New televisions and boxes running Android TV have been released throughout the year and Android N will add new features like a picture-in-picture mode. Google I/O tomorrow might see more announcements including ‘new Nexus Players’, but until then ESPN is launching a new app that will allow subscribers to stream live sporting events.
T-Mobile today announced new services being added to its Binge On program, which allows its wireless subscribers to stream video content from certain apps without dipping into their mobile data caps.
Niantic Labs and The Pokémon Company have been working on a Pokemon game that allows players to collect, train, and battle Pokémon characters in the real world. After being tested in New Zealand and Australia, a Field Test is now coming to the United States.
Google has been making great efforts lately in bringing virtual reality to anyone with a smartphone, and the latest update to its YouTube app makes finding VR content super easy. YouTube for iOS now includes a dedicated Cardboard button, which automatically transforms any video into VR mode for watching with Google Cardboard.
Update: Spaces is now live on the Play Store, App Store, and on the web.
Google can’t seem to stop making social networks and messaging apps. In fairness, the just announced Spaces is referred to as a tool for small group sharing. While similar to the Communities feature that Google+ is now built around, the new app seems like a much more focused version of group messaging that better highlights content.
Google wields a lot of influence on the web as the developer of the most popular desktop browser in the world. As detailed in a draft proposal (via Venture Beat), the company wants to effectively kill Flash by blocking the plugin and prioritizing HTML5 by the end of the year.
Following the launch of Gboard yesterday, Google has released a version of the I/O 2016 conference app for iOS. With the dedicated app, attendees who use iPhone won’t have to rely on I/O’s mobile site.
After announcing Gboard for iOS, the team behind it had a chat on the curation site Product Hunt to discuss the new keyboard. When asked about Android support, product manager Bri Connelly said Google is currently working on porting over the features.
Third-party keyboards have been possible (but flaky) on iPhones since iOS 8 in 2014, and today Google has joined the likes of Microsoft and others that are trying to offer a better software keyboard to iPhone owners. Meet Gboard, Google’s brand new iPhone keyboard that’s launching today and packed with features including search, GIF lookup, and gesture typing.
Google today has announced that an update is coming to the Google Calendar app for Android that improves conference call support. With this update, Google Calendar will automatically add the passcode when a user dials in to a conference call.
Launched at the end of last year, Shared Albums in Google Photos will now let people comment on pictures. As part of the Android and iOS update, a new smart suggestions feature will also recommend the right photos to add to a Shared Album.
Google Translate is getting a bevy of new features today that will make translating on mobile easier. Android gets a new feature that will get rid of the need to manually copy and paste into the Translate app, while iOS finally gets an offline mode. Additionally, the Word Lens instant visual translation feature now works on both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
After years of resisting the trend, Instagram has finally replaced their classic app icon with a trendier, flatter version that preserves some original color from the realistic icon in the form of a background gradient. In addition to overhauling its app icon, the Facebook-owned photo sharing social network has also shipped a new black and white user interface.
Announced in October, the YouTube Reporting API lets Creators see detailed metrics about their videos. Today, the API has been updated with historical data going back 180 days. In other features, the Android app is testing a feature that allows users to quickly see their progress through a video.
After adding a new Goals feature on Android and iOS, Google Calendar will now send users event notifications on the web. Google is likely moving away from using email notifications as Drive recently added a similar capability.
Following the introduction of AMP articles to Android, iOS, and the mobile web, Google News will now highlight local coverage of national stories by using a new “Local Source” tag. The feature is live on all platforms, including the full web, starting today.
In this week’s top stories: The best Android phones you can buy (May 2016 edition), we go hands-on with CyanogenMod on the Honor 5X, the latest Android phone leaks, and we show you how to enable YouTube’s new Material reDesign on the web.
Head below for all of the handy links to this week’s most shared stories and videos.
After announcing the ability to pay for a subscription using Google Play billing, Netflix is now rolling out cellular data usage controls so users don’t go over their monthly carrier caps. The feature requires an updated app with a global rollout starting today.
Google’s web-based alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint is getting a big update today that adds the ability for members of the audience to easily ask questions during a presentation. Additionally, Google Slides is adding more presentation options on iOS and a cool laser pointer tool.
From testing Material Design on the web to using neural networks to recommend videos, YouTube has seen quite a few updates lately. The Google company is now adding (via Android Police) the video Autoplay feature found on the web to Android.
Despite being announced over a year ago, the revamped Google Contacts still remains a preview. An update to the web app today adds the ability to import contacts from a variety of popular third-party services.
Twitter has been A/B testing a re-designed Android app for nearly a month with a launch likely coming soon as more people are seeing it. In the mean time, Twitter has completely overhauled its mobile site with a new design that matches the Android revamp.
A new open source project called PieMessage enables cross-platform iMessage support, allowing Android users to communicate using Apple’s iPhone messaging platform.
In the video below, we get a short look at the PieMessage app in action with a still unreleased prototype version of the app.
A major update to Google Keyboard is now rolling out, marking the first since June of last year. Version 5.0 features various design tweaks, a ton of customization, and many new features like a one-handed mode and the ability to adjust keyboard height.