As more YouTube viewers hit mobile devices, the platform is testing new features to improve the experience on smartphones and tablets. This week, YouTube is launching a new set of swipe gestures for its mobile app to better navigate video history.
Back in December, Project Fi was rebranded to Google Fi as part of wider availability on both Android and iOS. The Google MVNO is now supporting RCS Chat on its network and devices, as well as upgrading international data speeds to LTE.
Whilst many of you will have never used WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging platform is one of the biggest on the planet by some margin. To those of us who use the application daily, the upcoming addition of WhatsApp fingerprint authentication could be a welcome one. I can honestly say that I use nothing else and even all of my iPhone-using friends are the same here in the UK.
Expand
Expanding
Close
If you’re a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL user and also a Netflix subscriber, then you might want to check your app to see the new HDR support for the Google handsets (via Android Police).
With the January security patch this week, many noticed that the Google Pixel’s “Check for update” button was working as intended again. Google is now rolling out a redesign to the System update screen that adopts a handful of Material Theme tweaks.
Back in September, Google marked its 20th anniversary by announcing a slew of new features for its flagship Search product. Some features, like Google Lens in Image Search, have already launched. Today, activity cards to aid and better organize lookups are rolling out.
There are plenty of Android features that will never head to iOS devices but that is by-the-by, today we are talking about the iPhone-to-Android path. Follow along for a look at the 5 iOS features we want to see in the next major Android release.
Google last year began blocking ads in Chrome that violate the industry-created Better Ads Standards. This filtering was initially limited to sites in North America and Europe, with the browser expanding these protections to the rest of the world in July.
Alongside Chromebooks and related management tools, Google Classroom is one of the company’s entries into the education field. In time for the new school semester, Google Classroom is getting revamped with the Google Material Theme.
Expand
Expanding
Close
The last update to Google Podcasts finally added link support in show notes and greatly improved formatting. A major update now makes the audio client compatible with Android Auto on phones and in-car units for optimized media controls while driving.
Online outages happen occasionally, but in the case of massive services owned by Google, the impact is felt by many users around the world. YouTube is having some trouble this afternoon, though it’s not widespread.
Back at I/O 2018, Google announced a navigation-optimized Assistant for Google Maps. It began rolling out in December, and is now officially available on both Android and iOS at CES 2019. Voice commands let users safety interact with their phone while driving and adds new features like auto-punctuation for replies.
Google shared on Monday that by month’s end Assistant will be available on 1 billion devices like Android and smart home devices. Today, the company is kicking off CES 2019 with new features for Assistant on phones, including flight check-in, hotel bookings, and expanded lockscreen access.
There is so much to love about the Pocophone F1, it’s a superb budget smartphone that is only really let down (at least in the US) by a lack of carrier support. The price point makes it such an amazing package, and it seems it will get even more enticing. That will be thanks to the addition of Night mode for photos, 960FPS slow-mo, and 4K 60FPS video recording, all of which are heading to the Xiaomi Pocophone F1 over the next couple of months.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Every year, Google hosts a competition that asks students K-12 to submit a themed Doodle. In addition to showcasing last year’s winner on Google.com, the search engine today is kicking off the 11th Doodle for Google by revealing 2019’s theme.
The Google Manufacturer Center allows merchants that use Google Ads to “improve their presence” on Search and Google Shopping. For 2019, the tool is adding a new Shopping section that allows third-parties to include full product pages in listings, as well as more analytics.
In addition to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, G Suite touts other productivity apps like Google Forms and Sites. Google Drawings will soon feature improved Google Docs integration by allowing a direct and updating embed.
To coincide with the company’s 20th anniversary, Google in September announced big updates to Discover — previously known as the Google Feed. Besides the rebrand and other visual tweaks, it is more interest-based and will feature other types of content. This is beginning to more widely roll out today, along with a proper dark theme for Discover on the Pixel Launcher.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Search fields in many mobile Google apps feature the ability to lookup queries by voice. On Android, a standard voice input UI is leveraged across most applications, but some choose to customize the interface. YouTube for Android is now rolling out an updated voice search that’s both better themed and more powerful.
Google Podcasts officially launched in June with an Android app and integration with Assistant and Google Home. Over the past few months, features like Chromecast support and easier sharing were finally added. The latest properly renders links in episode show notes, along with improved text formating.
Samsung has really upped their update game in recent months, with the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Android Pie update actually rolling out to some European users right on the proposed schedule.
Expand
Expanding
Close
The Android share sheet is slow and clunky, with Google promising a “much faster” redesign in a future version of the OS. In the meantime, Google Maps and News have adopted a faster sharing menu design that is now being tested by Google Photos.
There have been four iterations of the Android Pie beta program for the Galaxy Note 9. With the Galaxy S9 also getting plenty of time with the brand new One UI, the probability of the Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8 getting a beta program of their own has grown significantly thanks to some test build information.
While beneficial for your health, food logging is a particularly time-consuming task that requires finding the meal and then entering the precise amount eaten. Lifesum aims to make this process easier by letting users do it by voice through Google Assistant.