come first, and it’s not crazy to suggest Microsoft believes that “something” has to be the apps. The onus is on them to attract developers and persuade them to build apps for their platform, and while Microsoft’s current efforts have been noble it simply hasn’t been enough.

Tell a developer they can port their pre-existing app to your platform in 5 minutes and the needle might finally move. That brings more apps, which brings more users, which ultimately might convince more developers to learn how to build native apps for the platform and make it the thriving marketplace it needs to be to survive in today’s mobile world.

This obviously won’t offer as great an app experience as an Android phone would, what with many apps taking advantage of Google Play Services’ unique APIs and services to create rich features. But a decent stable of apps to full a couple of gaps can’t hurt Microsoft more than they’re already hurting.

Twitter makes it possible to DM someone without having to follow each other

“Can you follow me so I can send you a direct message?” That’s how a typical 140-character conversation that needs to go private begins if the two parties aren’t following each other. It was always annoying not being able to send private, direct messages to other people unless both parties followed each other, but now Twitter is changing that.

You can now set whether you want people to be able to send you a direct message regardless of follow status. Should you enable it, someone who wants to send you a direct message will see a button to do so when they visit your profile. You can also continue the conversation with a reply of your own even if that person has opted out of receiving direct messages from people they don’t follow.

Here’s how you go about doing it on the Android version of the Twitter app once you’ve received the update:

1. In the top menu, tap on the overflow icon


2. Select Settings and tap the account @username you’d like to adjust.


3. Under Other, tap Receive Direct Messages from anyone to allow anyone to send you Messages.

And there you have it — no more awkward “follow me and I’ll follow you” nonsense before two people are able to converse in the private, comfy confines of their digital message box.

[via Twitter]

It is now possible to pre-register for apps and games on Google Play

It’s always made sense to pre-order books, movies and TV shows on digital marketplaces, but why hasn’t anyone ever thought to allow users to pre-register for apps and games? Well, Google has. The company has recently implemented a new feature that’ll let you sign up to be notified when an app or game is available for download on Google Play.

The first known Google Play listing to be using the feature is Glu’s Terminator Genisys: Revolution game. We can see developers using pre-register listings to help promote their apps and games ahead of launch and give users a landing page to learn more about what’s coming ahead of its actual arrival.

And with a notification as soon as the app or game goes live users won’t have to worry about forgetting to download it once it’s available. It’s a neat feature that we hope more developers will take advantage of down the line. Give it a try at Terminator’s Google Play listing right here (especially if you’re actually a Terminator fan, because the game is looking kind of awesome).

[via Engadget]

It is now possible to hack WiFi support into your LG G Watch R

Developers developers developers developers! Steve Ballmer got it right — these guys are awesome. Once again, a stout mind from XDA has cooked up a way to improve a device, and this time it’s the LG G Watch R.

You can now enable that dormant WiFi radio inside the LG G Watch R if you’re hankering to use WiFi on the Android Wear watch, granted your watch has an unlocked and TWRP recovery. You should also make sure you are on Android Wear 5.1.1, build LDZ22D, because it hasn’t been tested in any other environment.

The usual warnings and red flags apply. You do this, and anything else outside of the scope of the device’s intended usage, on your own accord. That means you can’t blame anyone else if your smart watch decides to become sentient and refuse your every command (not that that would be devastating or anything, but definitely annoying). Knowing that, you can find download links and instructions right here.

Photos of alleged Motorola Moto X 3rd Gen frame show possible fingerprint reader

Like most OEMs, Motorola has had a really hard time keeping their flagships under wraps. Whether it was the first gen Moto X or the Moto X 2nd Gen, we got glimpses of these devices months before their official unveilings. As we approach the year anniversary of last year’s Moto X 2014, we know it’s just a matter of time before things start popping up around the net. Sure enough, blogs overseas are already churning, revealing a few images of what could be this year’s Motorola Moto X 2015.

Chinese site MyDrivers is back once again, showing what they believe are a few images of the next-gen Moto X, well, its chassis anyway. Other than giving us a look at the basic outline of the device, the frame has a peculiar cut out just below the camera hole. It’s rather square in shape, leading some to believe that the phone’s “M” logo will act as a fingerprint scanner. Other than that, not much else was revealed from this leak.

Current rumors point to Motorola delivering 2 flagship models — a 5.2-inch and 5.7-inch Moto X — both with quad HD displays. Other specs are more iffy with Motorola’s CMO talking about how the Moto X 3rd Gen will “bring it” in terms of camera quality and even says more manual controls are on the way. With Google ready to embrace USB Type C, we hope this — along with a much larger battery — will be included on the device.

Hopefully we’ll learn more about the 3rd Gen Moto X in the coming days/weeks. What would you guys like to see on the phone for you to consider purchasing?