Teardown Today
The latest version of the Google app beta is rolling out this evening and we have managed to enable a handful of notable features. Google app 8.55 reveals work on letting users leave comments on certain results from Google Search, as well as details about sharing Collections.
Teardown November 15
As promised in August, the Google Phone dark theme is now rolling out with the latest beta update. Google Phone 26 follows Google Contacts earlier this week and the company’s advice to developers that dark themes help conserve battery life.
Teardown November 14
In recent months, Google’s default Messages app has received a number of major updates including the Google Material Theme with dark mode, and advanced search filters. Now, Messages 3.8 is rolling out today with a revamped camera and gallery interface.
One of the biggest rounds of applause at Made by Google 2018 was for Night Sight on the Pixel 3. The feature is rolling out starting today with a handful of options in Google Camera 6.1.021, which also reveals continued work on a Time Lapse mode.
Teardown November 13
Announced at I/O 2018 for Android, Digital Wellbeing is an important pillar for Google moving forward. Now an industry-wide trend, it was discussed at the 10/9 Made by Google event and is now also available on Google Home and YouTube. These features for monitoring and limiting app usage exist in beta with Digital Wellbeing 1.0, though Google has not yet announced or opened up public availability.
Smart Displays allow Assistant to provide visual feedback, but the clear benefit of the screen is as a digital picture frame for Google Photos. An update to the Google Home companion app today preps a “Minimum brightness” setting for the Home Hub, while there are a handful of minor Material Theme tweaks.
