Google this week has rolled out an update to its Google Express shopping app. The update brings the app to version 15.0 and includes a variety of changes and new features. Keep reading for a full breakdown of what’s new…
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Chance currently writes for both 9to5Google and 9to5Mac, in addition to 9to5Toys. He has previously written for several other online publications. He uses a Nexus 5, iPhone 5s, iPad Air, Hackintosh, and Macbook Air.
Two weeks before release, Samsung says Galaxy S8 won’t support Bixby voice assistant at launch
One of the headlining features of Samsung’s latest Galaxy S8 flagship is Bixby – the company’s new automated assistant that is arguably the centerpiece of the new device. It has now been revealed, however, that the Bixby assistant won’t be ready in time for the Galaxy S8’s release in the United States on April 21st…
Class action suit against LG over bootloop issues expanded to include Nexus 5X, G5, & V20
Earlier this year, LG was hit with a class action lawsuit over the way it handled bootloop issues on the LG G4 and LG V10. Now, however, the lawsuit against the company has been expanded as the LG G5, V20, and Nexus 5X are added to the case…
Google testing new differential privacy strategy with Gboard for Android
Google today outlined research it has been performing to improve suggestions in its Gboard keyboard. The efforts center around training artificial neural networks with data that’s stored locally on devices, as opposed to in the cloud.
Following Fitbit acquisition, Pebble rolling out update to ensure watches will function indefinitely
Last December, Pebble was acquired by Fitbit with all future hardware plans being canceled. Since then, however, there have been questions about the fate of existing Pebble devices on the market. Now, Pebble has pushed an update to the Pebble app on iOS and Android to ensure that existing smartwatches will keep working…
Google doesn’t expect Trump’s H-1B visa reform to have an impact on its employees
Following the Trump Administration rolling out a variety of policy changes that make it more difficult for tech companies to hire foreign workers through the the H-1B work visa program, Google is saying the move won’t affect its employees. As noted in a report from Recode, Google has informed employees that it doesn’t expect “an impact to Googlers.”
Snapchat announces new Stories search feature, making content discovery easier
As it continues to improve upon its search features, Snapchat today announced an update targeted at Stories. The company says that the new feature allows users to find relevant Stories by entering a single keyword. Called Stories in Search, the feature makes it significantly easier for users to discover additional content…
Twitter replaces infamous ‘egg’ default profile picture with new, more generic image
Twitter announced in a blog post today that it is doing away with the iconic (and infamous) egg default profile picture. The company explained in the exhaustingly thorough blog post that in place of the egg, it has developed a new default profile picture that encourages expression and diversity…
Latest RIAA report slams YouTube for using ‘legal loopholes’ to unfairly pay artists
The Recording Industry Association of America is out today with an overview of the performance of the music industry during 2016. As detailed in a blog post, the music industry saw revenue of $7.7 billion during 2016, up 11.4 percent compared to the year before.
Perhaps most notably, the report states that streaming music revenue from Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube made up the majority of that revenue for the first time ever, while YouTube is again called out for unfairly paying artists.
Android app industry expected to surpass iOS App Store in terms of revenue this year
Mobile app analytics firm App Annie is today out with its latest report. As usual, the data shows that Apple’s App Store has a significant lead in terms of revenue when compared to Google Play, but this report notes of a change. The firm estimates that Android will overtake iOS in terms of app revenue this year…
Snapseed for Android updated with three new editing features
Snapseed today announced the latest update to its Android application. The update brings the app to version 2.17 and includes a handful of new tools and features. The update was announced in a post on Google+.
Included in today’s update are three new editing tools: Double Exposure, Face Pose, and Expand.
Instagram for Android adds support for downloading live videos to your device
Instagram today has announced a new update for its iOS and Android apps. The update comes not long after the social network added support for geostickers to its Stories feature. Today’s update, however, relates to live video and adds support for downloading live videos once the broadcast has ended…
Google Home app updated w/ new ‘Listen’ tab, shows streaming music from Play Music & Spotify
Google today has announced an update to its Home app on Android and iOS that makes it easy to stream music from a variety of different music streaming services. Google made the announcement in a blog post, saying that the new feature offers a “dedicated space for all your favorite music.”
Former Google Ventures CEO Bill Maris plans new VC firm with focus on life sciences
Last year, Google Ventures founder and CEO Bill Maris left the firm. Maris went on to start his own venture capital fund, raising $230 million in debt before abruptly pulling the plug. Now, according to a new report from Axios, Maris is trying again, this time launching a new, smaller-scale venture capital firm with a broader focus…
Snapchat for Android updated with new Bitmoji widget for quicker access to messaging
As it continues to expand its reach, Snapchat today is rolling out a new widget to its iOS and Android applications. The new widget allows users to instantly start chatting with a Snapchat fried by simply tapping on their Bitmoji. The move comes as Snapchat puts an increased focus on private messaging, as noted by TechCrunch.
YouTube testing three new video loading animations in Android app
Google has a tendency to test multiple different designs at once and it now appears to be applying that philosophy to YouTube. As noted by Android Police, YouTube seems to be testing three different new video loading animations in the YouTube app on Android…
SoundCloud reportedly considering selling for as little as $250M as its struggles continue
As it faces increased competition from services like Apple Music and Spotify, SoundCloud is reportedly running out of money. According to a new report from Recode, SoundCloud has been trying to raise more than $100 million since last summer, but has ultimately been unable to do so…
KGI corroborates Galaxy S8 specs & April 21 release date, projects slower sales compared to Galaxy S7
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities is today out with a new investor note concerning the upcoming Galaxy S8 release. Kuo has made a name for himself as being one of the most reliable Apple analysts in the world, but today’s report focuses entirely on Samsung and corroborates a variety of details about what we’re expecting to see at the company’s Galaxy S8 media event on March 29th.
Caption contest: What are Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai discussing in this image?
While often made out to be fierce competitors, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently shared dinner and a conversation together in Sillicon Valley. Images of the meal were shared on Facebook and discovered on MacGeneration.
Google Allo updated with support for Android Auto, animated emoji
Google today has updated its Allo messaging app with support for Android Auto. With today’s update, Allo message notifications now support hands-free usage while driving, whereas before they simply disappeared behind the main interface of Android Auto.
Instagram updates Stories feature with support for Snapchat-like geostickers
As it continues to play catch up to Snapchat, Instagram today updated its Stories feature with support for geostickers, a capability that Snapchat has supported for a while now and is arguably one of its most unique features.
At this point, Instagram’s geofilters aren’t nearly as widespread as Snapchat’s, but presumably that will change as time progresses…
Samsung Pay officially launches in India with support for Paytm wallet
As Android Pay and Apple Pay continue to expand around the globe, Samsung today launched its mobile payment platform in India. The official announcement comes after the company teased the launch last month and allowed users to signup for early access last week. If you signed up last week, the service has now gone live.
Fake news in Featured Snippets, and thereby Google Home, is clearly still a problem
Google today is taking heat for displaying a hoax news story in response to a query relating to whether or not former President Obama is planning a coup. The flaw was first noted by Danny Sullivan of SearchEngineLand.
Google says its CDN Interconnect ecosystem has grown to 8 providers
Google this evening has announced that with the general availability of Google Cloud CDN, it has expanded the number of CDNs in the ecosystem to eight. This move, the company says, offers “choice and speed to Google Cloud Platform customers.”