How to make a custom icon for Android

Theming icons with a pack is pretty awesome. But they can’t do everything.

Icon packs have holes. Icon packs sometimes miss. And when you’re theming your phone, maybe what you need isn’t in an icon pack at all. That’s OK. We don’t need no stinkin’ icon packs. We can edit together our own custom icons! It’s easy. All you need is some kind of photo editor — be it the latest Photoshop or free cloud-based editors like Pixlr — and a little creativity.

Finding your image

Most customization-oriented launchers like Nova Launcher let you set any image you want as an app icon. With that kind of freedom, it can be a bit daunting finding inspiration for your icons. While most custom icons are theme-driven, here are some more ideas for custom icons or where to pull them:

• Game elements: Inventory items in a lot of games, like these Dark Souls items, are easy to set as icons because most are designed to fit into a square and transparent PNG images of the items are easily found on fan sites and game wikis.
• Emoji: Emoji are already square images that are mobile friendly and can be seen as an otherworldy code by a large portion of the population. Using emoji as custom icons means you can disguise apps by how they make you feel, what they remind you of, or one of the hundreds of symbols that you feel represent the app in your eyes.
• Music: If you want to show off your intense love of your favorite group or band, make their already-square album covers into custom icons. ABBA’s SOS for the dialer? Metallica for Chrome? Can You Feel The Love Tonight for Tindr? Wait, that one could be a problem…
• Logos: Sports teams, name brands, heck even a lot of movies and bands have their logos online in transparent PNG images, ready to be set as a custom icon. If you’re a sports fan, your team’s logo is the easiest app drawer icon in the theming world, and in most cases it won’t need any editing at all.

If the image you found was a transparent, square image, congratulations! You can apply it as-is. If it isn’t, there’s a few edits you may need to make:

• If your image doesn’t have a transparent background, you need to delete the background that is there and re-save the image as an image type that supports transparency, such as PNG.
• If your image is a rectangle rather than a square, you will only be able to set the center square as your icon, as Android icons must be square. Most image editors will add extra blank space around your icon by increasing the Canvas Size until the height and width numbers match. Also make sure your icon is centered within the square so you’re not doing a lot of repositioning while setting the icon in the launcher.
• Image sizes aren’t quite as important to custom icons as they are to wallpapers, but there are a few things to remember. If an image is too small, the app icon will be blurry on your home screen. If an image is too big, its fine details could get lost in the small shortcut it displays in. I tend to aim for 500-pixel square, transparent PNG images.

Applying a custom icon

The method for applying a custom icon can vary a little depending on the launcher you use. Here are the processes for applying a custom icon on the most popular launchers, and how to apply a custom icon even if your launcher doesn’t support custom icons itself.

Nova Launcher

Long-press the shortcut you wish to change.
Tap Edit.

Tap the icon box to edit the icon.

Tap Gallery apps.
Tap Documents.

Navigate to and select your custom icon.

Make sure your icon is centered and completely within the bounding box before tapping Done.
Tap Done to commit the changes.

Enjoy your new icon

Action Launcher

Long-press and hold the app shortcut you’d like to edit.
Drag the icon up to Edit.

Swipe up the menu to reveal the list of sources for your icon.

Tap My photos.
Navigate to and select your custom icon.

Return to the home screen to enjoy your new icon.

Awesome Icons

Have a launcher that doesn’t support custom icons but want one anyway? Not a problem! Just use Awesome Icons to create a home screen shortcut with a custom icon.

Open Awesome Icons.
Tap Create shortcut.

Tap the app icon under Launch.

Tap your desired app.
Tap the app icon under Icon.

Tap Picture.

Navigate to and select your custom icon.
Make sure your icon is centered and completely within the bounding box before tapping Crop.

Tap OK to create your new custom shortcut.

The only limits for custom icons are your own tastes and your imagination! What custom icons have you used in a theme? Got a great idea for some custom icons but don’t quite know how you could pull it off? Leave your ideas in the comments below!

Daydream works in the Android O Beta, so be careful

The Android O Beta isn’t going to kill your Daydream sessions.

Good news, developers and bleeding edge enthusiasts! If you’re planning to enroll your Google Pixel to the Beta Program for Android O, the Daydream app and its connected experiences are still available to you. There have been similar previews in the past that disabled access to VR services out of concern for performance issues, but clearly Google feels confident Daydream performance hasn’t been negatively impacted which is great.

That having been said, be careful. Betas are often very unfinished, and there are a lot of things that could negatively impact Daydream as you explore this new version of Android.

Read more at VR Heads!

LG ‘V30’ will support Google’s Daydream VR: One big, important clue

For starters, LG’s next flagship will probably use an OLED screen.

At the Google I/O 2017 keynote presentation, Google let slip (well, it was surely intentional) an important clue about an unannounced Android phone. In addition to confirming that the Galaxy S8 and S8+ will get Daydream support via a software update later this year, Google’s Clay Bavor told attendees that LG’s next flagship phone would also be Daydream ready.

Since we’ve already seen the flagship LG G6 this year, that sure sounds a lot like the LG V20’s successor.

What’s interesting about this proclamation about Daydream support is that the spec currently requires an AMOLED display, because LCDs have so far lacked the super-low latency required for a smooth, comfortable VR experience. This would be a first for LG, which has in the past relied exclusively on IPS LCD panels in its top-end devices. So either there’s been some breakthrough in LCD panel latency we don’t yet know about, or (more likely) the LG V30 will go with OLED, which has a proven track record in both VR headsets and VR-enabled phones.

AMOLED has a proven track record in both VR headsets and VR-enabled phones.

LG has invested billions in OLED production over the past year, and has previously dabbled in using flexible OLED with the G Flex series. LG Display division has also been rumored to be supplying panels for both the next-gen iPhone and Google’s upcoming Pixel 2 phones. The time might be right, then, for LG’s mobile division to consider OLED for its next big-screened handset — a phone which would likely go up against Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8.

As for other LG V30 features, all we have to go on at this point is (somewhat) informed speculation. A large screen size is a good bet, as is a G6-like 18:9 aspect ratio. It’s also likely LG would launch its own Daydream headset with the V30, whichever display technology it ends up using, rather than send potential sales to Google or some other headset maker. We’d also bet on a Snapdragon 835 and a significant RAM upgrade, giving the V30 an edge on the G6, and bringing LG’s top-end handset in line with Samsung, HTC, OnePlus and others.

Whatever form the V30 takes when it eventually materializes, Google’s announcement offers a rare early clue as to what’s coming. Stay tuned in the months ahead for more V30 info as it lands.

Verizon will be the first U.S. carrier to sell a Tango phone

Verizon will sell the ASUS ZenFone AR later this summer, and that’s a great thing for AR.

Later this summer, Verizon will be the first U.S. carrier to sell a Tango-enabled device, which also happens to be the second ever phone to support Google’s nascent augmented reality platform.

During a VR keynote at Google I/O, Johnny Lee, program lead for Tango, confirmed that the ASUS ZenFone AR will be coming to Verizon later in the summer, and will likely be sold alongside an unlocked model for other users who want to pay full price for the AR experience.

The ZenFone AR is much smaller than the first Tango phone, Lenovo’s Phab 2 Pro, that debuted last summer. In his hands-on, Russell Holly said that the phone is nicely-designed and well built, and will work really well with Tango when it’s available at launch.

The things that are most interesting about this phone, as the name suggests, are on the inside. This is the first phone with a Snapdragon 821 processor that has been optimized to handle Google Tango, complete with a camera array that differs wildly from Google’s first Tango partner, Lenovo. As the first phone that can handle both Daydream and Tango, there’s a lot of testing to be done to see how well all of this comes together.

That testing is coming to a close as we near the phone’s launch, and while we don’t know how much it will cost, it’s likely to be a little more expensive than the $499 list price of the underpowered and oversized Phab 2 Pro. And given that the ZenFone AR will also be Daydream-compatible, it will be far more of a consumer-focused phone than its spiritual predecessor.

Daydream’s next update is bringing Cast, Notifications, and Social

There’s a huge update coming to Google Daydream, and it’s going to be great for everyone.

Separate from all of the awesome things coming to Android in the O update, Google has some big things coming to Daydream. While the overall purpose of this update is preparing the platform for the upcoming Standalone Daydream launch, existing Daydream-ready phones are going to benefit in several huge ways.

This new version of Daydream is codenamed Euphrates, and this is what we know so far!

New UI, New Dashboard

The big visual changes coming to Daydream will be immediately obvious. The starting launcher screen is being adjusted with more visual backgrounds that move with you and a new system for making your apps front and center. From here, you’ll be able to access a dashboard by pressing the Home button.

This dashboard will give you quick access to settings and friends, but also offer a look at notifications on your phone. It’s the first time notifications have been available through daydream, but currently its not clear what kinds of actions users will have within Daydream when interacting with a notification.

Casting and Sharing

This new Euphrates dashboard will also make it easier for you to capture screenshots and record video. The core function looks similar to what is currently available on the Gear VR, where you get a notification letting you know video is being recorded and you can share to your connected social networks. Screenshots will happen on a timer, so you ask for a screenshot and take a moment to frame your shot before the capture happens.

The big thing happening here is sharing through Google Cast. This will let you share what is happening in your headset to a nearby Android TV or Chromecast, making it so people in the same physical space as you can see what is happening on the screen. This sounds an awful lot like cheating for games like Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, but lets just say you’re all on the honor system from here on out.

YouTube VR Reimagined

The final change coming with Euphrates isn’t within Daydream core, but instead within the unique YouTube VR app available only in Daydream. YouTube VR will make it possible to share VR videos with friends in a way that allows everyone to watch something together at the same time. It’s part of a significant UI overhaul for the already impressive YouTube VR experience, and it’s also the first real attempt at social VR we’ve seen from Google directly.

Google isn’t saying when exactly Euphrates can be expected, but we know the new standalone headsets are coming this holiday season so it’s likely we’ll see this huge shift around the same time. Are you excited about the Euphrates update? Share your thoughts below!

Amazon Charts ranks books by what people are actually reading

Bestseller lists like the one at the New York Times measure a book’s success by how many copies its sold. What it doesn’t do is tell you how many of those books are being read, nor how fast. Amazon Charts aims to fix this problem with a new, weekly bestseller list that will show you which top selling physical, electronic and audio books are actually being read and borrowed. The data-based Charts also includes some analysis, like which titles were pre-ordered the most or which Kindle books were read the fastest.

Amazon claims that Charts is the first to rank books by the average number of daily Kindle readers and Audible listeners each week. You can switch between the Most Read and Most Sold rankings on the web page, too. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is currently at the top of the Sold and Read charts for fiction, of course. Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is number three on the Most Read chart and James Patterson and Maxine Paetro’s 16th Seduction sits in the same spot on the Most Sold list. Even Amazon’s Echo devices are in on the fun; just ask Alexa what the most popular books are for the week and she’ll list them for you out loud.

Amazon Charts seems like a no-brainer way to track what we’re reading using big data. Reader behavior is probably more indicative of a book’s popularity than just number of units sold. “Amazon Charts is exactly what we need,” said crime writer Patricia Cornwell in a statement. “Exciting and forward thinking, it will accurately represent what people are reading and investing their time into.”

Source: Amazon

What the Conservative election manifesto means for UK tech

Strong and stable. Strong and stable. Strong and stable. Following Labour and the Liberal Democrats, the Conservative party has put forward its manifesto for the UK general election in June. Many of its 86 pages focus on strong leadership, a strong economy (are you getting the picture?) and the need for a “smooth, orderly” exit from the European Union. A large chunk, however, is also dedicated to science and technology, and how the government would support research, technical training and fledgling startups. In fact, the government considers “fast-changing technology” to be one of five key pillars essential to its success in the next parliament.

Technology

If elected, one of the party’s first priorities would be to create a “digital charter.” The new regulatory framework, drawn up with charities and technology companies, would aim to govern the way users and businesses act online. “This charter has two fundamental aims: that we will make Britain the best place to start and run a digital business; and that we will make Britain the safest place in the world to be online,” the manifesto reads. Regulators would be able to sanction companies who fail to abide by these rules, which include removing content that breaks UK law.

The Conservatives would also introduce “an industry-wide levy” against social media companies and communication service providers to fund “awareness and preventative activity” to counter harmful behaviour on the internet. Beyond the new charter, the party wants a “modern industrial strategy” that can help businesses “at every stage of their growth.” The initiative would include new, regional offices for its startup-focused British Business Bank, and fresh rules designed to promote trade and online commerce — businesses, for instance, would be able to insist on digital signatures and have the right to cancel any contract digitally.

A re-elected Conservative government would also help to shield young people from pornography, violence, and other mature content online. That goes not just for social media, but apps and the wider web too. Technology companies, the party says, would be responsible for this and need to implement stronger reporting tools with a “comply-or-explain” feedback system. Theresa May’s cabinet would also “push” companies to improve their monitoring tools and proactively remove “terrorist propaganda.”

The manifesto mentions a data-centric bill of rights for citizens too. It would force social media companies to store user data securely and offer simple export and removal tools. In addition, the government would draft a new data protection law to enforce best practices and guarantee the UK’s “global leadership in the ethical and proportionate regulation of data.”

None of that matters if you can’t get online, however. The Conservatives are, therefore, promising simpler broadband switching and pricing, as well as universal access to “high speed broadband” by 2020 (this is already part of its Universal Service Obligation, however.) That same year, it wants 10 million premises to have “full fibre” access and “major fibre spines” in 100 towns and cities. There would also be “a clear path” to nationwide fibre coverage within 10 years (though how that would be achieved is a mystery). The manifesto also promises “uninterrupted mobile phone signal” on roads and railway lines, and Wi-Fi access on all major trains.

Environment

The Conservatives want “reliable and affordable energy” by almost any means necessary. The right-leaning party promises to “maintain” its position on offshore wind, but wants to avoid building new, large-scale onshore wind farms. Solar, tidal and nuclear are barely mentioned in the manifesto. “Above all, we believe that energy policy should be focused on outcomes rather than the means by which we reach our objectives,” it reads. Instead, the party wants to develop the nation’s shale industry.

So that means fracking, right? Well, maybe. The Conservatives say non-fracking drilling will be permitted, and everything else will be decided by the National Planning Regime. Extraction will only proceed, however, if the party can “maintain public confidence in the process,” rigorous environmental protections and “ensure the proceeds of the wealth generated by shale energy are shared with the communities affected.” To uphold this promise, it wants a new Shale Environmental Regulator, formed from bits of the Environment Agency, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Health and Safety Executive.

Out on the streets, the party wants every car and van to be zero-emission by 2050. The party will also ensure that smart meters are offered to every household and business by the end of 2020, encouraging responsible energy consumption and accurate, consistent billing. They’ll be rolled out alongside a broader push to bring all “fuel poor homes” up to a Band C energy rating by 2030. “We pledge to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it,” the manifesto reads.

Health and education

Technology should play a greater role in our nation’s health and education systems, according to the current government. The Conservatives want to create “institutes of technology,” backed by employers and paired with established universities, in every major city. These would provide degree-level technical training in a range of technology and science based disciplines. Students would have access to loans and grants — similar to university students — and more vocational routes, such as apprenticeships and employer-bespoke courses, should that be their preference.

The Conservatives would also push ahead with its proposed T-Levels, a revamped form of technical qualification. These would replace 13,000 existing courses and span 15 “routes” including construction, creative and design, digital, engineering and manufacturing, health and science. Finally, the party is promising a “right to lifelong learning in digital skills,” similar to adult literacy and numeracy, sometime in the future.

On the health side, the Conservatives are promising better digital tools for patients. These would let you book appointments, contact the 111 service, order repeat prescriptions and update parts of your own care records. The number of NHS-approved apps would also be boosted and live wait times would be piloted for hospital A&E rooms and other emergency services.

The economy

Much has been said about the “gig economy” and how drivers working for Uber, Deliveroo and other similar companies should be treated. The Conservatives aren’t against the concept, but recognise that there are “challenges” associated with this new and constantly evolving form of employment. “These workers are officially classed as self-employed and therefore have fewer pension entitlements, reduced access to benefits, and no qualification for sick pay and holiday pay,” the manifesto reads. “Yet the nature of their work is different from the traditional self-employed worker who might be a sole trader, a freelancer or running their own business.”

If elected, the Conservatives would focus on ensuring people in the gig economy “are properly protected.” A report is currently underway by Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts, and the party would take his findings under consideration to figure out how employees, self-employed and “gig economy” workers are all treated fairly.

In the Spring 2017 budget, the UK chancellor Philip Hammond provided more detail on the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF), a project designed to support science and technology. Today’s manifesto provides a little more detail on the scheme, promising £740 million for digital infrastructure, £1.1 billion for local transport and £250 million for skills by 2021. In addition, the fund will provide £170 billion for housing, economic infrastructure, research and development over the next parliament.

The Conservatives have everything to lose. The most recent polls give them a wide margin over Labour and the Liberal Democrats, and many have predicted them to win by a landslide. Labour has started to close the gap, however, and as we’ve seen with both the EU referendum and the US presidential election — polls often aren’t reflective of public sentiment. The Conservatives need to be careful, then, and manage their message of “strength and stability”. That mantra has become a bit of a joke but the general concept holds — a vote for the Conservatives, the party argues, is a vote to maintain the nation’s current, steady if undewhelming trajectory.

Source: Conservative Party Manifesto 2017

Google Tango shows how AR can improve virtual field trips

Google didn’t have a ton new to say about its Tango augmented reality tech today from the I/O 2017 stage. Instead, the company wanted to flaunt what Tango is already good at, in a fresh way. Namely, the type of educational Expedition experiences that were briefly shown off yesterday. Daydream’s education lead Jennifer Holland said that over two million students and teachers have taken advantage of what Tango can offer in a school setting. “One of the most important things my team has learned is you need to embrace they key functions of a classroom,” she said. Meaning, having students interacting with each other and the teacher.

The idea is to take what Google did with its classroom VR system and apply that to AR. To illustrate that, Holland demoed a way for teachers to use Tango to make a 3D map of their classroom. From there, an educator could bring virtual objects in like one of Michelangelo’s sculptures or even a category five hurricane. Teachers could even turn their classroom into a virtual art museum so kids could get up close with works by the Dutch Masters or Renaissance artists.

The key bit here is that it enables kids to talk to each other and marvel at how cool the virtual objects in front of them are in a group setting — no isolating headset required. If you want to inspire the next generation, developers are able to start making their own AR lesson plans right now.

For all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2017, follow along here

Source: Google

SwitfKey for iOS adds 68 languages, gets design overhaul and new themes

SwiftKey, the keyboard app that lets you trace your finger around the letters to type words, has updated its list of supported languages in the iOS version of the app. SwiftKey has added 68 new world languages, bringing the total supported number up to 106, more than any other iOS keyboard. 

• Best iOS keyboard: The top third-party ones to try, and how to set them up

New languages can, naturally, be found in the ‘Languages’ section of the app, and are marked by a green dot to indicate they’re newly available. You can download any of them to be installed, and can use two different languages at the same time. When you start typing, SwiftKey will automatically detect which language you’re using and provide relevant predictions based on the language you’re writing in. 

SwiftKey has also introduced two new animated themes: Cogs and ZigZag. Cogs has different sized circles moving around behind the keys, while ZigZag has 3D lines moving around. The two default themes, Nickel Light and Nickel Dark, have been rejuvenated with a cleaner look to better resemble the default iOS keyboard.

The SwiftKey update is available to download now, so head to the App Store to install it and take advantage of the latest features. 

OnePlus 5 will feature DxO’s photography expertise

In a world where Instagram has more users than the population of most countries, it’s no secret that a phone’s camera is often its selling point. Now, in a bid to win over some of that mammoth audience, phone manufacturer OnePlus has enlisted the help of photography experts DxO. Renowned for creating the respected camera benchmark system, DxOMark, the company is now helping the phone maker create a world-leading camera for the upcoming OnePlus 5.

As you may remember, this isn’t the first time that DxO has attempted to bring its expertise to smartphones. In 2015 the company released the DxO One — an attachable phone peripheral that added a whole host of post-processing improvements to your photos. According to its rating system, the HTC U11 boasts a record DxO score of 90– causing many to claim that it’s the world’s best camera phone. Whether it’s Google’s pixel, Samsung’s Galaxy S8 or HTC’s U11, OnePlus has its work set out for it.

Unsurprisingly, it’s a partnership that OnePlus expects to gain a lot from. “Working alongside DxO, we’re confident the OnePlus 5 will be capable of capturing some of the clearest photos around” says OnePlus’ social media manager, Diego Heinz. Yet, although DxO’s ratings are still highly revered, it’s worth noting that not everyone in the camera world takes the DxOMark as gospel.

Aside from this teaser, not much is know about the OnePlus 5. So far, no specs or even the design of the phone have been released, but with its launch rapidly approaching, it probably won’t be long before we see that camera in action.