The Google Material Theme is making its way to more and more apps, with the most recent one we spotted being Google Opinion Rewards last week. The latest example is now the voice input UI for transcribing speech across Android.
Google announced a flurry of Assistant news at I/O 2018 with the first part for phones rolling out last month. “Visual snapshot” is already very reminiscent of Google Now and about to get even closer with a swipe up gesture for quicker access beginning to roll out.
Google Opinion Rewards is a fast way for users to earn credits via Google Play or PayPal by answering quick surveys. This small app is now the latest to be testing a Google Material Theme, which we’ve managed to enable today. Meanwhile, in recent weeks, the app has updated and greatly improved the “Reward history” page.
This week has seen a flurry of developments about Google planning to return to the Chinese market with an AI-powered news app, followed by a self-censoring Search service. The company’s ambitions also reportedly extend to bringing G Suite to China via partnerships with local cloud companies.
In-app purchases (IAPs) — for better or worse — are how many developers today monetize games and applications. Google is now beginning to roll out a redesigned and more straightforward payment prompt for users.
Back in June, Google updated its previously Tango-only Measure to support all ARCore devices. This convenient utility is picking up some UI tweaks and a quick way to copy heights and lengths in the real-world with an update today.
At I/O 2018, Google announced Material Theming and what’s next for its design language. The company’s apps are in the process of being revamped, while third-parties have already begun to take advantage of the new framework. To recognize “best-in-class designs,” Google today opened nominations for the 2018 Material Design Awards.
Multiple publications have since confirmed that Google is planning to launch a Search app that would comply with China’s censorship laws. A new report today details that Google is also working on a news-aggregation app that would similarly self-censor content in a sign of grander ambitions for the country. Meanwhile, since details first came to light yesterday, Google employees have been fiercely arguing the issue.
Since 2012, Google has warned users being targeted by what the company suspects are government-based attackers. Coinciding with today’s climate, Google is now adding a feature to alert G Suite administrators when there has been such an attempt on an account they manage.
Google Pay received a big update last month that integrated Google Wallet’s old peer-to-peer sending features, while adding new “Sending” and “Passes” tabs to the Android app. Relaunched earlier this year, Google’s payment service is widely available and can now be used in the Starbucks for Android app.
After a bottom bar redesign in July and the announcement of an enterprise G Suite edition at Cloud Next 2018, the latest version of Google Voice is rolling out today. The update prepares for enterprise features, while also making a small tweak to Do not disturb.
With YouTube Music now several weeks old and rolling out internationally, Google is ready to improve and regularly update the streaming service with new features. The music offering will see functionality updates every two weeks, with a number already on the product roadmap.
Google Search features a number of built-in utilities, with some — like an internet speed test — more useful than others — random number generator. The latest is somewhere in the middle and guides you through a minute-long breathing exercise.
After introducing a dark theme for Android last week, YouTube is now testing the ability to swipe through videos to quickly jump to the next one. This gesture is quite intuitive and faster than the current alternatives.
With the Google News Initiative announced earlier this year, the company is working to support journalism with features throughout News, YouTube, and of course Search. A new feature today for the latter product will display data tables right at the top of result pages.
The Google Clock app is sparingly updated, but it’s getting a major integration today with Spotify that lets users set musical alarms. The online streaming service compliments the current in-app alarm sounds and is aimed at helping users get up in the morning.
WhatsApp announced earlier this year that its service would start offering free group video calls on all platforms. Now, that functionality is going live along with a new feature in the Android app.
In recent updates, Google has worked to simplify organizing meetings in large companies and enterprises. From automatically finding a time that that fits everyone’s schedule to booking conference rooms, the latest Google Calendar feature lets users manually suggest a meeting time.
While Google offers its own option for buying and reading e-books on Android, Amazon’s Kindle service is still the most popular option for that on the market today. Now, the Android app is finally adding split-screen support, as well as announcing a new feature.
Last March, YouTube officially announced a dark theme was coming to the Android and iOS app after first debuting on the revamped web version. It first rolled out to the iOS client and is now finally beginning to appear for Android users.
At I/O 2018, Google announced a number of new features for Home smart speakers including six new voices, Continued Conversation, and Multiple Actions. Custom Routines were also introduced to replace Shortcuts and today the feature is gaining the ability to schedule the macros to trigger at set times.
The Next Billion Users will come online from developing countries around the world with Google making investments to build out features unique for those areas. Focusing on Nigeria today, Google announced a number of updates to its line of Go applications.
During a session at Cloud Next 2018, Google showed off Gmail for Android’s upcoming Google Material Theme update. To match the recent web revamp, the mobile version of Gmail will gain traditional desktop features like density options and quick attachments in the inbox view.
As Google moves to an AI First world, all of its products are being infused with machine learning smarts. Nowhere is that more apparent in G Suite as Google tries to differentiate its Cloud offerings. Google Drive is working on a new “Priority” view that features a Feed, as well as user-curated Workspaces.