Stadia.com teardown: Crowd Play demo, Code of Conduct, ban screen, and more
The latest Gboard beta is rolling out today after features like translating emoji into GIFs and stickers emerged over the weekend. Gboard 8.9 introduces a new design for the sticker tab, while making some visual tweaks in settings.
As we near Stadia’s imminent launch, more is becoming clear about how it will work and what we can expect on the first day. Yesterday saw the release of the Stadia mobile app on the Play Store, and since then we’ve been digging into it for info on the highly anticipated cloud gaming platform. Google has commented on what we’ll be able to do with Stadia, but info on what Stadia features aren’t ready for launch is scarce. Here is a collection of evidence we found in the Stadia app that tells us what could come after November 19th’s launch.
The latest beta version of the Google app rolled out last night and it continues work on a handful of features. Google app 10.83 provides our first look at the in-app browser and an early user interface for it. Elsewhere, there’s development on AR features and Voice Match for Assistant headphones.
At Made by Google 2019, a revamped Home app was introduced. Rolling out to Android and iOS today, Google Home 2.15 readies Nest Wifi support and migrating Google Wifi units to the new companion client. There are also a handful of strings related to Stadia.
One key aspect of Fi is the ability to switch between different networks for the best connection. Google had to exclude this feature when the MVNO rolled out to all Android and iOS phones late last year, but now looks to be working on a new implementation that will make switching faster.
An update pushed today for the Nest app contains hints towards a seasonal “themes” feature which allows the user to change the chime of their Nest Hello doorbell for a holiday season. For Halloween, which is a mere two weeks away, users will soon be able to enable a “Spooky sounds” theme.
Days away from the Pixel 4 unveil, last-minute details about the flagship are emerging. An update to the Google One app today reveals that the Made by Google phones will feature a 3-month trial to the subscription service.
Ahead of new Nest devices next week, an updated version of the Home companion client is widely rolling out today. Google Home 2.14.50 confirms ‘Nest Mini’ and interestingly references Stadia.
The latest beta of Google’s Android keyboard is rolling out this afternoon with a handful of changes in development. Gboard 8.8 most notably details how the emoji handwriting feature is going away.
The latest version of Google Play is rolling out today, and it addresses how inline changelogs were broken and inaccessible for the past week. Play Store 17.0.11 also details work on a manual Theme toggle and new account switcher.
Last month, Google announced several new Photos features including “Memories,” in-store printing at CVS or Walmart, and a new “Canvas” print. Google Photos 4.26 is rolling out today with “Manage your library” and work on a new “Astro” filter.
According to the Wear OS companion app for Android, Xiaomi might be working on a smartwatch powered by Google’s wearable platform. Wear OS 2.28 today features a string that references a “Mi Wear” companion app.
Google app 10.61 is rolling out as the latest beta and reveals work on a new “Smart Screenshots” feature that integrates Lens. A bug with the “Preferred input” setting for Assistant has also been resolved.
Today, you can only buy TV shows outright, with most episodes starting at $1.99 and maxing out at $3.99. The latest version of Google Play Movies & TV hints that you’ll soon be able to rent entire seasons of shows.
During the Android Q Betas, Google Translate’s “Tap to Translate” did not work. Following Android 10’s launch last week, a new version of the app fixes the feature and makes it more subtle. Meanwhile, version 6.2 hints at a continuously audio translation mode.
The latest beta of Google’s keyboard app is rolling out today with two features that are already live. In Gboard 8.7, there are two new keyboard height choices and settings for handwriting speed and stroke width.
In addition to a Material Theme redesign of Podcasts, Google app 10.57 preps Continued Conversation on phones and four more languages. Work on a dark theme for Search and Assistant is still underway.
Google Podcasts is readying a notable Material Theme redesign as revealed by the latest Google app beta. The changes are primarily focussed on updating the audio player, but the service is also working on “personalized recommendations.”
Google app 10.53 rolled out late Friday evening with hints about a “next-gen Discover.” The latest beta release also reveals more work on the Ambient Mode and what type of information will be displayed.
At I/O 2017, Google Photos gained the ability to create and buy physical “Photo books.” The latest version of the Android app suggests that Google is expanding its physical offerings to include “Prints” and “Canvas prints.”
After adding Waze integration, library sorting, and new “Released” playlist in recent weeks, the latest version of Google’s primary streaming service is rolling out. YouTube Music 3.31 reveals work on a “retail mode” to help increase adoption.
Back in May, we learned that while Android Auto for screens in the car is here to stay — and even getting a slick redesign — the experience of using Android Auto on your phone screen was being killed in favor of the Google Assistant’s Driving Mode. We’re now seeing our first evidence of this on the Android Auto side in its latest update, version 4.6, which includes multiple suggestions and warnings to use Google Assistant Driving Mode instead.
Google Home 2.13.50 is rolling out this evening with support for and many details about the upcoming Nest Hub Max. This release also returns strings detailing in-app Nest device setup, while providing some collaboration about a new “Nest Mini” later this year.