Skip to main content

Apps and Updates

See All Stories

Google Trips helps you craft the perfect vacation plan and stores everything offline

Site default logo image

Google has today introduced Google Trips, a new app that lets you manage and organize everything about your vacations in one place. The app tries to solve a big pain point with international travel — internet access — by automatically storing all your trip information offline, and it also makes suggestions during your trip based on what’s nearby to craft the perfect day plans…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Allo basically bares all in recent leaks, here’s everything we know [Gallery]

Site default logo image

In case you missed it, Android Police got their hands on a plethora of screenshots from an unreleased build of Google’s forthcoming messaging app Allo. We know because, well, since Friday morning, the site has published a whopping eight articles about the app (in that order).

A few days ago we told you about a couple of features the site detailed (including the app’s hilarious sticker packs), but we weren’t expecting the flood of information published over the weekend. Now, we’re expecting at least another 8 articles before the end of the week…


Expand
Expanding
Close

Hands-on with 5 Android apps you should download in August 2016 [Video]

There are nearly 1.5 million applications currently on Google Play and with so many to choose from, finding interesting new experiences can be a hassle. As we have the last couple of months now, today we’ll be showing you another 5 Android apps that you should definitely give a shot…


Expand
Expanding
Close

PSA: Pokémon Go is getting full access to Google Accounts for iPhone players

Update: Niantic has issued the following statement:

We recently discovered that the Pokémon Go account creation process on iOS erroneously requests full access permission for the user’s Google account. However, Pokémon Go only accesses basic Google profile information (specifically, your User ID and email address) and no other Google account information is or has been accessed or collected.

Once we became aware of this error, we began working on a client-side fix to request permission for only basic Google profile information, in line with the data that we actually access. Google has verified that no other information has been received or accessed by Pokémon Go or Niantic. Google will soon reduce Pokémon Go’s permission to only the basic profile data that Pokémon Go needs, and users do not need to take any actions themselves.


Google lets you see the apps connected to your account at the My Account section of its website, and today we noticed something interesting: Pokémon Go, the new hit smartphone game that’s pretty much taking over the world, is getting full access to many users’ Google accounts. That’s the same privilege that Google Chrome and Chromecast get. Currently, this appears to affect those that have used the Google sign in feature in the iOS app…


Expand
Expanding
Close

Opinion: Pokémon Go is technology at its absolute best

I have personally seen no less than two dozen people in public playing Pokémon Go since the game’s US launch last week, and from what I’ve heard, many can say the same. Based on some initial data, it seems that pretty much no technology comes close to the rate of adoption that this single app has seen in the past few days. It’s been a wild ride to say the least.

The app is still the top download on both app stores, and there have already been dozens of articles across the web telling the stories of many aspiring Pokémon trainers — everything from robberies to sore legs. Pokémon Go has already become a (mostly) global phenomenon and from what we’ve seen so far, it’s technology at its very best.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Fit 1.57 is rolling out now with a major redesign, customizable goals, and more

While rarely refreshed, the updates Google Fit does receive are usually significant. Version 1.57 is rolling out now with a major visual revamp, a new timeline feature to keep better track of daily activity, and a new goals feature similar to the one debuted with Google Calendar. The redesign drops the sparse, white design for a more colorful and information dense UI.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Hands-on: ‘Evie’ launcher brings iOS-like search to the Android homescreen, and it’s pretty great

Customization is at the heart of Android and one of the easiest ways to change up your device is with a custom launcher. With just a few taps, you can easily change the look and feel of your device. Over the past few years we’ve seen dozens of great options, but lately I’ve been trying out a relatively new one called “Evie”.

Let’s a take a quick look.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Android Mobile Vision restored alongside new Text API in Google Play Services 9.2

Announced last August, the Mobile Vision API allows app developers to detect faces in images and video. The API was briefly removed, however, and today it makes a return as part of Google Play Services 9.2. A new Text API has also been added and will give developers access to optical character recognition.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Support for US Cellular officially available on Project Fi today alongside app update

After announcing the addition early this month, Google has finally enabled support for US Cellular’s network starting today for all users. To “ensure your device is ready to connect,” Google says you should download an update the Project Fi app which is currently rolling out via Google Play.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Google announces Cast for Education, Creative Apps for Chrome OS, public Expeditions availability, more

Coinciding with the announcement of Project Bloks, Google today introduced new updates and improvements to a slew of classroom tools at the ISTE education technology conference. Announcements include public availability of Cardboard Expeditions, Google Cast for Education, quiz support with automatic grading in Google Forms, and new creative apps for Chromebooks.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Earth and Maps updated with sharper, more detailed satellite imagery [Gallery]

Site default logo image

The novelty of exploring satellite imagery of the world in Google Earth has long worn off since the app launched in 2001. Now the the company has given you a reason to dive back in and explore the Earth from above, announcing today that all mapping products, including the satellite layer in Maps, will get sharper and more detailed images thanks to a new satellite and processing techniques…


Expand
Expanding
Close

Dropbox app gets doc scanning & more, but now requires desktop app for free auto camera uploads

Dropbox is getting some notable updates today for both the mobile apps and desktop that bring a number of new productivity tools and features to the service. It’s also changing its mobile camera uploads feature for basic users to require they have the desktop app installed or a paid Pro account.


Expand
Expanding
Close

VLC 2.0 launches w/ Android N support, video playlists, popup video mode, more

I remember back in the day when VLC was just the necessary media player for pretty much any Mac owner. Since then, the free and open source cross-platform multimedia player has expanded beyond Mac and PC to mobile devices running Android and iOS. Today, the VideoLAN organization has pushed out VLC for Android 2.0, and it’s probably the app’s biggest release since its first out-of-beta release in February of last year


Expand
Expanding
Close

Chrooma Keyboard 3.0 packs Google Now integration, gestures, and much more

Getting used to a new keyboard can be tough for many and it’s one of the primary reasons I’ve always stuck with the Google Keyboard on my devices. However that all changed when Chrooma Keyboard was originally released last year. I instantly switched and now several months later, that keyboard has hit version 3.0. In this version Chrooma not only adopts several features from Google Keyboard 5.0, but also adds several awesome new features of its own. Let’s take a quick look.


Expand
Expanding
Close

New Google Prompt two-factor authentication method is built into Android, available on iOS

Two-step verification is an absolute must to stay secure in this day and age and now Google has announced an easier method to approve sign-in requests on both Android and iOS. The new Google Prompt requires just a simple yes/no to approve a log-in and is built right into Android.


Expand
Expanding
Close

This week’s top stories: Android N Dev Preview 4, OnePlus 3 launch, Android apps on Chrome OS & more

OnePlus 3

In this week’s top stories: What’s new in the Android N Dev Preview 4, the official OnePlus 3 launch and first impressions, Android apps come to Chromebooks in Chrome OS Dev 53, and much more. Head below for the handy links to these and the rest of this week’s top shared stories.


Expand
Expanding
Close

After years of inactivity, ADW Launcher 2.0 is here and it’s pretty great

There are dozens of great launchers for Android, however going back in time a few years, our choices were a bit different. One of the biggest players, and likely one many of us remember fondly, was ADW Launcher. It had tons of great features, but above all else it was fast, fun, and powerful. However that was a long time ago. ADW hasn’t seen an update since mid-2013, but now it’s back with a new design and some great new features.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Android apps arrive on Chromebooks with Chrome OS Dev 53, Play Store live on ASUS Flip

Announced at Google I/O 2016, Androids apps and the Play Store are now officially on Chromebooks. Chrome OS 53 is rolling out now to all devices in the developer channel, but the Play Store is only showing up on the ASUS Chromebook Flip. Early users are reporting bugs, but reactions are generally positive with performance improvements over Android apps installed via ARC Welder.


Expand
Expanding
Close