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Pixel Launcher for any Android device updated with new 8.0 Oreo features

In June, a launcher from developer AmirZ popped up that mostly brought Google’s Pixel Launcher to any Android device — including the Google Search pill, Google Feed cards, and plenty more. With the recent release of Android 8.0 Oreo, AmirZ has released a new 2.0 version of the launcher that brings a lot of new features and goodies to sink your teeth into.


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The Google app now helps you keep track of pollen during allergy season

As great as summer is for having cookouts with friends and swimming, it’s also one of the worst times of year for people that suffer with seasonal allergies. Thanks to a new update to the Google app, you can now keep tabs on the pollen count in your area to see when you’re most likely to be all sorts of stuffed up and congested (Yay!)…


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Google testing a fresh coat of paint for current location menu in Google Maps

Update: It turns out Android Police spotted this feature back in July, so it’s not as new as we thought.

Following a couple of in-the-works features we discovered in the Google Phone and Contacts app yesterday, our latest finding has to do with Google Maps. This recently-uncovered change in Maps is far from ground-breaking, but it’s a nice visual revamp that adds to the overall aesthetic of the app.


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Google Contacts app could soon bring QR codes, slightly redesigned contact cards

Following the release of Google Contacts for most Android devices earlier today, more people than ever now have access to the app. After digging into the latest version of Google Contacts, we managed to enable a couple unreleased features in the latest version that could make managing your contacts with it even easier than it already is…


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Google is working on a new in-call home screen floating bubble for the Phone app [Video]

With spam warnings, visual voicemail, a super clean UI, and more, Google’s Phone app has quite a lot to offer to folks rocking Pixel, Nexus, and Android One devices. We recently discovered a new feature deep in the Phone app that makes managing calls from your home screen much easier than before, and we managed to enable it in the latest version of the app so you can see it in action…


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Google adds support for 30 more languages for voice dictation in Gboard, Voice Search, and more

As good as virtual keyboards have gotten, sometimes it’s just easier to send a message or perform a search with your voice than it is to physically type something out. With the latest update to Google’s Cloud Speech API, more users can now take advantage of these features than ever before.


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Samsung’s surprisingly decent mobile browser is now available as a Google Chrome alternative

Samsung’s mobile browser has previously been available primarily for Samsung phones (with the exception of a few other devices like the Pixel and Pixel XL) and while the main version of the app will remain this way, the beta version of the Samsung Internet Browser can now be downloaded for use on Android phone running 5.0 Lollipop or later…


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WhatsApp Payments will allow all users to send and receive money within the app

Of all the messaging services that are out there, WhatsApp remains one of the most functional and feature-rich. Its Android app received picture-in-picture support a little less than three weeks ago, and a week later got access to App Shortcuts. In the latest beta version for WhatsApp’s Android app, it would appear that WhatsApp Payments will be the next feature to make an appearance.


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Samsung Keyboard 2.0 heads to the Google Play Store for faster updates

Virtual keyboards have come a long way since the industry first started to move away from physical options, and in their current state, virtual keyboards are now more feature-rich and easier to use than ever before. Samsung is one of many companies that has been regularly updating its own keyboard, and today the company has officially released the Samsung Keyboard on the Google Play Store.


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Google Calendar gets updated for better handling of large events

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Google Calendar is an awesome tool for organizing your various meetings, appointments, etc., but up until now, it hasn’t been the best for managing large events. Today, Google is updating its Calendar service to be more functional than ever when trying to organize and handle events that are considerably big and demanding.


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YouTube Music now allows you to save individual songs, playlists, and albums offline

While we wait for YouTube Music and Google Play Music to merge into a singular, more cohesive service, Google is updating the former to now allow users to save individual songs, playlists, and albums for offline use. This is a pretty basic feature that should have been included a while ago, but we’re glad to see it finally make an appearance.


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Google releases Android Samba Client app for mounting SMB file shares in Files app

In what is not exactly a common occurrence, Google just released a completely new app of its own on the Play Store. The app’s called Android Samba Client, and in Google’s own words, it “allows users to mount an SMB file share in their Downloads/Files app in Android.” I’m not sure if I could word it better than that.


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Google Allo could get new ‘quick selfie’ feature, backup & restore, ability to add stickers to photos, more [Video + Gallery]

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Google Allo has received countless updates since launch, adding a variety of features — most of them involving stickers in some way. Now, we’ve managed to enable some features that Google is actively working on within Allo that haven’t yet been enabled. These include a new button for quickly capturing a selfie and the ability to add stickers as decoration on photos…


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