[Update: More images] Galaxy Note8 leaks ahead of August unveiling

• Update 1: 2017/08/01 2:26am PDT
  A further image from @evleaks shows the Galaxy Note8 from every angle, including the fingerprint sensor and dual cameras on the rear:

The upcoming Galaxy Note8 has been highly anticipated by fans, despite the previous model blowing up on several occasions. There have been a few leaks so far, but only from questionable sources. Evan Blass, known as @evleaks on Twitter, has shared an image of the upcoming phone.

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[Update: More images] Galaxy Note8 leaks ahead of August unveiling was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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The latest Humble Mobile Bundle is all about making you think

Who doesn't love puzzle games? Well, a lot of people, probably, but if you're not one of them, you might enjoy the current Humble Mobile Bundle.

Paying the minimum of $1 will give you a trio of minimalistic puzzle experiences. Hook, Zenge, and klocki all follow a similar idealogoy — they're meditative games that don't pressure you with timers, move counters, or anything else. It's just you, a puzzle, and all the time in the world. They also arrive with some beautifully atmospheric soundtracks — they could make for some great stress relief.

If you can part with five bucks or more, you will also receive three very different games. The first is for the city planners out there and it's called Mini Metro. This tasks you with planning out the best underground railway network possible. The second, Human Resource Machine, can be described as an illustration of why people quit their office jobs and become travel bloggers. And the third, Deus Ex GO, is a turn-based stealth puzzle take on the critically acclaimed Deus Ex video games series.

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Paying more than the average other users parted with, which at the time of writing is a bit over $5.50, will add three more games to the package. A Good Snowman is Hard to Build will put you in the shoes of a monster that really likes building good snowmen, while Concrete Jungle, on the other hand, is a mix between a puzzle and a city-building game; both bring fresh ideas to the puzzle genre. As for Slayaway Camp, it's for the kind of people who watched Friday the 13th in the 1980s and really wanted Jason's job.

Considering the total value of the games is $29, paying six bucks for all nine of them sounds like a pretty good deal to us. So, if you're into puzzle games, don't miss it.

Have you played any of these titles? Which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments.

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There is a fix for your Nexus 6P bootloop issue (Update: now with better performance)

Update: The Nexus 6P bootloop fix recently created by members of the XDA Developers forums has just become even better. User XCnathan32, the main developer of the original fix, posted an update to the install guide over the weekend to announce the changes.

XCnathan32 writes that the modified Nexus 6P image users must flash on their devices now takes advantage of four CPU cores (compared to one and a half in the previous iteration), providing faster performance and even beating the stock Nexus 6P ROM in some benchmarks.

While this doesn't mean that process of applying the fix is any easier, it should mean that those who want to give it a try can expect an improved overall experience.

The Nexus 6P might have been release back in 2015, but it took a bit longer for some owners to notice their device would refuse to fully boot up and start over in a constant loop. Otherwise known as a "bootloop," this issue has seemingly hit more Nexus 6P owners as more time passed, to the point where some folks took matters into their own hands and develop a fix.

XDA user XCnathan32, along with assistance from two other users, created the fix and put it up for anyone to give it a whirl. Without getting too technical, the fix shuts down all four of the Nexus 6P octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor's performance cores that seemingly prevent the phone from properly booting up.

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Problems with the Nexus 6P and how to fix them

Problems with the Nexus 6P and how to fix them

June 29, 2017

More specifically, the A57 performance cores are disabled while the A53 cores are left alone. This means that, while you will notice lag when going through the UI, you might notice slightly improved battery life, since the A53 cores are more power-efficient than their A57 counterparts.

One of the bigger issues regarding the fix, however, is that you need to be comfortable with messing around with your device a bit. The fix involves unlocking your bootloader and flashing various modified images, so if you have no idea what any of that means, you might be better off not messing with your Nexus 6P.

Of course, this would be a good reason to start tinkering with your Nexus 6P, particularly if you have done so before. Just keep in mind that we cannot vouch for the fix – some folks have reported it worked wonders for their device, though that is not the case for everyone.

Interestingly enough, the same XDA user who created a Nexus 6P bootloop fix also created a fix for the Nexus 5X, which has its own share of bootloop issues. Unlike with the Nexus 6P fix, though, the XDA user did not personally test the Nexus 5X fix, so your mileage will vary even more.

Regardless, if you are at your wit's end with your Nexus 6P's or Nexus 5X's bootloop issues, your other alternative is to pay attention to lawsuits against Huawei, Google, and LG over these issues.

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Here’s the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 in Midnight Black

The upcoming Galaxy Note 8 is one of the most anticipated smartphones of the year. Although we're still a few weeks away from its reveal, we already know quite a few things about it. Back in June, we saw the first alleged renders and a 360-degree video of the device, which revealed its design. Now, another image of the handset was posted online by none other than Evan Blass.

Samsung Galaxy Note8 (in Midnight Black) http://pic.twitter.com/QZii9xFarQ

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 31, 2017

As you can see, the smartphone looks similar to the Galaxy S8 series devices — at least the front. The back of the device is expected to look a little bit different because of the dual-camera setup it is rumored to come with.

Of course, Midnight Black isn't the only color option the Note 8 will be available in. Evan Blass announced on Twitter last week that you'll also be able to get your hands on the device in at least one new color option — Deep Blue. In addition, we expect to see at least two more color variants, with one of them likely being Orchid Gray.

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As far as specs go, the Note 8 is rumored to sport at least a 6.3-inch QHD+ display and the Snapdragon 835 chipset. It should have 4 or 6 GB of RAM, have dust and water resistance, and run Android Nougat with Samsung's user interface on top. The device is expected to be made out of a combination of metal and glass, feature two 13 MP cameras on the back, and come equipped with the popular S-Pen.

We'll know more about the device once it is officially announced, which is scheduled to happen on August 23 in New York City. Meanwhile, feel free to check out our Samsung Galaxy Note 8 rumor roundup post to learn more about what to expect.

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Google announces ‘Made for India’ initiative to showcase apps optimized for Indian market

At the first ever Google Play App Excellence Summit in India, Google today announced its new 'Made for India' initiative.

As part of the initiative, Indian developers can apply for a chance to have apps that are specifically optimized for the Indian market to be showcased on the Google Play Store in India in a special section.

Made for India is an initiative to discover and showcase developers who are building high quality apps and optimizing them for Indian users. All you have to do is to apply at http://ift.tt/2hiU5rQ.

Specifically, the company is looking for factors like innovation, minimized data consumption, optimized battery consumption, optimized for internet connectivity, useful offline state, device compatibility for apps, app size reduction, and localization support.

The reason for Google's interest in the market is obvious. More than 70% of internet users in India go online primarily via their smartphones and this number is growing at a phenomenal rate. Interestingly, there are now more people using Android devices in India than in the US.

During her note to kick off the summit earlier today, Purnima Kochikar, Director – Business Development, Google Play, shared that people in India install more than a billion apps every month from Google Play. And while this is a staggering number already, the number of apps installed in India has grown by 150% each year.

Since Google has introduced diverse and convenient forms of payment for Indian consumers, the consumer spend on apps and games is growing at 3X in India.

At the summit, Google brought together over 700 Indian app and games developers, where the company shared tips and tools to help developers create the best quality Android apps that are locally relevant.

Last year, Google announced 'Build for Billions' guidelines to help developers overcome challenges such as varying network connectivity, device specifications, and high data costs. The playbook, available on Google Play, is a step-by-step guide for developers to learn about the features, tools, and best practices to get apps ready to meet the needs of billions of Android users in India as well as globally.

With initiatives like 'Build for Billions' and 'Make for India', Google aims to help Indian developers of all sizes build successful, locally relevant businesses.

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The wait is over: The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus now support Daydream VR

When Samsung launched the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, one of the more glaring omissions was the lack of Daydream VR support. We assumed it was not for a lack of specs – the Snapdragon 835, 4 GB of RAM, and Quad HD Super AMOLED display ensure compatibility – so it was only a matter of time until that would change.

Fortunately for Daydream VR fans, that time is now, since Google confirmed Daydream VR is rolling out to Samsung's pair of flagship smartphones.

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Google says 11 Daydream-compatible phones will be on sale by end of 2017

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The two phones have had quite the journey to get to where we are today when it comes to Google's VR solution. When we first learned that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus launched without Daydream VR support, we did not know whether that was because of possible meddling on Samsung's part.

The company, along with Oculus, have their own Gear VR platform for Samsung smartphones, and it was possible that Samsung's agreement with Oculus prevented the former from reaching an agreement with Google to support Daydream VR. You could change that by altering a single line of code, though the "solution" likely voided your warranty.

We then fast-forward to Google's developer conference in May, when the search giant announced that Daydream VR support would make its way to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus through a software update this summer. Google did not provide more specific information, but it was enough to get folks excited. After all, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus are the most well-known faces of Android to the general public, and having the phones support Daydream VR could make the platform more popular.

There was a bit of a waiting period, but about a week ago, Verizon rolled out an update to Samsung's pair of flagships to support Google's VR platform. Other carriers rolled out similar updates, though it was dependent on Google to issue server-side support.

Because of that, however, it might take a bit for the Daydream app to function as advertised on your Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus. Either way, the waiting period should not be that long, since no further software update is required.

Get Daydream from the Play Store

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Google lands itself in hot water over concerns regarding purchase tracking

Google offers a wealth of devices, applications, and features that have become incredibly useful in this connected world of ours, but you do give up some of your privacy for the privilege. The return makes the trade-off an easy one to make for most folks, but in the eyes of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), one such trade-off involving Google's Store Sales Management program might have stepped over the line.

Unveiled back in May, the program uses your credit card transactions to determine how many sales were generated by digital ad campaigns. More specifically, this data is then combined with other financial information in order to create your profile, which tells companies what you search for in terms of goods and services. These searches then theoretically result in real-world purchases, which Google wants to prove are the results of its online ads.

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The problem, according to EPIC's complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, is how secretive Google is when it comes to the anonymization process. When Google's Store Sales Management program creates your profile, it supposedly does so without revealing your name, credit card number, or other private data.

EPIC is concerned that, since Google remains secretive about this anonymization process, there is no way to determine whether it does what it does well. This concern is augmented by CryptDB, a system that the process is based on, and its "known security flaws":

The foundational algorithm on which the Google platform is based has known security flaws. In 2015, researchers were able to hack into a CryptDB protected database of healthcare records and access over 50 percent (sometimes 100 percent) of sensitive patent data at an individual level.

In the complaint, EPIC also states that there is no clear way for people to opt out of Google's purchase tracking:

Consumers cannot easily avoid Google's tracking of their in-store purchase behavior. As described above, there appears to be no mechanism by which Google users can opt out of purchase tracking other than by disabling location tracking entirely. It is not clear to users, however, that the way to avoid tracking of purchases is by disabling location tracking.

Generally speaking, these are not the only concerns regarding the Store Sales Management program. For one, Google also refused to share how the system works in detail when it was first unveiled. It is also unknown which companies analyze credit and debit card records on Google's behalf. In other words, there is plenty we do not know about the program, but whether that is a good or bad thing, or something in between, is a different question.

Android Authority will reach out to Google for comment on the matter and will update accordingly.

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