For many, many years, whenever you search for anything on Google, chances are that you see a sea of blue unread links fill your web browser. Unless you’re in China, that is, in which case you see red ones.
Still, blue web links have been a feature within Google Search for a long time. So it comes as something of a minor shock to see that the company is now testing a new color: black.
Sony has invited Xperia Z3 owners in Sweden to test a new Android concept software. The company plans to run the group testing between July 27th and September 13th, but doesn’t reveal any specifics about the particular software, what it’s going to look like or whether or not it’ll eventually become publicly available.
It would seem Sony is working on a fresh, new look for its own bespoke Android UI, and wants to get real-life feedback and usage/crash statistics from real people. Those signing up are warned that the process will require a complete wipe of their phones’ personal settings, data and content. The trial itself is limited. Only Xperia Z3 owners with Windows PCs in Sweden can sign up. No other device will work, and customers from other countries won’t be able to join in either.
“‘Sony’s Android™ concept’ is a new initiative for Sony users that have a passion for innovation and the latest technology. As a Sony user you have the opportunity to trial a new concept Android™ software build for Xperia Z3. The initiative is all about letting you – our users – evaluate the software, so we can acquire feedback to improve the experience based on what you like and what you don’t.”
If you fit all the criteria, you can apply to join the program here.
The Galaxy Note 4, Samsung’s current flagship phablet, is already available in two variations: one with a Samsung Exynos 7 processor (SM-N910C), and one with a Snapdragon 805 (SM-N910S). The difference between them is almost negligible, but a rumor this morning out of the fairly-reliable-for-Samsung-rumors SamMobile suggests that Samsung is testing another variation of the Note 4, this time with Snapdragon’s upcoming 810 system-on-a-chip.
Google Operating System blog, which has a good track record for leaking upcoming features for Google products, today posted a screenshot that shows a redesigned attachments UI for Gmail being tested internally. In the image above we can see the text “Dogfood confidential – submit feedback on the new attachments experience,” along with what looks to be a simplified interface for attachments in emails.
This is what attachments currently look like in emails:
And this is the new attachment interface:
The report speculates that Google could be dropping the “View” and “Download” options and instead just sending users to Google Drive when clicking an attachment.
Facebook announced today that it’s starting a beta program for its Android apps that will allow users to sign up to test and provide feedback on the latest build of the app before its released to the public.
Facebook is the most-downloaded app in the Play Store, so we need to make sure it works for everyone, no matter their amount of RAM, network conditions, or version of Android they might be using. Factors like data costs and network speeds are especially important to users, and we want to make sure we’re always optimizing their experiences. With so many use cases to solve, testing becomes crucial to ensuring positive, consistent experiences across Android.
While Facebook noted that it has been providing a beta of its Android apps to partners such as Qualcomm, HTC, Ericsson, Sony, Huawei and MediaTek over the last six months, starting today all users can now sign up to become beta testers.
If you’re interested in signing up, go join the newly created Google Group called Facebook for Android Beta Testers and allow your device to download the latest beta by selecting “Become a Tester” on Google Play. There’s also a Facebook For Android Beta Testers group on Facebook.
Expand
Expanding
Close
