Inspired by Motorola’s excellent Active Display functionality on the Moto X, Peek Notifications in Paranoid Android provide users with a glimpse at outstanding alerts on their lock screen even when their smartphone is locked. All you have to do is lift your phone, and you can see whether you have missed calls, text messages, emails, and other important notifications waiting for you without actually having to wake up your device.

Until now, Peek has been available only with the Paranoid Android custom ROM — but you can now get it as an unofficial standalone app compatible with almost all devices running Android 4.4 KitKat.

Motion Launch is one of my favorite Sense 6 features on the HTC One M8. I can’t tell you how much I miss it when I’m using other phones. But like all good things designed for Android, there’s now a third-party alternative for other devices.

If you have a phone with an OLED display, then you can use Knockr to bring Motion Launch gestures to your device — and you’ll be glad you did.

Ever wondered why every Android-powered smartphone you’ve ever bought comes with a Google search widget on its home screen, or why not just one, but almost every Google app that’s available comes pre-installed? Well, these are just a couple of the Google rules that handset makers must follow if they want to provide Google services with their products.

Having sold its handset business to Microsoft, Nokia has plenty of time on its hands to devote to other projects (probably). The Finnish firm has already announced that it will invest $100 million in car connectivity, and according to a new job listing on LinkedIn, it also has plans to bring back Here Maps for Android and iOS.

Facebook may have just splashed out an incredible sum of money on WhatsApp, but that doesn’t mean the social behemoth will begin neglecting its own messaging app. Facebook Messenger for Android today received a nice new update that makes it quicker and easier to share photos and videos with your friends.