Android M has revelaed a fine amount of new features, including the new vercial-scrolling app drawer in Google Launcher. Some don't like it, some do - here's how to get it on your non-Nexus device as well!
The whole procedure is really easy and simple, all you got to do is to update the Google App to the newest version and of course, install the Google Launcher from Google Play Store.
Set as your default home, download and install the newest Google App - download(be sure to have unknown sources enabled to install apps that come outside of Google Play Store
Done? Your launcher should reset now. After that, you should see the new app drawer.
Personally, I like the change. Vertical scrolling list can quickly get you to the very bottom, a search option has also been added with a top bar showing recently launcher apps. What do you think?
It's been a little while since the new Samsung flagship reveal, that also showed us the new version of Touchwiz followed by bunch of new apps, mostly with a new Material Design-ish overhaul. Guess what, they are ported!
Unfortunately, all these apps are working on Touchwiz-powered ROMs only (Samsung devices only, in other words). Here's a little list of what apps do we have now:
Launcher
AccuWeather widget
Music Player
Keyboard
Smart Manager
S Health
WallpaperPicker
Gallery
Browser
MyFiles
GalaxyApps
Calculator
SnapBiz Card
S Translator
S Note
And a few more.
As you might've guessed, root is needed for installation of some of the apps.
Before replacing any APK in the /system directory, be sure to make a Nandroid backup first!
Detailed instructions followed by download links can be found in the XDA index:
The newly release LG's flagship, the G4, hasn't even shown up to the public and boom, already got a few apps ported for its older brother, G3. The camera, gallery, contacts, launcher, calendar, voice recorder, alarm clock and some more are all available for installing on your G3!
Since the system dumb has been pushed, the LastStandingDroid@XDA decided to port a few apps for the older generation, the G3. In the result he ported a fine amount of apps, including the well-known and brand new camera, known especially for its manual mode, that is partially working on the G3, and shooting pictures in RAW format.
Here's a screenshot (credit goes to LastStandingDroid) of the new Launcher (which hasn't changed much) and the new Music app.
But the biggest tease would probably be the new camera, as it's driven a lot of attention lately. This is a quick video showing the G4 camera running on G3. Alrough I got it working on my G3, I've experienced some FCs and there are definitely some problems.
But for those who can't wait, go ahead! Your device has to be rooted. The apps are made for Lollipop versions.
Firstly, download the ZIP. Extract it on your PC (or directly on your Android device), you should get an APK file along with a "lib" folder.
Navigate to /system/priv-app (or something like, don't quite remember the exact name), open the LGCamera folder (again, something like that :p) and backup the files there (you can backup the camera easily by changing the type from .APK to .BAK
Now simply put the new camera APK to the folder and change the permissions to rw-r-r.
Next, the folder part. Do the same thing with the folder, delete all the files except libDNVBeautyFace_JNI.so, keep this one. Then move all the files from the new folder and finally change the permissions of the folder, if needed (to rwxr-xr-x).
You should get the similar look to this (just with another Camera icon, since this is the old version).
Done? Reboot! Have fun.
Though this is quite a problematic app, there are some that work seamlessly.
LgMusic
LGIMe
LGFileManager
LGHome
LGMusicWidget
These should be working just fine and you shouldn't have or find any bugs.
The next Galaxy has been annouced and that means there's a plenty of new stuff incoming! Except new wallpapers, apps and of course a new device, we got a new beloved weather widget that many TouchWiz users (and not only them) enjoy and like to use. Here's an early port of Samsung Galaxy S6 weather widget!
An XDA member -Aatif- have created this amazing theme for XWidget app. XWidget is something like Zooper, it lets you use custom created widgets on your Android homescreen.
Currently in the version 4.0, S6 Widget features 3D clock with shadow, original S6 weather icons, original size of icons, text and clock, and many more.
Transparent status bar is really an amazing step pushing forward the UI limits of Android. Firstly it was released when the Android Kitkat came out and it's been a hit for many UI Android designers as the transparent (or translucent, tinted, call it how you want) status bar looks really really nice and it lets the system blend fully with the app.
Unfortunately, not many developers have decided to implement this feature on their apps, thus it's not used as much as it should be. However, there's a way to get this tinted status bar working on all apps. But how can this be done without modyfing the system files? Xposed Framework. Lolistat is designed to work on Android Lollipop devices only, if you have older version of Android, please kindly check THIS video to get your tinted status bar working!
The HTC One M9 is not here yet but what we got from it are, as usually, wallpapers! They're really nice and have a really big resolution (2160 * 1920) which points us to the fact that the new HTC flagship will feature a qHD display.
Android Lollipop has really amazing functions and design. It comes with a brand new recent apps style, as you've probably seen on other screenshots. Jelaous? You don't have to be anymore! You can get this multitasking style on your device as well and root is not needed!
Fancy Switcher is an amazing app that replaces your current task managing, recent apps and adds much more features. Offers 4 styles of recent apps, has a smart slider (which helps you to switch between apps faster than ever before), there's also a sidebar and much much more. Check it out!
Here you can see some of the recent apps styles. Grid, coverflow, classic and Android Lollipop style, which can be seen in the middle of the screens. How amazing is that?
We may not know how the new Android version is called, but we already have ported these awesome apps from it! Now, you can enjoy wallpapers, apps, fonts, the new keyboard and more on your Android device as well!
So, we got a full system dump from ivan123 that contains:
- All Android L apps - Fonts - Wallpapers - Ringtones & alarms - Google Play Services - Boot animation
Unfortunately, not all apps are working fine and you may experience crashes or other problems. However, you can give it a try!
The apps are not flashable, so to install them, you have to push the apk to /system/app, clear dalvik cache & apps cache, change permissions (rw-r-r--) and reboot.
Fortunately, you don't need to be rooted to get the wallpaper...and Google Keyboard!
To install Google Keyboard, download the APK, uninstall the previous version, install this one and change the theme to material in advanced settings of the app.
The new LG's flagship, G3, has just been released but its ROM is already ported! For G2 users, there's a good news, you can get it right now!
There's not only one port, but already two full-ROM ports from different developers: Cloudyfa and OptimusRs. Both of the ROMs should be stable and contain all G3's features.
Both of them should be stable enough, though you should definitely make a backup. Installation is basically the same, flash via recovery. You need to flash the KitKat Baseband on OptimusG3 ROM.
Navigation bar (or back, home and multitasking buttons) is naturally one of the most used part of the system in Android. But why only these three buttons? The navbar is almost every time there so why only three buttons there? Well, FBarrosoApps with this awesome app called Xtended Navbar mods it and adds an amazing thing: by swyping from edges you can access quick settings, your favourite apps or music player!
Firstly, watch the demo to see what's all this about:
Impressive, isn't it? And it's pretty easy to set it up! It's basically a xposed framework module, so you have to install this framework first in case to get this app (read HERE.) After that, you're done!
In last few weeks, we could see (and get) new app updates of Google+, for instance, with brand new kind of design. Well, this isn't any coincidence or Google experimenting with new design. This is supposedly the new kind of design framework called Quantum Paper. Will it replace Holo?
Does it look familiar to you? Yes, the "plus icon" from Google+ is already out here.
However, more apps are on the way! We expect Gmail, Calendar and some more system apps to be updated with this new, redefined design.
This new design is called Quantum Paper and it's going to be available not only for Android platform but also on iOS and web. Remember this screenshot?
We'll probably see this design with upcoming app updates and/or system updates. Nothing is confirmed, though, and we can currently only speculate about further information.
The LG G3 porting maddness has already started and now we have some various ports including some basic stuff such wallpapers or keyboard (read the previous post). But now we have even more stuff including the LG G3 Launcher and Weather Widget!
A popular XDA member Jihsnu Sur has started a new XDA thread with some awesome stuf, the LG G3 Home with weather widget port.
He has made a flashable ZIP file that installs all the stuf to your phone with one click.
The mod fully works with KitKat and with new experimental ART feature.
CyanogenMod, one of the most famous and most used ROMs, has a bunch of extra special apps, such like special sound booster, DSP Manager, customizable launcher Trebuchet, and neat wallpapers. Till this day, you couldn't get these without having CyanogenMod ROM installed or you have to be rooed and had to flash some ZIPs in case to install them. Not anymore! "CM APPS" app now lets you to install these special CyanogenMod-only apps on your non-cyanogen and non-rooted device as well!
No questions asked. Just tap the app, download & install. That's pretty much all you need to do. Ain't that cool?
Security is one of the most important things, especially when talking about phones. Thieves are getting smarter and smarter and can even guess your password. Lockscreen pattern is one of the most used security locks on Android. Unfortunately, the patterns that people choose are getting more and more used-up and it's easirer to guess them. But what if the grid is 6x6?
The standart lockscreen pattern grid on Android is 4x4. That's 16 dots to be connected. A bunch of options, though, but nobody will probably choose the one that takes half a minute to draw. People are getting lazier and so their patterns. But what if you got a 6x6 grid? Now that's security.
For usual ROM-changers, it's not any special - most of the custom ROMs like CyanogenMod or any other ROM has already implemented this tweak to their systems but for some people (especially for people using stock Android) is still this feature brand new. This mod is a xposed module, so you will have to install Xposed Framework first. (Check HERE).
While installed, go to modules section and download the module called CyanLock. After installing, reboot. To get this 6x6 pattern grid, simply go to settings -> security and choose the one you want to use.
You have a few options: 3x3, 4x4, 5x5 and 6x6. To uninstall this module, go back to Xposed Framework and remove the module.
HTC One M8 has revealed a bunch of cool stuff including this new interface with Blinkfeed launcher. For those you like it, this is good news! You can now get this awesome launcher on your Android device, too! Moreover, root is not needed!
An XDA member gakugaku has created an awesome port for all Android devices running on 4.4+ that lets us to install the BlinkFeed launcher without having root.
Installing procedure is pretty easy, all yuo need to do is to download a package and install the APK's in it.
Another amazing port coming from Jihnu Sur lets us to try out and enjoy the apps of a new Sony device - Xperia Z2. It's been a while from release and now you can savor the apps (including launcher) on your Android device!
This mod is created especially for Nexus 5, however it should also work well on Nexus 4 (and maybe on some more devices). In every case, though, make a nandroid backup before installing.
The update comes in all-in-one flashable zip so you need to be rooted.
Apps included in the update: 1) Home 2) Walkman - Fixed 3) Album 4) Movies. 5) Easy Home. 6) Notes 7) Sketch 8) Smart Connect 9) Social Life News. 10) Xperia Lounge 11) Social Life News. 12) Tools Widgets 13) Walkman Widget 14) Weather Widgets 15) Sony Xperia Z2 LWP 16) Calender 17) Sony Select
If you read fresh Android news, you have probably heard of the new icons called Moonshine. Though it's just a rumor, it's very probable that these icons are going to be used in next version of Android and/or in web sites such as Gmail, Google Drive and others. Android Police server has provided us the screenshots with these icons and as you might expect, these icons have been ported (according to this screenshot) and they're now available for download!
If you haven't heard about these icons yet, you should definitely check them out:
As you can see on the screenshots above, the icons are nicely redefined and have a nice look. If you look closer, you can see the shadow of the icons (that's probably why it's called Moonshine) and I wouldn't mind them if they appear in the new Android version.
According to these screenshots, a smart Android user Pablo Poll has make a port with these icons coming in the apk file and it's working on any launcher that supports this feature (to change the icons).
I find them very cool and nice and if you want, you can download by clicking the link below:
It looks like the porting mania has just started and the apps from the new Samsung flagship are getting ported even though this phone hasn't fully reached the market yet. This time it's the very favourite weather widget - fully working, with animation, clock and all the stuff. Now you can also get it on your device!
First of all, this widget (unfortunately) works only on TouchWiz based ROMs so don't attempt to install it on your non-touchwiz device. (It may work on deodexed ROMs, though). Don't forget to make a backup before doing any of this stuff.
How To Install?
Download a root browser and navigate to /system/app
Although the Samsung's new flagship Galaxy S5 may not have been even released, we can already enjoy all the apps, wallpapers and even launcher! And guess, what: there are way more than this. Now you can download fonts, sounds, apps, boot animation, and just everything you need!
Well, let's get straight to it. The links are refering to its original XDA thread, so if you have any further question about the apps or experience any problems, you can drop a line right there.
Note also some of the apps listed may not work on all devices. As mentioned, report the problems to the threads.
MIUI, as the vast majority of you already know, is a freeware ROM available on the miui.us site and it's also one of the most popular ROMs ever created. The good thing is, we have a full port of the complete MIUI launcher with working apps, wallpapers, market and just everything!
If you ever wanted to try the MIUI out but you were afraid of flashing and all of the stuff, so you just gave it up. Well, now's the best time for you to try it finally out!
The whole thing is called MIUI Express and it works like all other launchers do. So you don't basically have to be rooted in order to run any of the features of this app. Although it's just a launcher, it's pretty much accurate to the original MIUI ROM - the wallpapers, icons, widgets, even some apps are re-designed to the original ROM-design.
If you want to customize your MIUI Launcher, you can - using Themes: as in the original MIUI, you can install any theme you like including wallpapers, icons, lockscreens or full setups (like the iPhone setup, for instance).
The whole thing can be downloaded for free on the official site: Download
Be sure to have Android 4 and higher, 1GB or RAM at least, and 80MB of free storage.
