Last month, Google announced that new Play Games users would get a player ID instead of having to make a Google+ account. Player IDs are now being rebranded as Gamer ID and will act as an in-game identity. As they are unique, Google recommends heading to the Play Games app now to claim yours.
Recent updates to Google Drive added notification controls to the mobile apps and easier management of shared items. Its latest Android update, simplifies the cluttered file and folder menu, adds the ability to see deleted files on mobile, and more avatars.
Skype told us a month ago that it would soon be rolling out group video calling to both iOS and Android devices, and the company has today advised that the rollout is now underway.
Today, we’ve started rolling out group video calling on iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets in Western Europe and North America and we expect to have completed our roll-out to these markets over the next week or so. We plan to be fully available worldwide in March
This brings the mobile experience in line with that already available on the desktop.
The UI lets you choose between a grid view of all those in the call, and a focus view that automatically switches to the person speaking. Alternatively, if you only really care about one person in the call, you can use a ‘pin’ feature to stick with your view of them.
Via Engadget
Vimeo, the popular alternative to YouTube, has just released a brand new update to its Android app. Within the update, the company has finally enabled a feature which should have been there a long time ago: Chromecast support. Anyone downloading the app, or updating, will now be able to beam content straight to their Chromecast-connected TV with just the press of an onscreen button.
A month after your bday, you receive a card. It serenades you with a 90s slow jam before you slam it shut, mortified. But you smile — because Grandma loves you. *And* because Chromecast has arrived.
Late is better than never, and Vimeo loves you a ton too, and now you can tap the Chromecast icon to seamlessly stream videos to your big screen. We appreciate your patience, pals!
Oh and we fixed some bugs and crashing issues, also.
You can download the app free from the Play Store, or if you have the app already installed, check for updates and you should see it available to download right away.
Today’s addition of 13 new languages brings the total number of languages Google Translate understands to 103. The update allows 120 million more people around the world to use the service and will be rolling out over the next couple of days to the web and mobile apps.
Starting with Android Lollipop, users could use the Gmail app to manage their Outlook or Yahoo email addresses instead of a rarely updated and generic email app. Now, those users will have the option to get access to more advanced Gmail features like spam protection and inbox organization with a new feature called Gmailify.
Twitter has toady announced long-awaited support for native GIF search with partners Giphy and Riffsy. The addition of GIF search means that users will now be able to search for GIFs from a library of thousands and instantly insert them into their direct message or tweet.
As screensavers for their latest streaming device, Apple filmed beautiful slow motion video of cinematic locations and landmarks. Developers have since discovered the public URL for the video files and packaged them up for other uses. Now, there is an Android app that turns the Apple TV’s screensavers into Daydreams for any Android device.
From improving the quality of their standard voice to adding regional accents, Google has made great strides in making computers sound more natural. Text-to-speech (first spotted by Android Police) has recently been updated to have multiple male and female voices.
Before Google Photos, there was Google+ Photos and prior to that Picasa. Google acquired the desktop photos management app in 2004 and made it free. While Google announced today that they are shutting down Picasa, diehard users will still be able to use quite a few features.
My Maps is a handy tool that allows users to label and makes notes on top of Google Maps. Users can access their annotated maps from the full Maps app, but need to go to the My Maps website or use the mobile app to make edits. Today, the Android My Maps app has been redesigned in its first update since 2014.
Google recently pushed out an update to its Clock app, and this one’s a game changer. You know the clock widget that lets you put analog and digital clocks on your home screen? Until now, dragging it around and resizing the widget simply changed its alignment. Now, when you resize the widget, the clocks themselves actually change size too…
Facebook has been busy testing new versions of its Material-inspired Messenger in recent weeks. Three weeks ago, the Material Design refresh started showing up for a handful of users with an account-switching feature and new FAB (floating action button), while others last week reported a fresh new blue lick of paint.
More recently than that, it seems some Messenger users are seeing the inclusion of a new feature. Or rather, the return of an old, discontinued feature.
Following in the footsteps of competitors, Adidas and Under Armor, ASICS will buy fitness app-maker, Runkeeper. The move was announced on Medium by Runkeeper’s founder, Jason Jacobs, and indicates that all fitness apparel companies clearly see the need to embed tracking technology, and/or tie-in apps with their brands.
Last month, some users reported seeing links in Google+ opening as Chrome Custom Tabs. Version 7.2 of the Google+ for Android app rolls out Custom Tabs to everyone and adds several new features in addition to bug fixes.
In the past, all sharing notifications involving Google Drive files were handled through email. However in November, Google added the ability for the Drive apps to send notifications. An update rolling out today finally adds settings to control these notifications from the mobile apps.
Google Keep was announced as a minimalist note taking and reminders app in 2013. An update to the service today finally adds a unified settings panel on the web and in the Android app.
WhatsApp has been testing the new emoji introduced as part of Unicode 9.0 since early December. The beta test is now over and they are rolling out (as spotted by Android Police) a score of new emoji to users today.
While the last update to Google Maps for Android brought a smart ‘Driving Mode‘, version 9.20 adds a slew of new minor features, including the ability to manually add places to your timeline, photos in user reviews, and more turn-by-turn navigation settings.
The Play Store currently recommends apps based on various signals from the people you follow on Google+. Starting with version 6.2, the store will also begin using a user’s Gmail itinerary to make app suggestions. Here’s how it will work:
Since late last year, there have been reports of Nexus devices running Android Marshmallow not getting Gmail notifications until the app was manually opened. Google has been investigating the issue for a while now and has finally come up with a fix that will be rolled out to users over the next week.
Monument Valley is undoubtedly one of the best, and most attractive, puzzle games to ever hit the Play Store. Its gorgeous Escher-esque art and smooth, minimalist animation ensures that it’ll almost certainly gain ‘legendary’ status among the mobile gaming community. Now, with the help of a crowd-support project on LEGO Ideas, it could become immortalized in the form of an official LEGO set.
The concept was created by LEGO Ideas user Isometry, and, if you were worried that it’ll just be a static set of aesthetically pleasing geometric structures, your fears are miss-placed. The aim is to make them interactive.
My Lego Ideas project is inspired by the Monument Valley game, and aims to capture the journey through a creative 3-D experience. This set includes four minimalist landscape themes that are modular and interactive; featuring rotating walkways, platforms, pillars, staircases, bridges and water wheels; along with three main characters, Ida, Totem and Crow. It is an original Lego design concept with visually attractive elements that are appealing and intriguing to a wide audience.
The project has 1,590 supporters so far (at time of writing) and has some way to go before LEGO will build it and place it in stores. But, of all the mobile gaming tributes, I can hardly think of one more fitting than a build-able interactive Monument Valley set.
The set concept includes The Garden from chapter II, Labyrinth from chapter VI, Water Palace from chapter IV, Halcyon Court from Appendix IV and three characters; Ida, Totem and the Crow. There are also three illusion stickers to add dimension through illusion of shadows, buttons, doorways and windows.
Unlike most crowd-support sites, LEGO Ideas doesn’t ask members for money. Instead, you offer your official support and fill in a very quick poll on how popular you think it would be if it hit store shelves. Once it gains 10,000 supporters, LEGO will review it and might even launch the sets.
For safety reasons, Android Auto’s third-party apps are limited to those that playback media from your phone. At that, they share a pretty consistent user interface. Yesterday, an update to the Audible app added an Android Auto component and other playback features.
Google and the rest of the tech industry take security very seriously. As part of this year’s Safer Internet Day, Google is offering users 2GB of Drive storage if they perform a security check on their account. In another security minded update, Gmail will now flag emails sent to and received from non-encrypted sources.