Fitbit Public Preview adds food & water logging, more as app redesign comes to free usersÂ
Latest
Here are all of the times Google has tried, and failed to stick with an iMessage competitor
Messaging is a core part of any smartphone, and it’s something that Apple has really nailed with the iPhone and iMessage. Googlers have voiced their frustration recently over how Apple uses iMessage as a tool for lock-in and while Apple’s resistance to RCS and other cross-platform standards is certainly annoying, the context of Google’s countless failures in messaging don’t really help the company’s case.
Expand Expanding Close
Google reports surge in Hangouts Meet usage amid coronavirus
When possible, the world is largely staying home and turning to remote work or distance-learning. As a result, Hangouts Meet and other Google products have seen tremendous “surges” in usage amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Google recommends these webcams and headsets for Hangouts Meet
As millions have started working from home in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, Google’s Hangouts Meet video conferencing tool has ended up with more users. Now, Google has published a list of recommendations for what hardware users should pick up for Hangouts Meet including webcams and headsets.
Google updates Hangouts Meet to give teachers more control over calls
In light of COVID-19, many students around the world are turning to remote learning. Google at the start of this month made premium Hangouts Meet features available to all G Suite customers. An update today makes tweaks to improve the education experience and ensure teachers have control over Hangouts Meet calls.
Google making premium Hangouts Meet free for G Suite to help combat coronavirus
As a result of COVID-19, office employees and students are beginning to work remotely to help reduce the risk of spreading, and more are expected to join. Google today announced that it’s aiding the coronavirus relief effort by making premium Hangouts Meet features available for free to all G Suite customers.
Hangouts Meet now supports Safari 13 and later on macOS
Ahead of Google deprecating classic Hangouts later this year for enterprise customers, the two intended replacements need to achieve feature parity. The latest step sees Hangouts Meet add support for Safari on macOS.
Hangouts Meet for web gets Material Theme tweaks
The latest G Suite app to get a Material Theme revamp is the web Hangouts Meet client. This “new look and feel” for Google’s enterprise video conferencing service only offers visual improvements with no functionality changes.
Google adds live captions to Hangouts Meet for Android
Unlike Chat, the transition to Hangouts Meet has been less controversial for Google. The Android client is now adding support for live captions, while it’s easier to enable the feature on the web client.
[Update: Fixed] PSA: Google Messages Beta v4.7 crashes immediately on startup
Google Messages just got an official beta program late last week, but no updates were delivered right off the bat. Today, Google Messages v4.7 has been released to beta testers, but you should avoid installing it because it crashes on startup.
New Chrome extension hides your Netflix binging as Hangouts Meet call
It’s the Monday after a long weekend and you might not want to get back to work just yet. Thanks to a new Chrome extension you can procrastinate a while longer and finish up Stranger Things 3 or any other Netflix show while on your important, do not disturb “Hangouts Meet” call.
Google Messages gets open beta program, here’s how to join
It’s not uncommon for Google to open up public beta programs for its various applications, and today that’s being extended to Google Messages. Starting today, there’s an open beta available for Google Messages. Here’s how to join.
Google to take over RCS rollout from carriers, starting in UK & France
With Rich Communication Services slow to proliferate around the world, Google announced today that it’s stepping in to help boost adoption. The company is specifically offering to handle RCS rollout so that individual carriers do not have to.
Google’s Messages app surpasses 500 million Play Store installs
Google’s Messages app has slowly been making its way to more devices in the Android ecosystem via the Play Store. Recently, the app surpassed 500 million installs, a milestone for any application.
Google now shows an RCS status indicator in Messages, live for some users
The rollout of RCS messaging has been incredibly slow, and it doesn’t help that even when you have it, it can be hard to tell. In the latest update for Messages, Google has quietly added a status indicator to the app’s settings to show when you’re connected and ready for RCS messaging.
Google Assistant beginning to roll out with latest Messages update
During MWC earlier this year, Google confirmed that the Assistant would be coming soon to their Messages app. At the time, no specific timeline was shared for when the Assistant would land on our devices. With today’s Messages for Android update, the Google Assistant is arriving for some, bringing useful contextual suggestions.
Hangouts Meet rolling out automatic adaptive layouts for video calls
At Cloud Next 2019 earlier this month, Google announced a number of Hangouts Meet features like availability in Chat, public streams, and live captioning. The latest for Google’s enterprise video conferencing service is adaptive layouts that automatically adjust to the context of a meeting.
RCS messaging extends to dual-SIM Android phones, rolling out to some users in North America
Google is putting all of its cards in messaging on RCS, but carriers are being very slow to roll it out. This past week, though, some dual-SIM Android users noticed RCS going live on their devices in North America.
Google details what’s next for Hangouts Chat: Guest access, Meet/Voice integration, PWA to replace Electron
Google announced this morning that Hangouts Chat is coming to Gmail. That integration was teased earlier this year as one of the legacy features coming from classic Hangouts. At Cloud Next 2019, Google detailed public Guest access, Meet/Voice integration, and a Progress Web Apps to replace Electron clients.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Hangouts Chat coming to Gmail as Hangouts Meet adds live captioning & public streams
This October, Google is retiring Hangouts “classic” for G Suite enterprise users. Ahead of that, a number of legacy features will be added to the Hangouts Chat and Meet replacements. At Cloud Next 2019, Google announced Chat integration in Gmail, while public streaming and live captioning are coming to Hangouts Meet.
[Update: goo.gl is dead] Google ‘Spring Cleaning’ kills off Inbox, Google+, more in the next few weeks
Google is notorious at this point for killing off products seemingly for no reason. Sometimes it’s a shame, other times it goes nearly unnoticed. In the next few weeks, though, Google is preparing to kill off quite a few beloved products including Inbox by Gmail, Google+, Allo, and its URL shortener.
Here’s a calendar of what’s coming and what’s being killed with Google’s “Spring Cleaning.”
[Update: OS dependent] Messages for Web updated with RCS settings, now available on Google.com
Last year, a change to Chrome OS revealed that Messages for Web would be transitioning from Android.com to Google.com. This lined up with the recent transition from the “Android Messages” name to simply “Messages.” Today, a slightly updated version of Messages for Web with RCS settings has gone live on Google.com.
How to download your Google Allo conversations before the service shuts down today
In just a matter of hours, Google Allo is set to close for good. The barely three-year-old messaging service was never anywhere near as popular as Google wanted it to be, and now it’s facing the same fate as past messaging options from the company. Before Allo shuts down, though, here’s how to download your messages and media from the platform.
Messages 4.1 preps Google Assistant, adds ‘suggested actions’ menu [APK Insight]
Ahead of Google Allo shutting down tomorrow, the latest version of Messages is rolling out today by laying the groundwork for Google Assistant. Messages 4.1 prepares for the Assistant features first shown off at MWC last month. Meanwhile, “smart suggestions” are already live with this release.
Google Assistant coming to Messages for Android and more languages in Google Maps
Following yesterday’s MWC 2019 announcement that more phones will feature dedicated hardware buttons, Google is expanding where users can access Assistant. It will soon be available in Messages for Android, and coming to more languages in Google Maps.