Nexus Features
How To: Find Out if Your Wireless Carrier Is Tracking You on Android
A shady practice in place by AT&T and Verizon Wireless—and possibly more wireless carriers—was recently uncovered. Outgoing data requests sent from devices on these service providers are being injected with a Unique Identifier Header (UIDH) that allows websites, the carriers, and potentially even government agencies to track your online activity.
How To: Get New Transition Animations on Your Nexus 5
Transition animations are an essential element of any mobile operating system. They give the user a sense of what's happening on the screen, where the apps are coming from, and where they're going.
How To: Get Jelly Bean's GPS Status Bar Icon Back on Your KitKat-Powered Nexus Device
Android updates are a funny thing—they give us a host of new features and upgrades, but they can also change things that we're used to. And sometimes we prefer to have things the way they were.
How To: Disable Double-Tap to Wake While Making Calls on Your Nexus 6
The Nexus 6 came with a hidden kernel module that allowed for double-tap-to-wake functionality, essentially letting you turn your screen on just by tapping it. A simple root app allowed us to activate this feature, which meant we were always two quick taps away from waking our device.
How To: Get Custom Notifications on Your Nexus 5 for Just About Anything
If you've ever used IFTTT, you know how well it can automate your online world. The premise is simple—If This, Then That—but the results are powerful. From automatically printing images based on hashtags to getting around Twitter bans, the service is quite useful with a wealth of possibilities.
How To: Tiny Apps Is a Complete Floating Multitasking Suite for Android
With Android devices getting bigger by the year, you'd think there would be a native multitasking solution by now. While Samsung and LG have included such features in their customized builds of Android, the stock base that manufacturers start with still doesn't include multitasking support.
How To: Bring Back Airplane Mode & Audio Toggles to Your Nexus 5's Power Menu
In an effort to make things simple and more secure, Google decided to slim down the power menu in Android 5.0. What once provided a quick link to shut your device down, turn on Airplane mode, and toggle volume states, has now been relegated to a simple power switch. Lucky for us, developer Gar Ynych has created a flashable ZIP that will revert these changes and restore functionality to the Nexus 5's power menu. In a few simple steps, you can add the volume toggles and Airplane mode switch rig...
How To: Install HTC's Sense Browser on Any Lollipop Device
Many manufacturers add a custom skin on top of their Android builds, but none are more widely praised than HTC's Sense UI. The general consensus among Android users says that HTC's visual tweaks are done in good taste, and the features they add are both functional and warranted.
How To: Convert Any KitKat ROM on Your Nexus 4 or 5 to a Faster Flash-Friendly File System
If you're anything like me, you started down the Android-modding path for two distinct reasons; to run cutting-edge software and squeeze every bit of performance out of your hardware. Utilizing the new F2FS file system on your rooted Nexus 4 or 5 fulfills both of those desires at the same time.
How To: Install the Android M Preview on Your Nexus Device (Using Mac or Linux)
Google I/O is like Christmas for Android enthusiasts. Every year, this conference showcases new and upcoming features for the world's leading mobile operating system, and this year's was no different. Shortly after announcing Android M, Google released a preview version of the upcoming firmware for Nexus devices.
How To: Keep Root, Custom Recovery, & Disabled Encryption When Updating Your Nexus 6
One of the main reasons to buy a Nexus device is the fact that they're always the first to get new Android updates. Another great selling point for the Nexus series is that the devices are amongst the easiest to root and mod. Unfortunately, though, these two features are somewhat mutually exclusive.
How To: Prevent Your Nexus 5 Addiction from Keeping You Awake at Night
Did you know that using your Nexus 5 can deprive you of sleep—and not just because you can't seem to quit playing that addicting game or watching Netflix videos?
How To: Find Your "Missing" Parked Car Using Your Nexus Without Doing Any Work
We've all been there. Stranded in a large lot or parking garage, braving the rows upon rows of identical cars in an endless concrete landscape because, for the very life of us, we can't remember where we stashed the very ride that brought us there.
How To: Sunrise Gives Your Android a Hybrid Agenda/Calendar View
If you're anything like me, you rely heavily on your calendar to keep on track throughout the week, month, and year. While Android's built-in Google Calendar provides an excellent cloud-based solution for keeping our schedules properly maintained, it's not perfect.
How To: Make Your Nexus 5's LED Notification Light Dance to the Music
Most of the time, the LED notification light on the front of your Android device just sits there doing nothing. Other than that brief period of time between when you receive a notification and when you turn your screen on, it's practically useless for anything other than showing when your charger is plugged in.
How To: Get the LG G3's Lock & Unlock Sounds on Your Nexus Device
When my Nexus 5 received the Lollipop update, one of the first things I noticed was how subtle and quiet the new lock and unlock sounds were. Sure, this is a minor quibble, but it's also an easy fix.
How To: The Easiest Way to Transfer Files Between Different Cloud Service Accounts on Android
With limited storage options available on the Nexus 5, cloud storage can definitely come in handy. But sometimes, with the seemingly endless options of cloud services for us to choose from, our online data can get a bit disorganized.
News: Face Unlock May Be Faster on Lollipop, But It's Still Not Secure
The original implementation of Android's face unlock feature was a mess. It took too long to unlock (when it worked), brought up a huge interface that overpowered the lock screen, and maybe most egregiously, was able to be "hacked" by someone holding up a picture of your mug.
How To: Get “Do Not Disturb” on Any Nexus Device
Oddly enough, stock Android does not come with a "do not disturb" function out of the box. Samsung has their own version built into to TouchWiz called "Blocking Mode," and Apple has had their "Do Not Disturb" feature since iOS 6, so why is stock Android so late to the game?
How To: Use HTC's Zoe to Create & Share Pro-Quality Videos on Any Android KitKat Phone
In recent months, HTC has decided to start breaking its proprietary apps out of its own ecosystem and into the Google Play Store. Along with the benefit of allowing its users to update their system apps more easily, this move also means that other folks can get a glimpse of what it's like to use an HTC device.
How To: Get Custom Hotword Detection to Launch Any App on Your Nexus 5
The release of the Nexus 5 marked the debut of the Google Now Launcher. Even with an integrated Google Now page on your home screen, the most talked-about feature was actually the always-listening functionality.
How To: Take Quick Notes on Android Without Leaving Your Current App
So you just bought a fancy new Nexus 6 complete with its gorgeous and gigantic display—now what? Unlike Samsung's TouchWiz, stock Android doesn't sport any cool split-screen features, so how do you really take advantage of all that screen real estate?
How To: Find Out When Your Nexus Will Stop Getting Android Updates
The beauty of Nexus devices is they receive firmware updates faster than any other Android phone, and keep getting updates for years longer than most of the competition. This means that you can always use the great new features that come along with an Android update, and even more importantly, your phone gets monthly security patches to keep hackers and malware at bay.
How To: Update TWRP Recovery with a Material Design Theme on Your Nexus 5
TWRP is hands-down the best custom recovery out there. Its interface, on the other hand, is... well, let's just call it utilitarian. The guys over at Team Win made sure that their product was robust, functional, and easy-to-use, but they didn't put a tremendous amount of effort into polishing the looks.
How To: Turn Your Videos into Animated GIFs on the Nexus 5 with No Quality Restrictions
Now that Hangouts is Android's default messaging app, it's given us a lot of cool new features. A bouncing ellipsis lets you see when the other party is typing, and an indicator shows you whether they've read your message or not. You can even answer the age-old question of "Where you at?" with a tap of a button, sending a map of your location.
How To: Get Stock Lollipop Sounds on Custom ROMs for the Nexus 6
Most custom ROMs are built from the freely-available source code of AOSP, so they share a lot of common ground with stock Android. The difference, though, is the fact that Google adds many minor tweaks and finishing touches to AOSP while creating the version of Android that ultimately comes pre-installed on Nexus devices.
How To: Get CyanogenMod's Audio Mixer on Your Nexus 6
CyanogenMod continues to be the most popular custom ROM for a good reason. Their team of developers always stay on top of the latest trends, and ensure that their software is packed with nice tweaks and awesome features. One such feature is an audio equalizer that allows you to fine-tune your device's various sound outputs. It's got a great interface, and works with any app that calls on Android's default audio mixer.
How To: Streamline the "Complete Action Using" Dialog Box on Your Nexus 4 or 5
You've seen it a million times. You try to do something on your Android device and a box pops up asking you which app you'd like to use. You could try Photos, Gallery, Drive, Picasa Web Albums...the list is fairly extensive sometimes. And what's worse, after that you have to select "Always" or "Just once". Add it all up, and that's three taps to do something you thought would take just one!
How To: Wake Up Faster with a Back-Talking, Snooze-Hating Alarm Clock on Your Nexus 5
I am not a morning person. This is a fact that has been proven with science. I need every bit of help to get me out of bed in the morning—multiple alarms, extremely loud tones, Pandora—I've tried everything.
How To: Make Your Nexus Organize Itself & Dynamically Adapt to Your Daily Needs
Ask a thousand Nexus owners why they chose their device over an iPhone, and after getting an earful of Apple hate, you will likely hear a clear pattern in their responses, namely, the freedom to customize their phones.
How To: Upgrade Your Nexus 5's Alarm Clock Status Bar Icon to Include the Next Alarm Time
Honestly, Android's stock alarm icon is completely useless. It doesn't relay any information other than the fact that, at some point in the future, you have an alarm coming up. Considering how pointless it is, I normally install GravityBox or other similar mods just to get rid of it.
How To: Add a “Define Word” Option to the Copy/Paste Menu on Your Nexus 5
Even as a writer by trade, I'm not intimately familiar with every word in the English language. When you're typing something out on your Nexus, sometimes you think to yourself, "Is that right? Am I using the correct word here?" Then, you have no choice but to bring up Google Now and do a search for that word to make sure you're using it correctly.
How To: Live Stream Your Gameplay on Android Directly to the Web
Broadcasting your gameplay for others to view has recently become a phenomenon with the advent of Twitch.tv. While computer-based gaming is well represented these days, streaming of mobile gameplay has been virtually non-existent.
PSA: Updating to Nougat Through the Android Beta Program Is Risky
Google just released Android 7.0 Nougat, and as usual, they're doing a staged rollout. This means that most users won't actually get the update on their Nexus devices for a few weeks—that is, unless they take matters into their own hands.
How To: Take, Edit, & Send Photos Directly from Your Android Lock Screen
While shortcuts to your Camera and third-party apps like Snapchat are great for capturing fleeting moments, it still takes a few seconds to open them and snap a photo. That means you could potentially miss a great shot if you're not quick enough. But now there's a super-fast way to capture and send photos without having to waste time unlocking your device.
How To: Replace All Remaining Holo Blue Elements on Your Nexus 5 with KitKat White
Android has come a long way in a very short period of time. One of its largest leaps, at least in terms of aesthetic value, was a design pattern called Holo UI. Originally debuting in Android 4.0, many of these design elements are still in place today.
How To: Trim Down Android Lollipop's Overview Screen
As is the case with most software updates, Android 5.0 brought changes that were viewed by users as somewhat positive and somewhat negative. This generally happens because we're accustomed to the old way of doing things, and changes, no matter how useful, can slow us down.
News: Android Update—4.4.3 to Begin Hitting Nexus Devices Today
According to T-Mobile's website, an Android version bump is due out today. While details of specific changes are sparse, the support documentation for Nexus devices very clearly notes a release date of June 2nd for the software. Sprint may have jumped the gun with its own outing of a 4.4.3 update about a month ago, but all indications point towards today's date marking the beginning of a staged-rollout from Google.
How To: Show Live Wallpapers in the Recent Apps Menu on Your Nexus 5 or Other Nexus Device
When Google first introduced Android 4.4, the most glaring user-facing change was a new trend towards transparency. The stock launcher, originally exclusive to the Nexus 5, had transparent status and navigation bars and its app drawer added a touch of transparency.
How To: Open Links in Different Browsers with Gestures on Android
All Android web browsers are not created equal. Some, like Chrome, have slick interfaces and quick rendering, but are not very robust. Others, like Firefox, boast tons of functionality and support add-ons, but are lacking in the interface department and could use a boost in performance.