Our new “Stories We Might Have Missed” segment includes stories that we’ve seen around the week that didn’t quite make it into our main posts this past week. At the end of each bullet there should be a source link for our information where you can go grab more details. Enjoy!
- The Future is Coming to Nike Shoes
Nike recently teased their new self tying shoes. The new addition to Nike’s lineup is being called the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0. These new kicks feature “adaptive lacing”, which basically means that they tighten and tie for you. Nike released a short video that definitely makes you feel like the future is now. If you’re a Nike+ member you’ll be able to grab these shoes during the holiday season later this year. Nike has not mentioned the pricing for these shoes just yet, so we’ll have to wait and see. Take a look at the teaser video here.
- Google Needs Your Help to Choose Android N’s Name
Google has been quietly pushing out polls to its Google Opinion Rewards program that suggest it may be seeking help in naming the newest version of the operating system. The survey wants you to choose the name of a delicious food that starts with the letter ‘N’. Your choices included “Neapolitan”, “Nachos” and “Nougat”, along with a few others. What would you name Android’s newest tasty software version?
- iOS 9.3 Sees an Official Release
Shortly after Apple’s event yesterday, iOS 9.3 (along with tvOS 9.2, watchOS 2.2, and OS X 10.11.4) was officially released. Changes to iOS 9.3 include Night Shift (which changes the screen color to something warmer that’s supposed to help you get better sleep), the ability to lock your important notes using Touch ID and the fix to that pesky bug where you bricked your phone when changing the date to 1970. Of course there are more bug fixes and other features that you might find useful. Be sure to update your iOS device when you see the update, but always make a backup first.
- CM13 Also Gets Official Release
Speaking of official releases, CM13 is now official. It has stepped out of its nightly phase and has a new stable and official release. For those of you who stay clear of nightlies but still enjoy tinkering with your phone you will be happy to know that you can now grab the official CM13 release. CM13 features Android 6.0.1 (complete with the nice battery saving and new permissions model) and all the fun stuff that normally comes with CM releases. Check out the official announcement from CyanogenMod here.
- Different Processors in the Galaxy S7 Versions Affect Battery Life
Samsung’s newest flagships were reviewed in full by arstechnica. The detailed review brought to light a possible difference between the US version of the Galaxy S7 (the one with the Snapdragon 820 processor) and the international version (which runs an Exynos processor). The difference that arstechnica found was that the US version’s battery seems to fall a little behind the international version. Speculations are that the difference in battery might just be caused by the difference in processor. Take a look at the review here.
- If You’re on a CDMA Carrier Don’t Expect to Get the Nextbit Robin
That’s right, folks. Although the CDMA version of the Nextbit Robin was delayed, it looks like the guys over at Nextbit have decided not to move forward with this version. The CEO states that the reasoning behind canceling the CDMA version of the Nextbit Robin was that they kept running into issues with the cost. It was costing a lot of time and money, and Nextbit decided to do away with the version all together. Projected costs for the CDMA version were originally in the thousands, but after additional calculations it would cost millions. All Kickstarters who funded the CDMA version are being refunded, and they’ll also receive a coupon for 25% off the version that does ship. Learn more from the blog post here.
- Google Lets You Accurately Show Your House on Maps
If you live in a castle, submarine or lighthouse then you’ll be really happy for this app update. Google Maps now lets you choose a fun sticker to identify your home on the map. You can choose between a plethora of stickers. Options to show your house include a boat, treehouse, couch and more. You can also mark schools and other landmarks, too. To find out more about this new feature be sure to check out Google’s blog here. Make sure you keep your Google Maps app updated!
- If Seeing Websites in Recent Apps is Irritating, Google Says No More
Google has stopped making you see all your open pages in Chrome and all of your open apps together. If you recall, when you updated to Lollipop, Google made it so that all of your open webpages in the Chrome browser showed up with all of your recent apps. At the time you had no way to turn that feature off. Now, however, this feature is off by default. You can turn it on if you’d like, or leave it off. The choice is completely up to you. Learn more about this feature here.
- Tapet, Now with More Material
Tapet, an application designed to provide you with the material wallpapers that you deserve, has now updated to include even more textures. Now you don’t have to worry about your material wallpapers looking too similar. Download or update Tapet (if you haven’t already) and dress your phone up in some extra material wallpapers. Check out the application here.