Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Changes coming to Pokémon GO as interest starts to wane in the U S
Changes coming to Pokémon GO as interest starts to wane in the U S
At ComicCon over the weekend, sudden celebrity John Hanke, CEO and founder of Pokémon GO developer Niantic, talked about the insane response to the game and upcoming features. While exact timelines were not given, Hanke did acknowledge that new monsters will be rolled out "in the coming months and years". He also noted how excited he was by the idea of customizable Pokéstops. At the same time, new data shows that the novelty may already be starting to wear off in the U.S..
Hanke frequently mentioned how hard the Niantic team were working just to keep the servers from crashing. But there have clearly been several conversations about possible updates to the game, including those made by players. Suggestions include a function for breeding Pokémon, addition of in-game trading and other training-related updates.
But the most significant change as far as gameplay goes is the possibility of customizing Pokéstops. Hanke noted that Niantic is already seeing plenty of this, as players frequently place lure modules at Pokéstops, modifying their original intended purpose. As Hanke said, "thats a pretty cool idea that you can acquire an object that changes the function of a Pokéstop and gives it a new ability".
Hanke revealed that Niantic was already interested in introducing healing Pokéstops to the game. But any new features might take a while to appear, as right now it sounds like it is still all hands on deck just keeping the servers running as more and more new players join. Still, despite Pokémon GOs meteoric rise globally, it is finally starting to show signs of slowdown in the U.S..
The latest data from SurveyMonkey shows not only that Pokémon GOs daily active user numbers have plateaued, but in the last few days have actually started to decline. From a high watermark of 26 million on both Android and iOS 10 days ago, that number is steadily trending downward.
The same is true of install numbers. Day one represented the highest download rate for Pokémon GO in the U.S., which has rapidly dropped in the weeks since. This is counter to all other massively popular games, which traditionally see their highest download figures long after initial launch. Search volume for the phrase Pokémon GO has also peaked in the U.S..
While the profusion of Pokémon content across the web has no doubt caused some mental burn out, the massive distances walked in the game itself have worn out more than a few players physically too. The novelty aspect may have begun to wear off, but this is only natural. It will be interesting to see exactly how many active daily users the game can sustain over the long term. New features like those mentioned above are a critical piece of the puzzle to keep players coming back for more.
How much time do you spend on Pokémon GO? Has it fallen or risen over time?
Dont miss: Why very people people will ever "catch em all" in Pokémon GO
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Monday, November 7, 2016
Android 6 0 Marshmallow coming to devices soon
Android 6 0 Marshmallow coming to devices soon
Posted by, Dave Burke, VP of Engineering, Android
Starting next week, Android 6.0 Marshmallow will begin rolling out to supported Nexus devices around the world, including Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 9, Nexus Player, and Android One. At the same time, well be pushing the Android 6.0 source to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), which marks the official beginning of public availability.
Today we also introduced two great new Nexus devices that will be among the first to run the Android 6.0 Marshmallow platform. These devices let your apps use the latest platform features and take advantage of the latest hardware optimizations from our partners. Lets take a look at how to make sure your apps look great on these new devices.
Introducing Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P
![]() Nexus 5X | ![]() Nexus 6P |
The Nexus 5X is built in partnership with LG. Its equipped with a 5.2-inch FHD LCD 1080p display, a Snapdragon 808 processor (1.8 GHz hexa-core, 64-bit), and a 12.3 MP rear camera. Offering top-line performance in a compact, lightweight device.
The Nexus 6P, built in partnership with Huawei, has a 5.7-inch WQHD AMOLED display, Snapdragon 810 v2.1 processor (2.0 GHz octa-core 64-bit), front-facing stereo speakers, and a 12.3 MP rear camera, all housed in a diamond-cut aluminum body.
Both devices have USB Type-C ports and fingerprint sensors, and include the latest hardware features for Android, such as: Android Sensor Hub, low-power Wi-Fi scanning with channel selection, batching, and BSSID hotlists, Bluetooth 4.2 with ultra low-power BLE notifications, and more.
Get your apps ready
Take some time to make sure your apps and games are ready to give your users the best mobile experience on these devices.
Check your assets
| Resolution | Screen size | Density | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nexus 5X | 1920 x 1080 px (730 x 410 dp) | normal | 420 dpi |
| Nexus 6P | 2560 x 1440 px (730 x 410 dp) | normal | 560 dpi |
Nexus 5X has a quantized density of 420 dpi, which falls in between the xhdpi and xxhdpi primary density buckets. Nexus 6P has a density of 560 dpi, which falls in between the xxhdpi and xxxhdpi buckets. The platform will scale down any assets from a higher resolution bucket, but if those arent available, then it will scale up the assets from a lower-density bucket.
For best appearance in the launcher, we recommend that you provide at least an xxxhdpi app icon because devices can display large app icons on the launcher.
For the rest of your assets, you can consider using vector assets or optionally add versions for the next-higher density bucket. This provides a sharper visual experience, but does increase apk size, so you should make an appropriate decision for your app.
Make sure you are not filtered on Google Play
If you are using the <compatible-screens>: element in your AndroidManifest.xml file, you should stop using it because its not scalable to re-compile and publish your app each time new devices come out. If you must use it, make sure to update your manifest to add a new configuration for Nexus 5X, since it uses a new density bucket (420). Otherwise, your app may be filtered from Google Play on these devices.
Wrapping up M Developer Preview
After three preview releases, and with the final OTA coming soon, its time to wrap up the Android M Developer Preview. The feedback youve provided has helped make Android 6.0 a great platform for apps and games. Developers in more than 200 countries have been using the Developer Preview to get their apps ready for Android 6.0 Marshmallow users everywhere.
More developer resources
If you havent taken a look at Android 6.0 Marshmallow yet, visit developer.android.com/mm for complete information about about whats new for developers and important changes to plan for in your apps — runtime permissions, Doze and App Standby idle modes, Auto Backup for Apps, fingerprint support, and others.
Weve also produced a playlist of developer videos to help you get the most out of all the new features in Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Check it out below.
Final testing and updates
Now is the time to finish up testing and prepare for publishing. You can use the Developer Preview 3 system images for final testing until early October. After the Android 6.0 public release, youll be able to download final images from the Nexus factory images page, and final emulator images from Android Studio.
Reminder: Devices flashed with an M Developer Preview build wont receive the Android 6.0 update automatically. Youll need to manually flash those devices to a public released image first.
Upload your apps to Google Play
When your apps are ready, you can update them to Google Play via the Developer Console on all release channels (Alpha, Beta & Production). For apps that target API level 23, Google Play will provide the new optimized download and autoupdate flow based on the runtime permissions model in Android 6.0. Give it a try!
To make sure that your updated app runs well on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and older versions, we recommend that you use the newly improved beta testing feature on Google Play to get early feedback. You can then do a staged rollout as you release the new version to all users.
Whats next?
In mid-October, well be turning down the M Developer Preview community and the M Developer Preview issue tracker. If youve filed bugs against the preview, and youd like to keep these open against the Android 6.0 final builds, you can file a new issue in the AOSP issue tracker.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Android M Developer Preview. Let us know how this years preview met your needs by taking a short survey. Your feedback helps shape our future releases.
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Sunday, October 9, 2016
Gorilla Glass 5 official coming to devices later this year
Gorilla Glass 5 official coming to devices later this year
Cornings Gorilla Glass has been giving us smartphones with toughened displays for years now, and today the latest version of Gorilla Glass has been revealed.
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