GoKawiil
Tech News
Android Authority found a new lock screen customization page hidden in the Wallpaper & Style app on the first Android 17 QPR3 beta. The page is mostly empty but shows buttons for wallpaper, colors, clock, widgets, and a new 'media' option not seen in the current menu. Currently, Pixel owners customize lock screens through a swipe-based menu with separate settings for clock, shortcuts, and notifications.
ATV Launcher's version 0.1.41 update introduces "Arrangements," ten preset home-screen row layouts including Spotlight, Bookends, Centre Stage, Marquee, and Hero Trio, some featuring double-sized highlight tiles. It also lets users embed widgets like Weather, Digital Clock, System Info, and Watch Next directly into app rows, alongside a refreshed Configure Tile dialog, new folder preview styles, edge-to-edge Watch Next cards, and a customizable status bar with pill styles and TV input switching. The developer also released a separate free companion app offering 15 digital clock widget styles.
Beats has launched the Beats 360, a redesigned headphone with fully removable ear cups that twist off to swap between two cushion types: a knit fabric built for workouts and a plush option for everyday listening. Each earpiece runs independently with its own battery and processing chip instead of a wired connection through the headband, and extra cushion kits cost $50.
Samsung quietly merged its old Bixby button into the side power button starting with the Note 10 series, giving the single button several default functions: short press for screen on/off, long press for Bixby, double press for camera, and combinations with volume buttons for screenshots and the power menu. Samsung allows users to remap nearly all of these actions through phone settings, including on older devices that still have a separate Bixby button.
Apple's iOS 27 update introduces the ability to shrink or expand the clock on the iPhone lock screen, building on previous features like removable controls and movable widgets. Users can now toggle between a compact clock near the top and an enlarged version that takes up roughly a third of the screen, adjustable through the Wallpaper settings menu.
Android Authority polled over 2,500 readers on Google Messages' new chat theme feature, which lets users customize individual RCS conversations with colors, preset wallpapers, or personal images visible only on their own device. The results split nearly evenly: 36% said they'd long wanted the feature, 33% were undecided but willing to try it, and just over 31% said they'd never use it.
Google has released Android 17 QPR2 Beta 4 to supported Pixel devices, a smaller update than the previous beta but one that introduces meaningful refinements. The standout addition lets users control which notification and system icons appear in the status bar through a new settings menu, alongside a Voice Broadcast option added to Quick Settings.
ATV Launcher Pro's version 0.1.40 update introduces a new layout editor that lets Android TV users add, move, hide, and restyle home screen sections directly on the screen with live previews. The update also brings 12 row styles, seven tile layouts, screen breaks, icon packs, video wallpapers, new widgets, focus effects, and support for Android 16.