Android One won’t make too many headlines, and you won’t read too many reviews of handsets that emerge due to its existence. But in my mind, it was the most significant announcement made by Google at I/O 2014. In a nutshell, Android One is a new Google project that will provide reference hardware to any manufacturer that wants it. The typical Android One smartphone will boast a 4.5-inch display, an FM radio, a removable SD card, and room for two SIM cards. Google sets the standards, someone else builds it.

And each Android One phone will cost $100 or less.

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The burning rivalry between Mac and PC is one of the most storied rivalries in the history of technology — ruining friendships, bringing down corporations and inspiring some very creative commercials — but do we truly understand the fundamental difference between a Windows PC and a Macintosh? I’m sure many of you do, but for those who don’t have a grasp of the finer details, Computerphile has put together a short video primer explaining how Macs and PCs differ.

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One of the main features of Android L is Google’s complete design overhaul of the operating system’s user interface. Android L is peppered with Material Design elements that make it come to life in a more playful manner, and hopefully they make it even easier to use as well. Google is leaving behind the blacks and grays in favor to a more vivid palette of colors throughout its apps, and PhoneArena has already put up an extensive screenshot comparison showing the differences between Android L and Android KitKat.

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Google and Apple compete over a lot of things, but one battle between the two companies that deserves more attention is their intense competition for the hearts and minds of mobile app developers. And as new analysis from Benedict Evans shows, Apple has a distinct advantage here over Google despite the fact that Android dwarfs iOS in total market share worldwide: iPhone users are much more likely to pay for apps than Android users.

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Google will make its Android L release available in preview version to developers later today, at which point many Android users, especially experienced ones, will find ways to install it on their devices. Meanwhile, everyone else who’s “stuck” on KitKat or earlier versions will have to make do with available screenshots, comparisons and hands-on videos – Engadget has published a hands-on video of Android L running on the Nexus 5, showing some of the features included in Google’s next major Android release.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you are well aware of Thursday’s huge World Cup match between USA and Germany. USA is the clear underdog here and Germany has already secured its spot in the round of 16, but the scrappy U.S. team could still advance to the next round with a tie or even a loss in many scenarios (the full details have been explained quite well by The Big Lead).

Do you want to watch the match but you don’t have access to a TV? In this post, we’ll tell you how to stream all the action live to your computer, tablet or smartphone.

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Google on Wednesday unveiled its Android plans for the future, revealing that it wants to bring Android to every kind of device that can support a smart platform, including wearables, TVs and cars, and announcing a new design language that will govern its entire ecosystem, from web apps to smartphones, tablets and any other gadget capable of running a version of Android. With Android L, Google basically confirmed multiple Android-related rumors that were reported ahead of the conference, but the company did not reveal all the Android L features fans would have loved to see.

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Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 4 is still several months away from launching, but it’s already easily one of the most hotly anticipated launches of the year. Adding a tantalizing new dimension to the story is the increasing likelihood that this will be the first Samsung phablet that will go head to head with a similarly sized iPhone. We have already seen several leaks that began to paint a picture of what we can expect from the Note 4 later this year, and now one of the device’s most important features may have just been revealed.

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Google’s huge developer event kicked off on Wednesday with a painfully long keynote presentation that was decidedly lackluster. Among the highlights, however, was “Android L.” Google gave the world its first look at the upcoming new Android build on Wednesday, and it was awesome. The new look of the interface, defined by Google’s new “material design,” is stunning. More importantly, Android L will bring with it some significant performance enhancements that will dramatically improve the Android experience.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for Android L to enjoy those performance enhancements.

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Apple’s iOS 8 software is moving along the usual path to general consumer release later this fall, with new beta versions being made available to developers for testing approximately every two weeks. Unfortunately, we have learned from trusted sources that iOS 8 beta 3 won’t be released to developers until Tuesday, July 8th. This would mean a three-week gap between when iOS 8 beta 2 was released on June 17th, and beta 3’s release.

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