It may be the perfect example of “a day late and a dollar short,” but a new app called Fessenger is now available for Google Glass, allowing users to send and receive messages through Facebook’s chat protocol (via Glass Almanac). The app’s release comes after Google graduated the Glass project out of Google [x] and into its own division under Tony Fadell…
As was revealed this morning, Apple is planning to deeply integrate the existing Beats technologies into its existing platforms (like iTunes and iOS), and offer its own Apple-branded streaming service for $7.99 per month. But the Cupertino company also has plans to build its own Android app for the service, marking the first time Apple has built an Android application entirely in-house.
Super Bowl XLIX with the Seahawks vs. the Patriots kicks off this weekend on February 1st and we’re already getting prepared with a handy list of links for watching on all your Android and Chrome devices.
Head below for details on how to watch the game from your Android smartphone, tablet, or in your browser on the desktop:
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Twitter this evening has announced in a blog post that it is rolling out a new “While you were away” recap feature to its mobile apps. Starting today on iOS and “soon” on Twitter.com and Android, a “While you were away” banner will appear in your feed, showing you the top tweets that you missed since you last opened the app.
WhatsApp yesterday started handing out 24 hour bans to users of third-party clients built for the service, but it wasn’t certain at the time what would happen to these apps or whether or not WhatsApp was going to allow them to continue operations as normal. Users being banned from WhatsApp for 24 hours was an obvious setback, but now it’s more clear what the Facebook-owned company has in mind. WhatsApp+, the most popular third-party WhatsApp client, has received a cease and desist letter.
NBCUniversal announced today that it will offer a free live stream of Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1 to all desktop and tablet users to promote its TV Everywhere service. For smartphones, Verizon has exclusive rights to stream the event to users through its own mobile app.
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You might not have heard of it, but Google has a first-party app on the Play Store called Field Trip that basically serves as a guide to all things located in your vicinity. The Mountain View company just recently released a new version of the app, bringing to it Material Design and a flurry of other improvements.
While the app used to sport a vintage look and feel that made it somewhat unique, the new version goes the opposite direction and simplifies the entire experience. In addition to the redesign, Google says that the new version comes with new content from “hundreds” of publishers and performance improvements.
Here’s the full change log:
V2.0.5
* New sleek & modern design.
* Easier to discover and browse more cool stuff around you.
* New content from hundreds of publishers.
* Performance improvements.
You can get Field Trip on the Play Store for free.
It appears that Google could soon release its promised redesigned Calendar app for iPhone after first making the announcement and releasing the app for Android last November. The Next Web this morning shared a handful of leaked screenshots that provide a first look at Google Calendar for iOS, including info cards that indicate Gmail, Photos and Maps integration will be key features of the app.
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A little more than a year ago, Hyundai told the world that it was working on a Google Glass counterpart for its Blue Link platform. The app was supposed to launch with the 2015 Hyundai Genesis, but the car’s first availability came and went without any mention of Google’s head-worn computer. And while Hyundai did recently announce that it plans to release an app compatible with Android Wear devices very soon, it’s now official that the company’s Google Glass app won’t likely be getting the same treatment.
VLC this week has released the first preview build of its app for Android TV. VLC is one of the most popular pieces media playback software available and is loved for its support of a variety of media types and formats. The app was supposed to receive Chromecast support back in June of last year, but that never officially materialized. Android TV availability, however, may make VLC even more appealing to media lovers.
After a relatively quiet Update Wednesday, Google this evening has picked things up by rolling out an update to Google Maps on Android, bumping the app to version 9.3. The update is not chock full of features, but there are certainly a few things avid users of the app will appreciate.
Google today released its Chrome Remote Desktop app for iOS after a release on Android devices last year.
The app, available for both iPhone and iPad, allows users to remotely access their computer via the Chrome Remote Desktop app available in the Chrome Web Store.
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Healthcare seems to be one area in which Google Glass is just irresistibly great. Doctors, after all, aren’t unfamiliar with wearable tech to help them with their job; they already wear stethoscopes on a daily basis. Adding Glass to the mix brings new possibilities for more efficient patient care as well as a better work day for doctors, and Augmedix—one of the first Glass at Work partners—knows more about using Glass in medicine than any other company. Today, Augmedix announced that they’ve scored another $16 million in Series A funding.
The Google app on Android has received an update today, as part of the company’s Update Wednesday regimen. The update bumps the app to version 4.1.21.1657903 and includes a handful of notable new features, including new Google Now card settings and “Ok Google” setting tweaks.
Screenshots of the prior version
WordPress today has announced an update to its Android app, bumping it to version 3.5. The update adds a handful of new features, but most notably it gives the app an interface overhaul to make it fit in with the Material Design theme on Android. WordPress has added round avatars, a plethora of new icons, and changed the colors of the interface for users.
Hyundai has announced today that it’s working on an Android Wear app, marking another advancement in the next-generation of the company’s Blue Link system for monitoring and controlling your car remotely. The company says the the Blue Link Android app will be updated with Android Wear support at some point in “early 2015” and that it will be showcasing the app at its CES booth on January 5th.
AnTuTu is likely a familiar name to you, as it’s probably one of the biggest sources of device specification leaks (most recently, a prototype Galaxy S6 was purportedly noticed). But unless it’s your job to test devices, it’s probably not likely that you actually use the AnTuTu Android app on a daily basis. Today, AnTuTu has updated said app to bring a completely new UI, support for 64 bit CPU testing, and a variety of bug fixes.
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The current version of the Play Store
Some have started to notice yesterday and this morning that Google has apparently begun testing a new layout for app pages on the Play Store (via Android Police), and the new look seems to do away with the full-width layout of old, replacing it with a more traditional 3-column look. I don’t see the new version of the Play Store when using the latest stable build of Chrome, but when using the latest Beta, it pops right up.
Here’s what it looks like:
A newer version being seen by some
The new looks compacts some of the previous information into a thinner middle column, making room for a new column on the right that offers suggestions for similar apps. In addition to apps that are simply similar, there’s also a new section that shows apps that were created by the same developer. I haven’t noticed any other changes to the Play Store after clicking around for a little bit, but if you notice something else, feel free to let us know in the comments below.
Secret was one of the first to the anonymous social network category of apps, but Yik Yak recently took the spotlight and started really catching on with the college crowd. It appears that Secret felt a bit threatened by its university-based competitor. Today, the app has been updated with a completely new appearance, a new, cuter version of its fox mascot, and a re-imagined way of communicating with those around you anonymously.
Google has now listed the Android TV Launcher on the Play Store, providing a much more efficient way for the Mountain View company to update the main interface of any device running the TV flavor of Android. It’s worth noting that this isn’t an Android app for your phone, but rather an official listing of the Android TV Launcher (much like the Google Now Launcher, for instance) on the Play Store.
Android TV Launcher is the jumping-off point for starting all activities on your Android TV entertainment device. The Launcher is optimized to put content at the center; from casual movie-watching, to edge-of-seat, immersive gameplay. It’s all about finding and enjoying content with the least amount of friction and providing quick access to all the features Android TV has to offer.
In this version, there’s apparently a slew of bug fixes to be had. Since this app only works with Android TV devices, you’re currently restricted to the Nexus Player and the ADT-1 developer kit. That means that, sadly, this isn’t going to work on any of Google’s older Google TV devices and most definitely isn’t going to be of any use for Chromecast owners.
You can get the Android TV Launcher on the Play Store.
Amazon has launched a new service called Prime Now which, as its title suggests, hopes to bring products from Amazon to your door faster than ever. The service currently offers “tens of thousands” of items spanning a wide variety of categories, is available now in parts of Manhattan for Amazon Prime members, and users have the option of going with either one or two hour delivery.
Google, as part of its Update Wednesday regiment, has started rolling out a new version of its Inbox app on Android. Inbox is Google’s latest attempt at making it easier to manage email. The app initially launched back in October and is still accessible by invite-only. Today’s update to Inbox adds a handful of notable features:
Before today, if you wanted to replace your phone with the Hangouts Dialer, it was a pain. The app didn’t actually identify itself as a system dialer, meaning that tapping phone numbers within other apps wouldn’t let you dial out via Hangouts. Calling out from the Yelp app or within Chrome meant using your phone’s app, and you were never prompted with the option to go with the Hangouts Dialer instead.
Today we’re launching an update to Hangouts Dialer. You’ll now be able to use Dialer to place calls initiated from other apps like your browser or Maps, directly from the Hangouts Android app. Just select Hangouts Dialer when you’re choosing your call method.
This is all changing with the latest release of Hangouts Dialer, meaning the app will finally be useful for many people. As you can see in the screenshot above, tapping a phone number within another app will now prompt you with the option to go with the standard Phone app or the Hangouts Dialer. And if you’re sure you want to always use Hangouts, you can choose “Always” and never deal with this problem again.
Keep an eye on the Play Store today for the app to be updated.
Google has announced today that, following a slew of updates that came to the Google Drive collection of iOS apps last week, the company’s Android apps for Drive are also receiving a few updates today:
Docs has some new, handy line spacing controls that let you choose single, double or fractional line spacing, Sheets has scrollbars for faster navigation, and you can now insert, move, resize and rotate text boxes, shapes and lines in the updated Slides app.
All three apps are now even friendlier with Office files with easier file creation and other updates, and we’ve added better accessibility options and squashed some bugs.
The updates coming to this set of apps may seem minor, but there are a few notable additions here. Scrollbars in sheets is going to make that app much more usable, and the ability to create and edit graphics within Slides is going to make it much easier to make presentations that are closer to what you’d be able to do on the desktop.
Google says that the updates should be rolling out today. If you don’t already have them, you can get the Docs, Sheets, and Slides Google Drive apps over on the Play Store for free.
