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Google has launched a new “excessive partial wake locks” metric for Android app developers that will result in Play Store warnings for end users.

Given how excessive battery drain is one “one of the most significant frustrations for Android users,” Google is starting a new effort to help developers optimize the wake lock behavior of their apps.

The Android team this week is putting a “Spotlight” for developers on widgets, especially “high-quality” ones. Meanwhile, Android users will benefit from a new Play Store “Widgets” filter.

As the 2022 Android Dev Summit series continues, Google has released a “Now in Android” app on the Play Store to serve as a reference for the best modern development practices. 

At the Android Developer Summit 2022, Google shared a “Large Screen Gallery” that provides layout guidance for tablet and foldables apps by category: Social media & communication, Media, Productivity, Shopping, and Reading.

After Samsung’s adoption last year, the upcoming Pixel Watch launch will serve as the next biggest catalyst for Wear OS as an app platform, and Google is explicitly making that case.

Android has long offered an Activity Recognition API that processes device sensor data with machine learning models in a battery-efficient manner. Google is now offering an Android Sleep API to allow for the creation of more wellness apps.

Jetpack Compose, Google and Jetbrain’s up-and-coming Kotlin-based UI toolkit for Android, is entering beta testing stage, meaning it’s now suitable for production-ready apps.

Strange bugs are all too common on Google’s Pixel devices and right now, an issue with the dialer app is popping up. Some Pixel owners are reporting an issue with the dialer app which won’t bring up the number pad while in phone calls.

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As part of Google’s three-year update plan, the last Nexus devices have now received the final guaranteed OTA update. That means that build number OPM7.181105.004 will be the final official build on both the Nexus 6P and the Nexus 5X and signals the true death of the Nexus line.

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Alongside today’s announcement and launch of Android One in the US, Google’s Project Fi is also introducing a trade-in program that’ll allow users to send in old devices to receive a credit that can be used to purchase a new phone. Based on a new support page, it appears that a similar program is coming to the Google Store, potentially in time for the Pixel 2 launch…

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Last year we reported that Google was planning to launch an Android offshoot internally dubbed Andromeda on a Huawei-made Nexus tablet. The device was indeed prototyped in-house, and we weren’t the only ones to hear about it. At this point, though, we’re told “Andromeda” is shelved, and that the tablet will die without ever being seen by the public.

But we couldn’t help but try to dig up some more details before we close the book entirely on this one…

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As with the release of any major operating system upgrade, there are sure to be bugs that pop up from time to time. With Oreo, we’ve already seen an issue that has enabled mobile data use while on Wi-Fi. The latest bug to be reported is one that disables all mobile data usage when a user has reached the end of their data limit, despite some apps’ data being prorated by the carrier…

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Every smartphone and tablet has an end-of-life date when the manufacturer will stop spending the money and effort to keep it updated. Although some companies don’t actually tell customers when their devices will no longer receive updates, Google guarantees that its Pixel and Nexus devices will get feature updates for at least two years and security updates for three.

Now, Google has updated its Android updates page to clarify how long they will cover both Nexus and Pixel devices with telephone and online support…

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Last weekend, Netflix was in the news because the company made it so that rooted devices and those with unlocked bootloaders could no longer download the application. Netflix quickly confirmed that it would start blocking the installation of the app from the Play Store for devices that didn’t pass Google’s Safety Net. Now, Google has updated the Google Play Console to make it easier for all developers to do the same thing…

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Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL are both fantastic devices, but they aren’t without flaws. Since launch, we’ve seen several issues pop up on the devices, including the speaker and problems with the camera. Google has been able to fix some of those via software updates, but now another issue is popping up ─ random Bluetooth disconnects.

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It wasn’t that long ago that I thought the two smartwatches Google is set to introduce were actually going to be solely Google-branded, just like the Pixel phones. It would make sense with Google’s new hardware division — which is surely but slowly becoming a more serious business — that the Mountain View company would go all-in on smartwatches, offering a top-to-bottom lineup just like Apple.

It very well may have been the plan at one point for these to be “Nexus” watches, but today we learned exactly how they’re not going to be Nexus watches. We already knew that they would be LG-branded, but now we know where the Google comes in: a “Designed with our friends at Google” label. At the very least, this is interesting to consider in the broader realm of Google & OEM partnerships…

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Android Nougat brings a lot of new features to the table, but sometimes it’s the little things that really make software great. One of those little things in Nougat was Night Mode. It first popped up in the developer previews and remained hidden just under the surface, but in 7.1, it was blocked completely and left only on Pixel devices.

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It’s the first Monday of the month, and that means it’s time for Google’s monthly slew of security patches. This month is also the first with the Pixel smartphones included. Updates are available now for both Nexus and Pixel owners running 7.0 and 7.1.

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As announced and arriving just in time for the Pixel’s release, the Android 7.1 Developer Preview is now available for the Nexus 5X, 6P, and Pixel C. With Google customizing the software on the Pixel, there were some questions as to what’s exclusive to the new phones and what features are a part of stock Android.

After loading up the developer preview on a Nexus 5X, we’ve found some nice improvements to Android. Keep reading for our complete list of all the changes in Android 7.1.1…

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