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Seven 'Icon' stories September 2013 - May 2016

How-To: Not happy with the new Instagram icon? Swap it with one of these icons on Android

Stephen Hall May 12 2016 - 6:33 pm PT

If you’re unhappy with the new Instagram icon, you’re either naturally averse to change or you — perhaps more likely — think that the iOS-inspired glyph and gradient just doesn’t look too hot on your Android home screen. I’m in the latter camp, but no matter your reasoning, there’s always an anonymous internet user ready to solve your problems. In just a few quick steps, you can replace the new unicorn vomit-inspired Instagram icon with one of the above much tamer options…

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Play Store listings now tell you when an app has Android Wear support

Stephen Hall Oct 21 2015 - 2:23 pm PT

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Since day one of the Apple Watch, iOS users have been able to get a quick glance at which apps have a companion Apple Watch app and which ones don’t. Android users have never had this luxury, and have instead been left guessing — or reading a site like this one — to find out whether or not a given app will have a wrist companion. Now, that has changed thanks to a new Android Wear icon that’s appearing on the Play Store…
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Google’s Mr. Jingles dresses up to celebrate Earth Day

Stephen Hall Apr 22 2015 - 6:58 am PT

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Mr. Jingles - Google+ 2015-04-22 08-44-45

Apple may be making its leaves green, but Google is celebrating Earth Day too. They’ve of course changed the homepage logo into a Google Doodle, but Mr. Jingles—the Google+ notifications mascot—is also dressing up to celebrate.

mrJingles_earth_day_1

As we told you yesterday, clicking today’s new Google Doodle will take you to an “Earth Day Quiz” that… tells you which animal you’re most like. It’s a “totally scientific and 1,000% accurate personality quiz,” Google says.

Nova Launcher updated with new design and animation options inspired by Android L

Chance Miller Jul 11 2014 - 2:03 pm PT

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Nova

The talented TeslaCoil developers this afternoon updated their insanely popular Android app Nova Launcher with a variety of new features and enhancements. We just told you how to install Android “L” on your Nexus 5 or Nexus 7, but if you don’t have one of those devices or don’t want to put up with the bugs, today’s Nova Launcher update will certainly keep you satisfied.

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Google aims to unify app design with new ‘Quantum Paper’ framework

Chance Miller Jun 11 2014 - 6:45 pm PT

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Leading up to Google I/O this year, we’ve seen a handful of leaks regarding the design of Android. We’ve seen redesigned apps leak, such as calendar, the dialer, and Gmail, as well as updated icons. According to a new report out of Android Police, all off these recent design leaks and updates have been apart of a new program within Google called Quantum Paper.

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Google’s Sparrow mail app updated for the first time in months with new icon, iOS 7 fixes

Benjamin Mayo Oct 15 2013 - 8:14 am PT

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Despite being bought out by Google, the replacement mail app Sparrow has now been updated for iOS 7. Whilst the developers behind Sparrow never said that work on the app had ceased, this was the implied meaning of Sparrow’s thank you letter still visible on the Sparrow website. Until today, the app had not been updated since December 2012, nearly a year ago.

This update brings compatibility bug fixes for iOS 7 as well as a new flatter icon, shown above. Even so, work on Sparrow is obviously not a priority for the team. Apart from a new icon, the point-fix update brings no new visual appearance to the app’s interface or any new features for users.

Google Hangouts for Android gets status icons and more

Jordan Kahn Sep 25 2013 - 1:25 pm PT

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Google is rolling out a new version of Google Hangouts today for Android that will bring a couple long requested features to the messaging service. On top of being able to see who is online with new green and grey icons next to contacts, Google is also making it easier to browse contacts and access invites:

– You can see who’s reachable right now on Hangouts. Green icons mean they are, and gray icons mean they aren’t.

– It’s easier to browse your contacts when starting a new Hangout. From top to bottom you’ll now see ‘People you Hangout with’, ‘Suggested People’, and ‘Other Contacts’.

– Hangout invites are now located above your conversations so they’re easier to find.

– Aaaand… you can hide people from the New Hangout screen by pressing on their name for a few seconds and touching ‘Hide contact.’

The update is hitting Google Play in the coming days as version 1.2.