A ruling in India earlier this year was supposed to lead to the unthinkable reality where Google would distribute other Android app stores through the Google Play Store, but in a partial relief of that case, that will no longer be necessary.
Bloatware has plagued Android phones for years, but it’s certainly an issue that’s gotten better over time. But in India, major action may soon be taken, as a reported plan by the country takes aim at Android bloatware, ensuring safe updates, and more.
Android is set to change in some significant ways in the not-too-distant future following a major ruling in India. Here’s what is reportedly set to change.
Last week, India slapped a ban on over 100 apps including the hit title PUBG Mobile. Now, the creators of PUBG Mobile are shifting distribution of the game from Tencent Games to its own company.
Google Home speakers have proven quite popular since their debut, and they’re becoming even more popular as they expand throughout the world. Today, Google has officially made the original Google Home as well as the affordable Google Home Mini available in India.
With Daydream set to get a big update this fall with version 2.0 Euphrates, Google is today launching its View headset in India. Paralleling the slow rollout of Daydream-ready phones, View’s availability has been somewhat lagging internationally.
Stateside, Google Express provides home deliveries for groceries and other goods. The company has now quietly launched a similar service in India. Google Areo is more focused on food delivery and home services, like calling an electrician.
Google India says on Twitter that the Google Pixel on India’s Jio network will soon get VoLTE and WiFi calling in a forthcoming software update. Specifically, the tweet says to “watch out for the next Nougat update,” suggesting that the feature(s) should be coming relatively soon…
Google has today launched Google Play Music subscriptions in India, the service’s biggest expansion in quite some time. Users in India will have access to “over 40 million local and international hits” and — of course — will be able to access the service on Android, iOS, and the web.
Google has sent out invitations today to various Indian media for an business-focused event scheduled for January 4th, 2017 in Delhi. Google CEO Sundar Pichai is said to be hosting the event, and India’s Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is also scheduled to attend…
Just over a year ago, Google announced plans to put free, high-speed, public Wi-Fi into over 400 railway stations across India. However, that is an ongoing process that is far from over. Google wanted to expand the coverage to 100 stations by the end of 2016, and now with just a few days left in the year, it has lived up to that promise.
Google Duo has been downloaded over 10 million times since it launched last month and is about to get many more users. According to a report from NDTV, Google is partnering with handset maker Micromax to preload the video calling app on four upcoming phones as part of a promotion.
The Indian Smartphone numbers from Strategy Analytics this evening paint a grim picture for everyone (Apple) except Google’s Android OS. In Q2, over 97% of smartphones ran the Android operating system. That’s up from ‘just’ 90% a year ago.
Apple, meanwhile, actually fell significantly in shipments from 1.2M in Q2 2015 to just 800,000 in Q2 of 2016 – a whopping 35% drop.
Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Apple iOS fell 35 percent annually and shipped 0.8 million smartphones in India in Q2 2016. Apple’s smartphone marketshare has halved from 4 percent to just 2 percent in India during the past year. Apple iOS will need to reduce iPhone pricing to cheaper levels, attract more operator subsidies and enlarge its retail presence through Apple stores or online channels if it wants to regrow significantly in the future.”
Google has today announced the Android Skilling Program for India, its initiative to provide Indian developers with access to a “world-class skilling and educational program”. India will add several million software developers over the next half decade, and Google wants to step in and help train two million of those over the next three years…
Today in India Samsung has officially announced its latest smartphone, the Galaxy J2 (2016). This new device is pretty much your stereotypical mid-range Android device, but it stands out by giving us a sneak peek of what Samsung has in store for some of its upcoming devices.
Offline video is one of the main benefits of a YouTube Red subscription. In developing countries, downloads are actually available for free as a means to work around connectivity issues. Now YouTube is rolling out a new Smart Offline feature in India that downloads videos during late night hours when carriers offer discounted data.
The Nextbit Robin — a cloud powered smartphone that we happen to like a lot — has made its way to India. Customers wanting to grab the Robin in India can do so exclusively from Flipkart, where it will cost 19,999 Rupees (roughly $296), that’s around $100 cheaper than it was at launch in the US.
Google has announced today that direct carrier billing, or DCB for short, is coming to India. In collaboration with Idea Cellular, the feature allows people to pay for content in Google Play by way of their phone bill, removing the need for a credit card…
Google announced in a blog post this morning that it has expanded its the popular Google Maps traffic alerts feature to India. This means that any smartphone user based in India will get real-time notifications during navigation if traffic conditions change for the worse, and before a journey is set to begin, so that they can choose the quickest route more easily.
Google is pushing forward with its Project Loon plans to bring Internet access to remote parts of India as The Economic Times today reported the company is currently in talks with local telecommunications providers.
The publication spoke with Google India chief Rajan Ananda who confirmed the talks with local providers for Loon without naming specific companies, but the report noted telco BSNL among other unnamed companies are actively included in the discussions.
The suspicion around India’s $4 Android smartphone started immediately after launch. It has since been revealed that only 30,000 units of the Freedom 251 have been sold since launch. Furthermore, Ringing Bells is embroiled in a dispute with their customer service provider.
Google has announced in an official blog post that it’s adding a new flood alert system to its services in India. Thanks to information provided by the Central Water Commission (CWC) users will be able to find flood alerts, including river level info, for more than 170 areas in India where the CWC has active observation stations.
Alerts are available in a number of Google’s apps and services like Google web search, Now cards in the Google app, Google Maps and the Public Alerts homepage on desktop and mobile.
We’ve seen a huge rise in the number of affordable smartphones come to market with premium design and specifications over the past 12-18 months. It’s no coincidence that this has lead to a rise in the number of relatively unknown Chinese manufacturers push out of their national borders to sell their branded products overseas. Companies like Huawei, OnePlus and Xiaomi have all launched competitive smartphones at budget-friendly prices. Following in their trail is Letv, a company which has just announced its intention to launch a high-end smartphone in India for the first time.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced that the company will be rolling out its recently-launched in-app Tap to Translate feature in India in the first quarter of 2016. The feature offers a simple way to translate text from within third-party apps like chat apps and Facebook.
Our most active users in India translate between Hindi and English multiple times a day, spending lots of time copying messages from friends or colleagues, translating them, writing responses, translating their responses, and then pasting them back into an app. With Tap to Translate you can copy text anywhere on your Android phone and instantly get the translation, right then and there — without ever leaving the app. No more copy/paste, no more app switching, just instant translations.
All devices that run Marshmallow will get access to the feature …