Android

I REALLY don't want sam's ung on my phone.

On one hand I'm like this is a shameless money grab and on the other, I'm hoping more OEMs do this.

Though of course the best solution would be USB-C right into the watch.

Excerpts from the Changelog:

What's Changed

• Added ability to scan barcode directly from input image without opening camera
• Fix consistent update checking when update checking disabled
• Fix firebase icon by #1736
• Fix crashes when using Turkish language
• Added ability to restore settings when sharing backup file to the app by #1737
• Added tool for exporting audio album covers from metadata by #1742
• Improve Highlights And Shadows filter by #1744
• Added logs sending feature by #1755
• Items reordering now called by long press by #1757
• Android 16 support
• Added ability to use collage maker with single image by #1774
• Added ability to read text from images to file or relative metadata by #1773
• Support unicode symbols in USER_COMMENT exif tag by #1791
• Added ability to add Digital watermarks (Steganography) by #1815
• Fix TIFF crash (change default quality to deflate) by #1797
• Added ability to set output scale ratio in collages by #1804
• Added Auto red eyes remover as filter by #1799
• Fix collage aspect ratio by #1801
• Select scale mode directly from sheet by #1796
• Fix Crash - Negative sizes are not supported by #1825
• Added ability to create Template from current filter chain by #1820
• Fix large zip archives not saving by #1835
• Fix Can't Create PDF of large amount of Photos by #1835
• Change default output dir name to ImageToolbox
• Added Tone curves as filter by #1838
• Added Fullscreen image preview to image reorder carousels by #1855
• Add ability to open and convert password protected PDFs on android > 12
• Added new PDF viewer for android > 12 that can remove password by #1845
• Increase precision of Image Cutting tool by #1858
• Fix large image crash in color picker by #1862
• Improve Image Preview tool with sort ability by #1866
• Fix Using Crop in OCR by #1873
• Fix group button height calculation by #1884
• Fix Gradient Maker issues
• Added Mirror filter by #1912
• Fix Compare Image tool crash
• Added ability to control crop rotation more precisely by #1886
• Change MozJPEG title by #1963
• Updated Bilaterial Blur filter
• Fix colors of icon containers by #1941
• Split open source libraries info to separate screens
• Added IOS26 switch type
• Added ability to save image as static GIF by #1960
• Other bug fixes and improvements
• Fix possible OOM's and improve app speed
• Material Expressive UI

Full Changelog: https://github.com/T8RIN/ImageToolbox/compare/3.2.0...3.3.0

Google is quietly rolling out its Gemini AI tool as the default assistant on Android, even on devices where users never explicitly enabled it. In many cases, Gemini replaces Google Assistant by default, making it increasingly challenging to disable fully.

This deep integration means Gemini can still be active in the background, accessing your apps, system features, and personal info.

Here's what Gemini can access:

Gmail 
Google Calendar 
Google Drive & Docs 
Maps, Keep, Tasks
Messages, Phone, and even WhatsApp

Even more concerning:

Your data is used to train Google’s AI.
Human reviewers may see your chats.
Data can be shared with 3rd parties.
As of July 2025, Gemini stays connected to apps even when activity tracking is turned off.

🛑 You can’t fully disable Gemini, but you can limit it:

How to limit Gemini on Android:

Turn off activity tracking
Revoke permissions
Uninstall it (if possible)

Further options, if you’re privacy-conscious:

Reduce your reliance on Google services or fully de-Google
Consider a privacy-first OS like GrapheneOS or CalyxOS

⚠️ Google is making Gemini the default assistant for all Android devices by the end of 2025.

Choose privacy over AI surveillance.

If you want tools that respect your data, ensure you use encrypted email, a private calendar, and a secure cloud, with no AI training or human review.

IronFox is Firefox ESR-based, completely de-Googled, has zero telemetry, and comes pre-hardened for privacy.

IronFox is a fork of Divested Computing Group's Mull Browser, based on Mozilla Firefox. Our goal is to continue the legacy of Mull by providing a free and open source, privacy and security-oriented web browser for daily use.

Version IronFox v140.0.4 released, .apk available for download here.

More discussion about the browser here.

~~Unfortunately, not available in FDroid yet.~~

FDroid Link: https://fdroid.ironfoxoss.org/fdroid/repo/index.html

Hi there!

I'm looking for people's experiences using a OnePlus 13 or 13R. I'm particularly interested in how it compares to recent Samsung devices, because I think Samsung One UI currently offers the best UX on Android. To a lesser degree, I'm also interested in how it compares to an iPhone.

I'm not interested in games performance. I care about reliability first and foremost, then about battery life. Camera performance and smoothness come later.

If you've used a OnePlus 13/13R and a recent Samsung or iPhone, please leave me your comments. I'm interested to know your experience, no matter which of these phones you prefer at the end of the day.

Thanks a lot!

Sameer Samat, president of Android ecosystem at Google, asked a TechRadar journalist why they were using an Apple Watch, iPhone, and MacBook:

I asked because we’re going to be combining Chrome OS and Android into a single platform, and I am very interested in how people are using their laptops these days and what they’re getting done.

The update:

After months of hard work, we're thrilled to release the first beta for Lawnchair 15. This is a massive, foundational update based on Android 15.

The headline feature is one you've all been waiting for: App Drawer Folders! You can now create and reorder custom folders to organize your app drawer exactly how you want.

This release also includes a huge number of under-the-hood improvements, UI refinements, and new customization options.

Read the full story and see what's new on our blog: https://lawnchair.app/blog/lawnchair-15-beta-1

Download Lawnchair 15 Beta 1 from GitHub: https://github.com/LawnchairLauncher/lawnchair/releases/tag/v15.0.0-beta1

Thank you for your incredible support!

After 4a and 6a, now is the time for 7a to shine!

Though, is it still in early beta and apparently very few models seem to be affected and there isn't any word of system update to nuke the battery life on this model. But it goes to show that Google is treating the A series really badly.