Apps and Updates

• Apps & Updates
• Google
• Apps and Updates
• Apple
• search
• Safari

Google’s app indexing links coming to Safari on iOS by end of month

Jordan Kahn Oct 9 2015 - 12:38 pm PT

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Google first introduced app indexing for iOS apps in search back in May, allowing in-app content to appear in search results with links that send users directly to an app. The feature was originally only available in the Google app and Chrome browser, but now Google is launching an updated version of the framework that will make the app links also appear in Google search results in Safari.

Getting your app content found on Google just got easier. App Indexing is now compatible with HTTP deep link standards for iOS 9, as it has been on Android from the beginning. That means that you can start getting your app content into the Search results page on Safari in iOS, simply by adding Universal Links to your iOS app, then integrating with our SDK.

Developers simply need to support the Universal Links standard to get their apps to show up in search results. Users will begin to see the app indexing links showing up in Safari on iOS by the end October.

Devs can read more on how to support the feature here.

• Apps & Updates
• Apps and Updates
• Facebook
• Video
• social
• birthdays

Facebook experimenting with letting friends easily send “Happy Birthday!” videos on mobile

Zac Hall Oct 8 2015 - 9:23 am PT

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One of the many things Facebook does well is make it nearly impossible to miss when one of your friends turns another year older. On the web, birthday reminders are placed prominently near the top right with links to easily wish your pal a happy birthday, and on mobile Facebook has experimented with alerts and other ways to help you not forget someone’s big day.

Now Facebook appears to be testing an even more personal way to make your birthday wish stand out: video messages. The Next Web reports that some mobile users have seen a new ‘birthday video’ option appear under Facebook’s Birthdays section (although don’t worry if you don’t see it yet, I don’t have it either).
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• Apps & Updates
• Android
• Apps and Updates
• Google Play Movies & TV
• app
• downloads

Google Play Movies & TV hits 1 billion installs on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Oct 8 2015 - 7:40 am PT

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Just a couple weeks ago, Google Play Newsstand hit the 1 billion install mark on the Play Store, and now another one of Google’s apps has achieved the same milestone: Google Play Movies & TV. As you might expect, other more-popular Google-made apps like Google Maps and Gmail, alongside Hangouts, Play Music, and others, managed to pass the 1 billion mark a while ago.

Outside of Google, however, not many apps have reached this number. There are a few third-party apps from Facebook — like Messenger, the Facebook app itself, and Whatsapp — that have accomplished this feat, but that’s about it.

Passing 1 billion installs isn’t surprising for Play Moves & TV considering the app comes pre-installed on most Android phones, but it’s worth noting that not all of Google’s stock apps have come anywhere close to this milestone. Google Docs, for example, which comes shipped on all Nexus devices and others, is only in the 50-100 million range.

• Android
• Google
• Apps and Updates
• update
• Google Maps

Google launches experimental Delhi Public Trasnport Offline app

Stephen Hall Oct 7 2015 - 12:19 pm PT

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Google has today released a new app called Delhi Public Transport Offline and, well, most people probably don’t need it. But if you do happen to live in Delhi and would like a very simple app to help you get around town via public transportation, today’s your lucky day — it’s free, and it’s packed with lots of features that might make a quick download worth your time…
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• Android
• Google
• Apps and Updates
• Wear OS
• Google Wallet

PSA: Google no longer allowing tap and pay through Google Wallet

Stephen Hall Oct 7 2015 - 11:20 am PT

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If you’re an Android Pay holdout, you might have found this morning that tap and pay has stopped working with the old Google Wallet app. Google has been warning users since Android Pay first became available three weeks ago that they need to update to the new app to keep using tap and pay, and now the Mountain View company is requiring it…

This is unfortunate for users who prefer to keep their device rooted for a variety of reasons. While rooted devices worked fine with tap and pay through Google Wallet, Android Pay — touting its high levels of security and all — doesn’t play along very well. The new Google Wallet app doesn’t offer tap and pay functionality at all.

If you’re seeing this message and need to update to Android Pay, head over to the Play Store. And if you’re looking for the new Google Wallet (which is available through a completely new listing), you can find that over at Google Play as well.

• Apps & Updates
• Android
• Apps and Updates
• update
• app
• Google Street View

Google’s standalone Street View app adds Google Cardboard support in latest update

Stephen Hall Oct 7 2015 - 9:02 am PT

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If you aren’t yet aware, Google released a standalone Street View app for Android last month — and with it comes a showcase of all the best Street View imagery right at your fingertips. While previous versions of the app have allowed you to use your phone’s gyroscope to look at the Street View photography in 3D, the latest version of the app brings a great feature for VR fans: Google Cardboard support…

To access the feature, all you have to do is make sure you have the latest version of the app (which is rolling out now on Google Play, and alternatively available now over at APKMirror). Once you open the app, all you have to do is navigate your way to a view that you’d like to look at, rotate your phone 90 degrees, and tap the new Google Cardboard icon at the top-right of the screen.

• Apps & Updates
• Android
• Apps and Updates
• update
• app
• google creative lab

Google Creative Lab launches Meter, a live wallpaper that shows battery, WiFi, and notification info

Stephen Hall Oct 6 2015 - 3:17 pm PT

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Google Creative Lab, the same group responsible for a few quirky photo and location-based apps that we told you about earlier this year, has released a new live wallpaper for your Android phone that shows you some useful info about your device. There are three different status indicators shown with this wallpaper: Battery, WiFi, and Notifications…

Based on my initial testing, it seems that the wallpaper randomly switches between these three indicators. Locking and unlocking your phone, as well as opening and closing apps, will rotate between them so that you’re always up to date. Also, they all respond to the tilting of your device for some added phone — the battery one reminds me a lot of calibrating the iPhone’s compass app.

You can grab the app for free on the Google Play Store right now.

• Android
• Apps and Updates
• Nova Launcher
• launcher
• icons

Nova Launcher’s ‘normalize icons’ feature comes to the public build in version 4.1.0

Stephen Hall Oct 2 2015 - 3:18 pm PT

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We told you about Nova Launcher’s new icon normalization features when they came to the beta build of the app a couple of weeks ago. If you’re not a fan of running potentially buggy beta software on your daily driver, though, you might be glad to hear that this feature — along with plenty of others in the latest version — has now made it to the public build in version 4.1.0…
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• Apps and Updates
• Google Maps
• iOS
• Apple Watch

Google Maps comes to the Apple Watch in latest iOS app update

Mike Beasley Sep 29 2015 - 3:31 pm PT

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Google has released an updated version of its mapping application for iOS that includes several new features, including an Apple Watch app. Along with the new watch app comes the ability to compare ETAs for different modes of transportation, such as biking and walking.

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• Android
• Apps and Updates
• Chromecast
• update
• app

Some users already noticing Chromecast support in the Spotify Android app

Stephen Hall Sep 29 2015 - 8:40 am PT

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As we exclusively reported earlier this month, Spotify is teaming up with Google to — finally — introduce support for the Chromecast. Now, as the event is nearing kickoff, some users are already noticing their Chromecast devices appearing in the Spotify Connect list, although the feature doesn’t seem to be working quit yet.

As you can see above, it looks like Spotify is going to include Google Cast devices in the same list as other Spotify Connect devices (via Reddit). However, as of right now at least, try to cast your stream to a Chromecast simple results in the following error message: “Spotify is not support on this device right now.”

Google is sure to make mention of Spotify’s new support for its platform at its event scheduled to kick off at 9 AM PT. If you want to keep in the loop on this as well as new Chromecast hardware, new Nexus devices, and more, be sure to head over and watch the livestream when it becomes available.

• Android
• Apps and Updates
• Apple
• apps
• rumors

Site claims to be offering Apple Music for Android beta access

Cam Bunton Sep 28 2015 - 5:46 am PT

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UPDATE: One of our readers, with experience of using Betabound commented the following: “Centercode, who runs Betabound, has been around for over a decade running software/hardware betas. I have been through numerous tests with them. I understand the skepticism but this is a legit company.” Perhaps then, we can be a little less skeptical of the beta test.

Apple shocked the tech world back in June when it announced that its music streaming service, Apple Music, would be making its way cross-platform. Up until now, the company has kept all of its mobile products in-house, and hasn’t offered anything on the Google Play Store except for the ‘Move to iOS’ app, and we all know how that turned out. In an unusual move, it looks like Apple may have signed up a third party to get early beta testers onboard its first media app for Android.

Members of Betabound.com have received emails inviting them to apply to test Apple’s music app for Android. Little detail is given in the email, except a short paragraph and a linked questionnaire which hopeful testers have to fill in. Betabound, a Centercode company, proudly labels the test as an exclusive.

We’re excited to invite you to come test Apple Music for Android. If you’re a current Android user that would like to join the beta for the new music streaming service, you won’t want to miss this opportunity. To learn more and apply, click the link below. Best of luck! The Betabound team.

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical. First off, Apple tends to manage its beta testing in-house, even to the point of offering a public beta of iOS 9 to anyone and everyone who wanted to try it before launch. Why then would it go with a third party company, especially one which is seemingly so unknown? It definitely seems weird. Perhaps the Android community’s response to its last app prompted the Cupertino-based tech giant to try a much quieter launch of Apple Music for Android. Perhaps it only wants a small number of testers onboard, and so isn’t announcing anything. Perhaps, it’s just a way for Betabound to get their name out there and isn’t a genuine beta test.

• Apps and Updates
• Google Play
• update
• app
• install

Google Play Newsstand reaches 1 billion installs on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Sep 24 2015 - 10:16 am PT

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At this point it’s just about once a month that an app on the Play Store manages pass 1 billion installs. This month, the app to reach this milestone was Google Play Newsstand.

Not many apps have reached this number, and third-party apps from Facebook are the only outside of Google to do it. As you might expect, other popular Google-made apps like Google Maps and Gmail, alongside Hangouts, Play Music, and others, managed to pass the 1 billion mark a while ago.

Passing 1 billion installs isn’t very exciting for Play Newsstand considering the app comes pre-installed on most Android phones, but it’s worth noting that not all of Google’s stock apps have come anywhere close to this milestone. Google Docs, for example, which comes shipped on all Nexus devices and others, is only in the 50-100 million range.