update

903 'update' stories May 2011 - June 2015

Hangouts hits the 1 billion install milestone on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Jun 25 2015 - 5:55 am PT

Hangouts, Google’s messaging platform in long need of an overhaul, has today passed 1 billion installs on the Google Play Store. The app is the 11th app to hit this milestone, followed most recently by Facebook Messenger and Google Play Books. Other than Hangouts, there are 7 apps from Google that have 1 billion, and 3 apps owned by Facebook.

Passing 1 billion installs isn’t very exciting considering the app comes pre-installed as the default messaging client 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.

Meanwhile, we’re waiting patiently for the long-anticipated overhaul of Hangouts and, just as importantly, its upcoming Android Wear counterpart.

(via Android Police)

Google Play Music on Android updated w/ free ad-supported streaming radio, interface tweaks

Chance Miller Jun 23 2015 - 2:28 pm PT

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After introducing a new free tier of Play Music radio this morning, Google is now rolling out an update to the Play Music Android app to add support for the feature. As we reported this morning, Google’s new free streaming radio feature is supported by ads and they are now present in the Android app with this update.

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PSA: You can now tweak which apps & services show up in Google notifications

Stephen Hall Jun 23 2015 - 7:39 am PT

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Google has lately been shuffling around its notification menu, most recently adding separate Google Photos notifications that tell you when the newly-launched “Assistant” has made a collage, video, or GIF from your library. But there might be some people who don’t want to see their Google Photos notifications (or perhaps more likely, those who don’t want to see their Google+ notifications), and Google has today launched an accommodation for those circumstances. There’s now a familiar gear icon in the notification drop-down that lets you access a new “Settings” page for toggling which notifications you want to receive…
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You can now ‘unsend’ your emails in web Gmail using new ‘Undo Send’ feature

Stephen Hall Jun 23 2015 - 6:54 am PT

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Undo Send was long a popular Google Labs feature, and was just recently added to ‘Inbox for Gmail’ for Android. Starting today, Google says that the feature, which lets users cancel the sending of an email within a pre-specified number of seconds after the email is sent, will be publicly available to all users of Gmail on the web.
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Motorola now rolling out Android 5.1 to 1st and 2nd generation Moto X

Stephen Hall Jun 22 2015 - 8:56 am PT

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We told you last week that an Android 5.1 soak test was beginning for the Verizon Moto X, and now it looks like the update has been made official. Motorola has today announced the rollout of Android 5.1 to both the original Moto X and the Moto X (2014), both of which should be rolling out imminently.

In Android 5.1, there are improvements across the board, including changes to how notifications are handled, drop-down menus for both Bluetooth and WiFi in the quick settings shade, device protection, system-wide performance improvements, and more.

We are excited to announce a new software update for Moto X (2nd Gen.) by Motorola. This update brings Android™ 5.1 Lollipop to your phone along with other improvements. Android™ 5.1 Lollipop improves stability and provides better control over notifications.

If you have the 2014 Moto X “Pure Edition,” then you’ve probably had Android 5.1 running on your device for about a month now. For those unfortunate enough to be stuck with a carrier version of the first- or second-generation Moto X, keep an eye out for the update to hit your device in the coming days.

OnePlus releases OxygenOS 1.01 for One owners with touch screen issues

Stephen Hall Jun 19 2015 - 7:29 am PT

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Many OnePlus One owners have been settling lately, and it looks like OnePlus — after many attempts — is still trying to finally put the phone’s touch screen issues to rest. A new build of Cyanogen OS was pushed just a couple of days ago to fix issues for those on that OS, but now OnePlus is pushing out an update to its OxygenOS as well, bumping it to version 1.01.

The announcement post, sadly, doesn’t have a full change log. It only mentions this one touch screen fix that many OnePlus One owners have been waiting for. You can head over to the OnePlus forums to grab the firmware. The company did, however, mention a new tool that lets those on Cyanogen OS easily flash a build of OxygenOS without losing your data:

In addition, our friends over at Fastboot Mobile and XDA actually worked on a migration tool that will allow those of you who haven’t tried OxygenOS yet to easily flash from CM 11 or 12 without losing your data. The tool is in beta but we thought it was pretty cool so why not share it and let you play with it.

Proceed with caution and follow the instructions carefully. It’s beta so it’s not guaranteed to work 100%.

Prerequisite:

.Net 4.5 download – https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/Download/details.aspx?id=30653

You must be running this on a locally installed version of Windows 7 or Windows 8

Tool download:
http://eu-oxygen.cust.fastbootmobile.com/OnePlusOneMigration-logging-Beta1.zip

Steps:

Unzip the above into its own folder

Copy the flashable OxygenOS zip and MD5 into the “download” folder contained in the above

On the device go to Settings > Developer options and uncheck Update CM Recovery (CM has this checked as default which causes issues)

Make sure the device is plugged into the computer

Run the “OnePlusOneMigration.exe” file as Administrator

Accept any prompts to confirm the drivers – they are ours and are signed

Follow the prompts (as prompted) and you should end up with OxygenOS installed. The ADB sideload process can take awhile to finish.

If you found moving to OxygenOS daunting before, this might be your opportunity to try out OnePlus’ almost-stock OS.

BlackBerry 10 users can now download Android apps via the Amazon Appstore (Updated)

Stephen Hall Jun 18 2015 - 2:21 pm PT

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Update: It looks like the Amazon Appstore actually began rolling out to devices with the 10.3.1 update, and that BlackBerry was simply re-highlighting the feature it added previously. Perhaps humorously, it looks like not enough people use BlackBerry devices to even know if the addition is new or not. Some users have told us that they’ve had the Appstore by default since 10.3.1, which makes us think this feature is old. Move along.

BlackBerry is rumored to be going with an Android OS for its next hardware release, according to a report from Reuters last week. But while we haven’t heard anything about that handset quite yet, it looks like BlackBerry is already giving in to the inevitable fact that it just can’t keep up with the competition — on the software front, at least. Starting today, owners of some BlackBerry devices will be receiving an update that gives access to Android apps by way of Amazon’s Appstore…

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Google releases stock Android Clock app on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Jun 18 2015 - 7:02 am PT

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Google has today released its stock Android Clock app on the Play Store, providing a new avenue to update it on devices that include it. The app is following in the footsteps of many other Google apps and services that have made their way to the Play Store, and — as is the case with the rest of them — the app is completely free.

Also, as you may already know, this means that those with devices that don’t ship with this app can simply download it from the Play Store. It’s well-regarded as being one of the best Clock apps available, sporting the ability to set alarms and timers, add cities to the World Clock, and connect with Android Wear for alarm snoozing.

It seems that the app is the same as the version currently available, albeit with a minor upgrade to version 4.0.1.

Some of the most nagging OnePlus One bugs supposedly fixed in Cyanogen OS update

Stephen Hall Jun 17 2015 - 10:05 pm PT

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The OnePlus One, despite its well-deserved praise and renown, has some shortcoming. Besides the fact that OnePlus has some of the most ridiculous — although effective — marketing of any tech company today, the flagship phone itself has been plagued with some pretty nagging problems . Most notably, OnePlus has some pretty sketchy Bluetooth connectivity with in-car systems, problems sending MMS on some carriers, and — most notoriously — problems with touch screen sensitivity. Now, though, it looks like these problems are finally fixed…
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Pushbullet’s new ‘Portal’ app lets you move files from your computer to your smartphone effortlessly

Stephen Hall Jun 16 2015 - 10:24 am PT

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Pushbullet is an essential part many an internet user’s every day routine, and now the company behind the cross-platform file moving app has released a new — and yet very old — way of transferring files from one device to another. The company’s new app, called Portal, lets you effortlessly transfer files from your computer to your smartphone or tablet directly over your local WiFi connection. It’s simple and lightweight, but that’s what makes it powerful.
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Skype for Web now supports instant messaging on Chromebooks

Stephen Hall Jun 15 2015 - 8:58 am PT

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If you’re a heavy Skype user, you probably aren’t a Chromebook user—and that’s probably because the two have never really played very well together. That’s at least starting to change starting today, though, as Microsoft has announced that Skype for Web is now expanding to be available worldwide, as well as bringing support for IM on Chrome OS and Linux.

Update: We’ve been hard at work and are pleased to announce that Skype for Web (Beta) is now available worldwide! Please see below for a list of supported languages. Also, good news for Chromebook and Linux users: you can now access Skype for Web (Beta) for instant messaging.

If you’re an Internet user—ha—and you have any of the supported browsers (or now, a Chromebook), you can access the Skype web app at any time for free. While today’s update does indeed bring support for instant messaging to Chrome OS, it’s unfortunate to note that there’s no voice and video support quite yet, as those require a separate plug-in.

NVIDIA SHIELD updated to 1.2 w/ support for 4K photos, better streaming, more

Stephen Hall Jun 15 2015 - 7:44 am PT

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NVIDIA’s SHIELD Android TV box is already becoming known as one of the best set-top boxes to ever exist, and now it’s getting even better. Thanks to a recent update, version number 1.2, the device is getting support for 4K resolution in the Photos & Videos app, optimized streaming of Netflix and Google Play Movies, enhancements to NVIDIA’s GameStream service, and other enhancements.
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Plex for Android updated w/ interface tweaks, Android TV improvements, more

Chance Miller Jun 12 2015 - 11:54 am PT

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Plex today announced an update for its Android app that brings with it several improvements and new features. The update, which bumps the app to version 4.4.0.069 is available on the Play Store now. One much welcomed change for mobile users is that there is now a “jump to letter” feature to make scrolling much faster within the library.

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Leaked screenshots show the upcoming Hangouts app for Android Wear

Stephen Hall Jun 11 2015 - 1:50 pm PT

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The upcoming Hangouts 4.0 update was shown off by Android Police yesterday, but now the publication is sharing images of its Android Wear counterpart—something that, for some, might be even more exciting than the full app. It’s been a long time coming, but it looks like Google is finally preparing to officially bring its popular messaging platform to the wrist…
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Google Hangouts gets improved ‘full-view’ screen sharing

Jordan Kahn Jun 11 2015 - 1:32 pm PT

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Google announced today that it’s rolling out an improved experience for sharing your screen with others through its Google Hangouts chat app. Now, when you decide to share your screen with someone else in Hangouts, you’ll get a new “full-view” experience that Google says brings the following two notable improvements:

The screen shared content will use as much visible area of the screen as possible. The thumbnail photos of meeting attendees will overlay the content at the bottom of the screen by default.
A new button will be added to the control bar at the top to allow participants to hide the thumbnail photos of meeting attendees as desired.

The updated experience will be available to anyone that shares their screen using the ‘Present to everyone’ mode in Hangouts as well as when a Hangout member pins a person currently screen sharing.

Google Docs ‘Slides’ app updated with Chromecast and AirPlay support

Stephen Hall Jun 11 2015 - 10:41 am PT

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Google announced today that it updated its Slides app, available for Android and iOS, to both support Google Cast and AirPlay. The update comes following the announcement of the Remote Display API that Google showed off at its I/O developers conference at the end of June, which allows developers to present more intricate applications and games on a remote screen.
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Press images of the new ‘Nest Cam,’ redesigned Nest companion app leak out

Stephen Hall Jun 11 2015 - 6:27 am PT

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We told you Wednesday that Nest has some new hardware in the works (likely to be announced at its upcoming June 17th event), and now droid-life has come out with press images of the new Nest Cam—an update to the hardware and branding of the current Dropcam Pro. We also mentioned yesterday that Nest has a new app in the works that will work with all of Nest’s hardware, and it looks like we get to take an early peek at that too…
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Evidence of new ‘Smart Burst’ feature appears in latest Google Camera update

Stephen Hall Jun 10 2015 - 10:27 am PT

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In a teardown of the official Camera app’s most recent update, evidence has surfaced that Google is likely working on introducing a new “Smart Burst” mode. Taking “burst” photos isn’t a new concept, usually leaving the user with dozens of slightly-different images to sift through (and manually pick the ones that are worth keeping). As its name suggests, “Smart Burst” is probably a smarter version of burst photography, picking the best photos for you based on a variety of metrics.

Of the metrics that Google will reportedly be using to grade photos are the number of faces in the photo, streaking, facial expressions, whether eyes are open, and more.

While bringing a burst mode to the Camera app isn’t exactly groundbreaking (especially as this feature has been done by countless Android OEMs, Apple, and others), it’s nice to see Google bringing more features to its feature-light Camera app. And rather than just copying what others have done, it looks like Google is really trying to improve on an already-existing feature.

But maybe the app’s straightforward and low-bloat interface—with limited features—is one of the reasons the Camera app is so popular. Either way, this feature is almost certainly on the way, and it would make sense that Google would maybe tie it in with better camera hardware in a future Nexus (now wouldn’t that be great?).

For now, you can get version 2.5 of the Camera app, which is where all of this information was pulled from, via the Play Store.

AT&T LG G4 owners reporting that an OTA update was just pushed without permission

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 11:25 am PT

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Update: AT&T has confirmed that they are the source of the update, but hasn’t said why it was pushed or what it contains.

According to several angry reports swirling around on Reddit, Twitter, and elsewhere, either AT&T or LG (or both?) seemingly just pushed a mysterious update to the LG G4 without asking permission. Some users even had their calls dropped while talking and saw their LG G4 reboot in front of their eyes, without a notification that this would happen or any dialog box asking permission…
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Facebook Messenger becomes the 10th app to pass 1 billion installs on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 11:08 am PT

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Following Google Play Books passing 1 billion installs earlier today (the 9th app on that list), Facebook Messenger has now officially passed the same landmark, making it the 10th app on the Play Store to do so. I think it’s fair to attribute this to Messenger’s growing adoption since Facebook required that it be installed on iOS devices. It’s still not required for messaging on Android, however.

While several other apps have also passed this mark, only two other apps not created by Google have done so. Facebook’s own official Facebook client is one, while the other is the Facebook-owned WhatsApp client (which notably passed the 1 billion install mark long before Messenger). It’s clear that Zuckerberg and co. have a foothold on the Play Store that no other company does.

Cyanogen OS 12.1 coming to OnePlus One soon, but OxygenOS w/ Android 5.1 will have to wait for OnePlus 2

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 10:46 am PT

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Cyanogen, along with announcing a couple of contests aimed at finding 3 people to give exclusive early access to the OnePlus 2, has this morning taken to its forum to give us an update on the current state of software for the OnePlus One and the OnePlus 2. The company says that Cyanogen OS 12.1, updated with Android 5.1 Lollipop is on the way and should arrive soon:

CM12.1, updated to 5.1, is on its way. We have a preview build that’s undergoing factory testing and google certification. You will have it soon.

Sadly, though, if you were hoping for the Android 5.1 updated version of OxygenOS, it looks like you’re going to have to wait for the OnePlus 2. It will be coming to the OnePlus One, however—just after it comes to the OnePlus 2 later this fall. A new build of OxygenOS will be landing soon with touchscreen fixes (also included in the above COS release).

…we won’t have an OTA for the community build of OxygenOS we released back in April for the OnePlus One until after the OnePlus 2 release. We will put up a new build very soon with the touchscreen fix for those of you who are experiencing this problem but we won’t have an official update until we have the resources to do a proper job.

While the company has been talking about the OnePlus 2 a lot this week, we still don’t really know anything about the upcoming handset. That said, the two contests that OnePlus announced today suggest that we might be hearing about the phone sooner than expected, so be sure to keep an ear out for the announcement—with OnePlus, we know it’s going to be teased (a lot).

Google Play Books passes the 1 billion install mark on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 10:09 am PT

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Update: Facebook’s Messenger has also now passed 1 billion.

Google Play Books, an app that comes pre-installed with stock Android, has now become the ninth app to pass the 1 billion install mark. It’s not exactly an amazing achievement considering it ships with most Android phones, but it’s a huge number nonetheless.

Notably, only two non-Google apps, Facebook and WhatsApp, have ever passed this milestone. As you might expect, some of the more popular Google-made apps like Google Maps and Gmail passed 1 billion at various times over the last couple of years.

Side-by-side: How Apple’s new Transit directions compare to those in Google Maps

Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 8:54 am PT

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: New transit view in Apple Maps

: Google’s transit view

Yesterday, at WWDC 2015, Apple introduced transit directions to its native Maps application for the first time. It’s a feature that has long been in the works, and it’s still not actually coming to consumer devices until later this year. But those who have access to the iOS 9 beta can try out the feature in select cities, including New York City, San Francisco, and others.

Transit directions aren’t new, though, and you probably know that Google has offered them in its own official Maps app for many years. But since Apple split off from using the Google-powered Maps app with iOS 6, the company has been struggling to match Google’s offerings. Here, we take a look at Google’s transit directions in comparison to Apple’s new offering…
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Android Lollipop is on the way to Sprint’s LG G Flex 2

Stephen Hall Jun 8 2015 - 11:19 am PT

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Even though Android M was announced more than a week ago at Google I/O 2015, many devices across carriers are still only now getting Android Lollipop. Now, adding to that list, Sprint’s LG G Flex 2 is about to get Google’s Material Design-filled release.

As noted on Sprint’s website, the device is getting updated directly to the latest build, version 5.1.1. Additionally, Sprint says that the LG G Flex 2 is getting factory reset protection. Keep your eyes out for the update to start rolling out starting today.