In this week’s top stories: Hands-on look at Android Messages’ Google Material Theme redesign with search filters, and GIF search, renders of what the Pixel 3 XL might look like in ‘Kinda Blue’ and ‘Panda,’ the launch of the first stable build of the popular ‘Lawnchair’ launcher, and more.
In one of this week’s APK Teardowns, we were able to activate Android Messages’ Google Material Theme which is still in development. In addition to this, we uncovered a redesigned search interface and GIF search that’ll work alongside the app’s stickers and emoji.
The new look for Android Messages does away with the dark blue app bar and left-aligned title. Instead “Messages” — now in Google Sans — is centered with the entire app adopting a stark white theme instead of the previous gray background. The other change in the app’s message list view is a new oval FAB that notes “Start chat” with a messaging icon.
Next, we got to check out “more accurate” renders of what the Pixel 3 XL should look like based on previous leaks. But while every render from last week imaged in the phone in a plain black color, these new renders show what the Google flagship might look like in ‘Kinda Blue’ and ‘Panda.’
But it’s almost certain that Google will introduce the new phones in colors other than just all-black, so at the very least it’s fun to imagine what those variants might be even if these probably won’t be them. The first image (via Twitter) shows what the phone would look like if launched in the “Panda” (Black & White) and “Kinda Blue” variants, alongside the all-black model that the artist mocked up last week.
We also had the official V1.0 launch of the Lawnchair Launcher. Built for those who enjoy Google’s Pixel Launcher, Lawnchair offers almost everything found on the company’s flagship phones plus more.
For version 1.0, Lawnchair Launcher supports features such as app shortcuts, icon packs, custom grid and icon sizes, and even Google Now integration, all while sticking to a design that is just like Google’s own Pixel launcher.
Lastly, this week we reviewed the Huawei P20 Pro review, Hisense unveiled new 55-inch and 65-inch Android TVs, and Samsung announced the Chromebook Plus V2.
These and the rest of this week’s top stories below:
Android |
- Render imagines what the Google Pixel 3 XL would look like in ‘Panda’ and ‘Kinda Blue’
- Huawei P20 Pro Review: A game-changing camera on a stellar smartphone, w/ conditions
- Android Oreo rolling out now to Galaxy S7 & S7 Edge on Verizon
- Revamped Google Account settings w/ Material Theme redesign widely rolling out on Android
- Google purposefully removed loophole from Android that allowed Substratum custom themes
- Nvidia Shield TV resumes Android Oreo rollout to beta testers after halting last month
- Sony confirms development on new launcher for its devices after shutting down ‘Xperia Home’
- Alleged Samsung Galaxy Note 9 leaks hint at 4,000 mAh battery, faster wireless charging, early August release
Accessories |
- Upcoming Chrome OS Files ‘refresh’ highlights Android, Linux files w/ redesigned navigation
- Google appears to be working on Windows 10 certification for the Pixelbook from Microsoft
- Samsung Gear S4 may arrive with a bigger battery and a new gold color variant
- Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 goes official w/ improved stylus and keyboard, rear camera, refreshed specs
- Acer Chromebook 13 & Chromebook Spin 13 will apparently support Linux apps at launch
- Google Home now understands up to three queries at a time w/ smarter command support
- Google backtracks again on Wear OS battery saving features in Android P
- Smart display support begins appearing in Google Assistant settings
- Hisense debuts 55-inch and 65-inch 4K HDR TVs with built-in Android TV for $650+
Apps |
- This is Android Messages’ Google Material Theme redesign, search filters, and GIF search [Gallery]
- Popular Pixel Launcher replacement ‘Lawnchair’ gets finalized V1 release, V2 beta incoming
- Google Phone 21 preps ‘Favorites’ redesign, Android P support, RTT, & spam filtering [APK Insight]
- Google Podcasts updated w/ Material Theme tweaks, dedicated episode pages, new icon
- Google Maps testing new Material Theme design, rolling out now to some users [Gallery]
- Google Maps testing new shortcuts for directions to home and work
- ‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ dinosaur survival game launches on Android, free to play [Video]
- YouTube Music 2.35 alludes to possible ‘SmartRemote’ [APK Insight]
- Google app 8.8 preps color-based labels for Assistant voices, ‘dreamliner’ wireless charging widget support, more [APK Insight]
- Chrome 67 for Android redesigns video player w/ clean, transparent UI & double-tap gestures
- Google Tasks will become a G Suite core service starting on June 28th, 2018
Google |
- How to stream the 2018 FIFA World Cup live on Chromecast, Android, Chrome OS, and Android TV
- Google is now A/B testing its new ‘Google Sans’ font in Search results
- G Suite admins can now monitor Mac, Windows, & Chrome OS access w/ Endpoint Verification
- Google Translate’s Neural Machine Translation now works offline on Android & iOS
- Waymo’s self-driving pilot has 400 daily riders, working on closer pickups, waking sleepers
- References to AOSP code found in Fuchsia source, but it’s not what you think
- Fuchsia Friday: ‘Machina’ brings support for running Linux on top of Fuchsia
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