The Arrow Launcher started as a project from Microsoft’s Garage team and it has been available as a beta since Summer of this year. It looks like Microsoft is confident in the product now because the full application is available for download in the Google Play Store.
There’s a lot you can customize on Android, from changing launchers to using icon packs or fully fledged themes, or even flashing entire ROMs for their look and feel. That being said, one of the oldest and simplest customization options is also one of the most noticeable: changing your wallpaper.
Finding a good wallpaper can be tricky, though. While there’s usually a stock selection included by your vendor or ROM, what if you wanted to pick from other devices’ or ROMs’ wallpapers, or if you want a good selection of material wallpapers?
Walloid is a free and material app by XDA forum members Chirag_Galani and Mr hOaX that will let you do just that. It has over 5000 wallpapers that you can browse by vendor or custom ROM. Want a Samsung wallpaper you liked on a friend’s phone? Or perhaps a wallpaper you’ve seen on iOS? Not a problem, as you can view 29 different vendors’ wallpapers. Just pick the one you want, then further minimize the selection by choosing a specific device or OS version.
Walloid also comes with a bunch of other features, such as the ability to view downloaded wallpapers or previously used ones, set favorite wallpapers or notify you about newly added wallpapers. The latest update (coincidentally released just as Walloid crosses 1,00000 downloads) allows you to customize widget settings, edit wallpapers and view wallpaper resolutions directly while browsing.
You also have the choice of viewing custom ROM wallpapers instead, such as CyanogenMod, Carbon or Paranoid Android wallpapers. Last but not least, you can browse a collection of material wallpapers instead. A huge selection of high quality wallpapers is available, and you can easily download, edit, crop or set any wallpaper you like. More generally, you’ll likely notice some annoying things along the way: the loading screen appears every time you load the app, scrolling feels a bit choppy at times, and back navigation needs some further work. Ignoring these small inconveniences, Walloid excels otherwise.
If you’re not a fan of browsing wallpapers manually, Walloid has got you covered as well. Muzei support is available, letting you use Walloid categories as a source for your random wallpapers. Alternatively, the app comes with a widget you can tap to instantly change your wallpaper to one from your favorite categories.
Check out the Walloid forum thread, try the app and make sure to leave your feedback!
New users to Nexus devices (or even to Android, with the Nexus 5X as their first Android phone) will probably delve into the flashing world sooner or later, and eventually want to flash a factory image to restore stock or get the latest update. Mr hOaX has got you covered with a detailed tutorial on how to do just that!
Even Android lovers have feelings over the one that got away; at some point, we all wanted a phone we just couldn’t get. Be it because we were short on money or because we couldn’t justify the purchase, we all have that one phone in our memory which we wish we had (at the time, or today). What phone did you want but could not get? How would your Android experience have differed?
YouTube’s new subscription service, YouTube Red, is now available for $9.99 per month and it comes with a 1-month free trial offer for those who want to try it out. YouTube Red removes ads on YouTube videos, allows for background playback, lets you save videos for offline playback, it will eventually grant access to exclusive content and it also comes with a subscription to Google Play Music.
A compiled version of the CAF browser has made its way to the Play Store, allowing ease of updating without the need to constantly keep track of the project. This browser is optimized for Snapdragon processor based devices and has noticeable performance differences.
