Living Worlds: Small Android Update

I’ve just deployed a new version of the Android Living Worlds app (nothing new on the iOS side for now), with a couple of new features:

• By popular request, the “Zoom to fill screen” checkbox now affects the live wallpaper, not just the app.
• There is a new checkbox (only available on some devices) in the app’s Settings that allows you to switch between wallpaper tech modes, in case your phone is having trouble with the default tech.

That second one could use a little explanation… We are blessed to have many people using the Living Worlds live wallpaper, but we’ve found that with all the different devices and OS versions, it’s hard to make sure everyone’s device does the right thing! I’ve been working with people who’ve had trouble, and in the process I’ve developed two different technologies for running the animation in the live wallpaper. My hope was that one of them would be a clear winner, but it turns out there’s no pattern which one works better. So, I’m giving you the option to switch between them if you’re having trouble.

The default (older) tech is the only thing that works on devices with an OS earlier than Oreo, so on those devices the checkbox doesn’t appear. On later devices, it’s still the default, but the checkbox appears to allow you to switch if you’re having trouble with the default. If you’re curious about the technical details, this Stack Overflow post (from when I was still developing the alternate tech) goes into it a bit.

Anyway, I hope this helps everyone run smoothly! As always, let me know if you encounter any trouble.