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903 'update' stories May 2011 - October 2015
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Google adds more train information to Google Flights in Europe

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 26 2015 - 3:28 pm PT
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While this might not make much sense to North American readers, high-speed trains are commonly a very smart alternative to flights when traveling across the European continent. Due to this, it makes sense that Google would add train information to Google Flights in Europe. Now, when browsing flights in Google Flights, users will be able to quickly see when it might make more sense to go by rail.

Here’s the low down:

Every year, billions of people travel across Europe for personal and professional reasons — often choosing high-speed rail as a convenient option. Now Google Flights makes it easy to compare the time and cost to ride vs. fly when trains are a logical and good alternative to many flight routes in Europe.

We started by adding train options for routes in Italy and Spain. Today we’re excited to announce a partnership with Deutsche Bahn in Germany to bring their expansive, fast rail service to Google Flights.

According to Google, this launch brings train options for 56 destinations and hundreds of routes across Northern Europe. The company says that Frankfurt-Munich and Hamburg-Stuttgart are popular routes, as well as Zurich-Frankfurt and Frankfurt-Amsterdam. As of today, you should be able to see these Northern Europe train options in the app, and even more routes in Italy and Spain, as well.

Google uploads Android Marshmallow factory images for Nexus 6P

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 26 2015 - 1:05 pm PT
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Google has today uploaded Android Marshmallow factory images for the Nexus 6P, just as devices are starting to arrive for those who were part of the first batch of preorders. This isn’t overwhelmingly exciting news considering the 6P ships with Marshmallow, but it’s great that developers can now manually restore if something goes wrong while tinkering around.

Here they are, direct from Google’s servers:

If you need help installing one of these, feel free to check out our guide to installing Marshmallow factory images.

Hilariously, Google’s factory images site (at the time of this writing at least) has them listed as being for Android 5.1.1. Their build numbers clearly correlate with Android 6.0.0, though, so I’m going to assume this is a simple typo.

Facebook bolstering Android Notifications tab with sports scores, birthdays, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 26 2015 - 11:49 am PT
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If you’re a Facebook user, you’re definitely familiar with the Notifications tab in the company’s Android app. Although it has barely evolved from being a simple stream of your notifications since its introduction many years ago, Facebook has today come out to outline some changes on the way to make it more useful and personalized.
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Android Marshmallow stock ROM appears for LG G4 as OTA rollout delayed

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 26 2015 - 7:28 am PT
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LG said earlier this month that Android Marshmallow is coming to the G4 soon (possibly quicker than pretty much every other non-Nexus smartphone), but a new post by the Korean company on its Poland Facebook page says that the update have been “temporarily suspended” due to technical issues (via AndroidBeat):

Nicolas, update is temporarily suspended due to technical reasons. We will keep you informed about the changes!


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Play Store listings now tell you when an app has Android Wear support

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 21 2015 - 2:23 pm PT
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Since day one of the Apple Watch, iOS users have been able to get a quick glance at which apps have a companion Apple Watch app and which ones don’t. Android users have never had this luxury, and have instead been left guessing — or reading a site like this one — to find out whether or not a given app will have a wrist companion. Now, that has changed thanks to a new Android Wear icon that’s appearing on the Play Store…
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Spotify support is now landing on the original Chromecast via firmware update

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 21 2015 - 8:38 am PT
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We first reported last month that Google was bringing Spotify support to the Chromecast, and those who already have the second-generation Chromecast in their possession (like myself) have probably been toying with the feature for a while now. Google did mention at its event last month, however, that support for the streaming service would be coming to the first-generation Chromecast at some point within a few weeks. It looks like that update is now rolling out…
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Android 6.0 for 2015 Moto X Pure Edition in ‘TestDrive’ mode, being trialled by select customers

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 17 2015 - 10:30 am PT
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Motorola has already announced which of its handsets will be receiving the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update. Among them — of course — are the newest smartphones like the Moto X Pure, Moto X Play and Moto G. As is customary before software updates for Moto, the company is allowing a very select group of X Pure owners to test the new OS…


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Calendar illustrations now in 30 languages as Google introduces 12+ new designs

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 16 2015 - 3:07 pm PT
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Google has today announced that its Google Calendar illustrations, which show up as little piece of art reflecting the events that you create, now appear is as many as 30 languages. Additionally, Google says that is adding over a dozen more of these illustrations for new kinds of events, specifically naming weddings and Halloween parties as a couple of them…

Today we’re improving these illustrations in two ways. First, you’ll find over a dozen more of them for events like weddings and Halloween parties. Second, illustrations will now appear in 30 languages–from Dutch and Finnish to Catalan and Korean–giving our global community of users a new way to celebrate their day.

Finally, Google is inviting you to send off some images that could be inspiration for the next round of Google Calendar illustrations. All you have to do is head over to the social network of your choice and tweet a photo of you doing something less mundane than watching YouTube or browsing Reddit, and attach the hashtag #makethemost.

You can grab Google Calendar on the Play Store for free.

Chrome 46 comes to stable channel, removes ‘OK Google’ hotword search on desktop

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 16 2015 - 8:31 am PT
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Google earlier this week pushed the Chrome Android app to version 46, and now the browser’s desktop clients and Chrome OS are seeing the update as well. While Google has yet to publish and official list of changes for the Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux version (although we have noticed the removal of one major user-facing feature), we do have a quick look at the changes that version 46 is bringing to Chrome OS…
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YouTube Gaming update brings Mobile Capture on Android, paid sponsorships, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 15 2015 - 10:06 am PT
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YouTube has today announced that its Gaming platform is getting a couple of really big updates, just as the service reaches more than 144 billion minutes of gaming videos watched per month. As of today, uers of the newly-updated Android app will be able to stream the games they’re playing on their phones, and certain creators can monetize their viewership with sponsorships…
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LG G4 owners getting Android 6.0 Marshmallow update from next week

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 15 2015 - 2:03 am PT
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When it comes to Android smartphones running manufacturer skins on top, the wait for the latest software updates can be excruciating, especially if you have a carrier-locked version. This year, LG’s seeking to change that it seems. The Android OEM announced via press release this morning that customers with the LG G4 will start seeing Android Marshmallow updates land from next week…


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Chrome for Android updated to v46 w/ bug fixes and performance improvements

Avatar for Chance Miller Oct 14 2015 - 6:03 pm PT
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Google today has updated Chrome for Android to version 46 with a handful of under-the-hood bug fixes. These changes were originally introduced in the beta build of Chrome 46 but have now made their way to the stable version a little over a month later.

Google says that performance throughout the app has been greatly improved thanks to new optimized image loading and service worker instrumentation:

Tools like srcset allow developers to serve an optimized image variant in a responsive way, but it can be cumbersome and inefficient to use in practice. Developers can now negotiate with the server to download the best image variant for a device using straightforward HTTP request headers. These headers communicate DPR, Viewport-Width, and the intended display width of the resource being fetched to the server.

For developers, they can now animate any graphical object along an arbitrary path declaratively as a CSS property:

Previously, animating objects along an author-specified path required complex javascript code that could block important events like rendering and input. Developers can now animate any graphical object along an arbitrary path declaratively as a CSS property, allowing simpler code that doesn’t block rendering or input.

For the end user, this means that performance should be greatly improved with Chrome 46 on Android, as should stability. It’s available now on the Play Store.


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You can ‘double twist’ to activate the Camera app on the Nexus 5X and 6P

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 14 2015 - 10:15 am PT
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Update: Never mind. Qualcomm says that this is no longer a thing. It looks like the software on the phones being demoed at the India launch event are running old software.

Both the Nexus 5X and 6P are getting some special camera features thanks to improved hardware, and now we’ve learned about one more. Thanks to the device’s launch in India (and one hands-on video in particular), we’re getting another look at the device’s Settings app, and within there’s something interesting: Nexus 6P (and the Nexus 5X) will support “Double twist for camera”…
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‘Music gifts’ feature starts appearing in the Play Music app for some Australian users

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 14 2015 - 9:44 am PT
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A support page showed up yesterday hinting at a new “music gifts” feature coming to Google Play, and now it looks like the feature is launching in some locales. Specifically, Play Music users in Australia seem to be seeing a new option (via Ausdroid) in “Music settings” labeled “Send gift”. Tapping this icon seems to take users to a new page for gifting a Google Play Music subscription…
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VLC for Android updated to version 1.6 w/ more Material, improved performance, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 13 2015 - 11:02 am PT
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VLC is your go-to all-around media player no matter which platform you’re using, and today the app’s Android counterpart got a pretty decently-sized update. Along with the usual performance improvements that ship with pretty much every app update since apps have existed, version 1.6 also comes with improvements to internal decoding speed, more Material design, and more…
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TAG Heuer teases its upcoming ‘Connected’ Android Wear smartwatch in new image

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 12 2015 - 11:40 am PT
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Mentions of TAG Heuer’s entry into the Android Wear market have been tossed around for a really long time now, but — as we learned just a couple of weeks ago — the device’s launch is finally right around the corner. We haven’t up to this point had any kind of peek at what the watch will actually look like, but a new teaser image tweeted today by the company itself gives us a little bit of a glimpse at this beast in the flesh…
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Google releases Hangouts 5.0 w/ splash screen, performance improvements, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 12 2015 - 10:13 am PT
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The well-connected Derek Ross took to Google+ last week to tease the latest update to Hangouts, version number 5.0. And while 4.0 — the update that brought a long-awaited visual overhaul — hasn’t even been around that long, this version makes a lot of improvements to the app’s performance, brings full-working GIFs, a splash screen, and more…
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Google rolling out redesigned Maps for web inspired by Material Design, mobile apps

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 9 2015 - 2:49 pm PT
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Google looks to be rolling out a redesigned version of Google Maps on the web that introduces a tweaked user interface that in many ways mirrors its mobile app experience on both Android and iOS. As pictured above, Maps gets a redesigned menu/sidebar/search UI that is clearly inspired by Material Design and the user interface of its mobile apps.
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Report: Samsung pushing Marshmallow to most Galaxy S5, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, Note 4, and Note 5 variants

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 9 2015 - 9:38 am PT
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According to a report this morning out of the well-sourced SamMobile, the South Korea-based Android OEM is planing to push Android 6.0 Marshmallow to a whole slew of its most popular handsets. Among those making the initial list are most variants of the Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy Note 4, and Galaxy Note 5. For good measure, Samsung threw in the Verizon variant of the Galaxy Note Edge and the Galaxy S5 Neo. Why not?..
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Work on Marshmallow-based CyanogenMod 13 begins

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 9 2015 - 8:44 am PT
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CyanogenMod is arguably the most popular custom build of Android, and now Cyanogen has begun work on CyanogenMod 13. If you’ve been running any of the nightlies on your phone, you’re probably using version 12.1 (based on Lollipop). Version 13, which will probably take some time before it becomes a build you can actually run on your device, is based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and is now in the earliest stages of development…
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SwiftKey launches world’s first AI-powered software keyboard for Android

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 8 2015 - 9:48 am PT
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If you thought SwiftKey for Android was already smart and intuitive, you’ll be excited to know the company has just finished working on a product which it claims is even smarter. SwiftKey Neural Alpha has made its way to the Google Play Store, and instead of using word frequency calculators (n-gram model) to predict your next words, it’s more contextually aware of the sentence you’re typing…


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Hangouts 5.0 for Android launch imminent with more splash, less lag

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 8 2015 - 3:43 am PT
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Hangouts 4.0 hasn’t been around that long, but according to a tip from Derek Ross, version 5.0 will be launching imminently with a handful of important improvements. Most of the improvements seem to center around speed and efficiency. Ross posted the following list of features to his Google+ profile, suggesting we might see some visual differences as well as performance improvements:

  • Sending messages lag: Gone.
  • Loading conversation lag: Gone.
  • Main screen conversation update lag: Reduced.
  • Hangouts splash screen: Included.
  • Pop-up ‘signed in as’: Now in white.
  • GIFs: They work!
  • Dogfood icon: Removed.
  • Is it coming today: Shrug emoji.

Visual changes include a new Hangouts splash screen as well as making the ‘signed in as’ pop-up white, giving it a cleaner look. What’s more, GIFs now work for the first time, so you’ll be able to annoy your friends and contacts with animated pictures, if you like.

We’re not sure when the update is going to drop, but the last couple of points are a good indication that it’s coming very soon. The Dogfood icon being removed suggests that internal testing is completed and that it’s ready for public use.

Google launches experimental Delhi Public Trasnport Offline app

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

Avatar for 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.