At the Made by Google event earlier this week, the search giant announced two new Pixel smartphones which showed an updated Pixel Launcher. The most notable difference was the search bar which got moved below the app dock. Thankfully, one of the most customizable launchers available for download has already been updated to allow users to bring this look to any Android phone…
Last month, a teardown of YouTube for Android revealed a string that referenced a new “YouTube Plus” service. Likely complimenting the existing “Red” subscription, another reference for YouTube Plus has now appeared in YouTube Music.
Following the release of Chrome 61 to browsers and Android last month, the latest version is now finally rolling out to Chrome OS. A big update, Google’s cloud operating system adds a new Lock Screen, App launcher, and better window management for tablets. There are also a number of small changes to Settings.
Following a recent redesign to the Play Store’s high-level organization that separated various types of media into their own tabs, Google Play is testing a change that better highlights app rankings. When applicable, an app listing will now include a top chart rank.
Google’s rumored Snapchat Discover and Instagram Stories competitor for publishers could launch as soon as this month. Rumored to be built on Accelerated Mobile Pages, it will allow sites to surface video and other rich content right in Search. In the mean time, Google has been spotted testing renaming AMP labels in Search results.
Much like how Google Assistant was announced at I/O 16 and initially premiered with the Pixel last year, Google Lens is seeing a similar release schedule. These “set of vision based computing capabilities” for performing tasks like visual search is launching first on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.
Late last month a rumor started to make the rounds that the Google Pixel 2 would have an always listening feature that would recognize music playing in the background. It would then use this information and display the song on the handset so the user could easily see what is playing. A new ‘Pixel Ambient Services’ app just showed up in the Play Store which has confirmed this functionality…
In our teardown of the latest Google app beta this morning, there were several strings describing new tabs for the app. Since then, we have been able to activate it and now have our first glimpse at what is most likely the redesign we’ll see tomorrow of the Google app for the Pixel 2.
The Cam IQ is Nest’s top-of-the-line 4K security camera, capable of zooming in and following objects when it detects motion. While it’s set to receive Google Assistant functionality later this year, Nest has just emailed Cam IQ owners about three new features coming to the security camera in the next several days or weeks…
Have you ever used your Google Home at the dead of night and have it scream back at you because you forgot to lower its volume? Well, this should be a thing of the past as Google is now rolling out a feature called Night Mode allowing users to dim the Home’s lights and volume during set days and times. Here’s how it works…
Google’s Allo messaging service often doesn’t get the attention it deserves, and that’s mainly because it’s not a very flexible option. When Allo finally debuted on the web, it still had some serious restrictions. Today, Google is expanding the service to more users.
Since launching Allo for web, Google has been working hard to continuously improve the service. This includes performance updates, bringing over features like large and small text from the mobile application, and more. This morning, Allo for web was updated with a new tip on how to get the most out of the web application, and the included image is quite odd…
The latest update to Google Contacts has been rolling out for several weeks now, but Google today detailed all the new features. Version 2.2 brings back large contact photos, adds action buttons, and a quick way to sort contacts by labels.
At I/O 2017 and during a Reddit AMA with the Android Engineering team in July, Google mentioned that Oreo is mostly a “technical update” for Android Wear. Today, Google announced an Android Wear beta for the LG Watch Sport.
For the past several weeks, we have been able to activate a new rounded interface for the Google Assistant on Android. That new look is now rolling out first to iOS through an update to the dedicated Google Assistant app today.
Last year, Facebook introduced “Messenger Lite” for low-powered Android devices in emerging markets where connectivity is slower. Given the feature creep on the main client, the Lite version is often prefered, with many sideloading it. Facebook has now decided to officially make the app available in the US and other Western markets.
The latest version of Google Voice for Android is rolling out this morning with two notable features. In version 5.4, the app always opens on the last used tab, while there is now a shortcut to purchase Google Voice credits directly in settings.
Back in March, Google Photos sped up backups and sharing in low connectivity areas by first uploading lightweight previews of images. Google is now applying that same principle to videos by uploading a low-res copy that can be used for immediate sharing.
Back in March, the Google app on Android added a row of shortcuts underneath the Search bar to quickly access various built-in tools and dedicated sections. Some Google sections can now be directly accessed through App and Pinned Shortcuts that can be placed on the homescreen.
Back in June, the Dev release track of Chrome for Android was updated and moved the address bar to the bottom of the display by default. This change hasn’t made its way to the stable build of the Chrome browser, but there is a way to manually make this change. Here’s how…
Back in March, Google launched Family Link in an early access program to help parents manage their children’s Android devices through app and usage controls. Family Link is now available for all parents in the US without the need for an invite.
Since I/O 2017, Google has been working on adding Google Lens to Assistant. With version 7.12 of the Google app, we’ve been able to activate Lens and demonstrate what it looks like. Additionally, we were able to initiate the new male Assistant voice that we spotted last week.
In our teardown of version 7.12 of the Google app last week, we spotted several mentions of a customizable “Google Bar.” Since then, we have been able to activate the feature to reveal that future versions of the Google app could allow users to customize the search bar widget.
Google has a ton of messaging apps, but its best features are pretty split up between the various services. Now, one of Allo’s best features appears to be coming to the Android Messages SMS app.