If you’re a Chrome user, apps and extensions are most likely a major part of your web browsing experience. While these different types of software tools often make life easier for us, they tend have a lot going on behind the scenes. To help keep people in the know, Google has added an audit feature to its standalone Chrome Apps Developer Tool.
SwiftKey may be working on an iOS version of its popular input app, but its roots are with Android. Aware of this, the smart keyboard’s Android variant is now free to download from Google Play. Without a doubt one of the better input options for mobile devices, this is almost an irresistible option for anyone looking looking to replace their device’s stock keyboard.
Google updated its Hangouts Android app today with a fresh set of customizable features. Users now have access to a hidden contacts list that lets them hide people from their group without blocking their messages. In addition to adjusting your chat list, you can now assign custom notification tones to individual contacts. This nifty new feature will let you know who’s messaging you without having to look at your device. Another new feature in the latest version of Hangouts for Android is an SMS list that provides fast access to the people you’ve blocked. This new feature also makes it easier to unblock people in the event that you have a change of heart.
Lastly, a battery draining issue linked to Hangouts is expected to be resolved with this new update, according to an ongoing Google Groups thread. Google has yet to update Hangouts’ changelog in Google Play, however version 2.1.223 is now available and may take a little time to reach your device.
Today, Microsoft released a highly anticipated update for its SmartGlass mobile apps for Xbox One. Following suit with a full system update for Redmond’s newest game console, this refreshed companion app adds fast access to all of your TV and app channels with the introduction of OneGuide support. Also new to SmartGlass are the abilities to compare Achievements, filter recorded game clips and organize your console’s pins remotely. But the standout new feature here is the addition of a universal remote that can be used to control your cable, satellite box or TV.
In wake of its decision to bring its Zavers service to an end, Google has also pulled its Google Offers apps from the App Store and Google Play. Mountain View has yet to announce its plans for existing Offers users, but the company recently stated that it wasn’t stepping away from the retail scene and that it would focus on connecting shoppers with brands through Google Wallet, Shopping Express and Listing Ads. Wondering what’s in store for the people still using Google Offers on their mobile devices, we’ve reached out to the search giant for comment regarding its support plans for the fading platform. We’ll be sure to update this news article if any new information becomes available. Until then, be sure to pour one out for Zavers the Google Offers app. See you at the crossroads.
Last month, Google updated its Google+ app for Android with a set of new visually stimulating features known as Stories and Movies. While that latter launched with parity across multiple platforms, Mountain View just released Stories for iOS today. Now available to download on devices running iOS 6.0 or later, this new feature takes pictures, videos and location tags and rolls them into a stylish trip summary without the need of a third-party photo editing software.
Further maintaining the update’s photography-centric theme is the addition of a new photo editor equipped with new filters and creative tools. These should help you snap the perfect shot of your pet, baby, lunch or whatever else people are posting to social networks these days. However, if any of said items are found offensive, Google+ members can now report abusive communities directly from their iOS-powered devices. If you haven’t pulled down the update yet, head on over to the App Store and check it out.
Google announced today that it has finished the rollout of its new AdMob to more than 200 countries and as a result the company will stop accepting apps into Google Play based on its old SDK on August 1st. Following this initiative, the search giant will sunset AdMob’s legacy platform on August 31st. After this, legacy ad units will stop working and the outdated AdMob UI will no longer be accessible.
Google Maps for Android recently received an update and while it’s not too heavy on features, it does bring back a feature that a lot of people have missed. Version 8.1 reintroduces Terrain Mode, which lets users view a topographic layer that shows elevation changes in surrounding hills, mountains, and valleys. Absent for nearly a year, this standout feature could be useful to would-be adventurers looking to experience the great outdoors. In addition to a mountain view from Mountain View, Maps users will notice a slightly modified UI, with previews for the first available route beings added to biking and walking views. Other adjustments include font changes and some onscreen information being repositioned. If you haven’t installed the update yet, head on over to our source link below to get brought up to speed.
(via Google Play)
Chrome Beta for Android was updated today with a slew of new performance features that should be welcomed by any user. Now available to download from Google Play, the 36th version of Mountain View’s portable browser brings improved text rendering to non-mobile websites and reintroduces Doodles to the new tab page. Chrome Beta users will also be treated to better suggestions for text entry, along with a several bug fixes and performance improvements. If you’ve already updated this app and are tinkering with its new features, be sure to let us know how it’s treating you and your device.
Last year, Google announced that it was working towards dropping Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI) support from Chrome before the close of 2014. Today, the company took steps towards keeping its word by removing Chrome Web Store apps and extensions that use the aging cross-platform plugin. Not stopping there, this grand purge also applies to search results and category pages.
A new app for Google Glass has been prototyped, which intends to bring the conveniences of online reading — namely, quick definitions and translations — to the offline hard-copy book reading experience. The app is called Reader for Glass (not to be confused with Google Reader), and is being developed by Jacob Funch, a graduate school student working on his master’s thesis …
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Despite some folks declaring it clinically dead, Google+ recently received a new feature known as Stories that lets users share artsy images of places they’ve been while geotagging the locations they’ve visited. Think of it as a way to create a virtual scrapbook for your next vacation. Google said that its new app would be available sometime this week and today appears to be the day. Now available to download from Google Play, the refreshed software also features an updated menu and quick hangout chat access and directions to friends who share their location with you. So there you have it folks. Google+ is alive and well and ready to share your latest adventures.
Gmail’s Calendar invitation feature is operating on borrowed time, as Google has plans to remove this option in July. If you’re unfamiliar with this feature, it lets you add event invites directly from within an email without having to open Calendar. It’s unknown why Google is pulling the plug on this feature, however there appears to be a replacement in the works.
“We’ll still be supporting creating invitations, just through different steps, ” a Gmail community manager recently said in a forum post. “The workaround now is to click into calendar and to create an invitation from there.” Whatever these new steps might be remains to be seen, (maybe it’ll be part of the rumored Gmail redesign) but hopefully this will bring about some appreciation for a feature that was most likely under used.
(via Google Operating System)
Yesterday Google opened the Glass beta to the general public once again, offering the chance for anyone to buy the wearable device for $1,500. Today the company has unveiled three new travel-oriented glassware apps.
The first of these apps is Foursquare, the popular check-in app that allows users to locate and review restaurants, shopping centers, or any other point of interest. Google also debuted TripIt integration, allowing users easily plan their travel itineraries through Glass. The third glassware app revealed today is OpenTable. Using this software, users can now book restaurant reservations right from Glass.
If you focused too hard on Motorola’s new and improved handsets, you most likely missed Moto Alert, the company’s newest Android app. Currently exclusive to the Moto E, and in the vein of Google Latitude, this new software is designed to keep you in touch with your close group of friends. The app lets you set up periodic alerts that help the people you care about track your whereabouts. Kind of creepy? Maybe, but it could come in handy if you find yourself in a pinch. Lastly, the app features specific locations like home, work or school that automatically notify your stalkers loved ones of your departure and arrival.
We’re hearing that Google Play Music for iPad is getting close to release and a tipster has sent in a couple of videos showcasing what he/she claims is a pre-release of the new app. We’ve heard independently that Play Music for iPad was getting close to delivery and our tipster says this is a development build (see update below). The app will function similarly to the iPhone version, but redesigned for iPad.
We are still somewhat skeptical of the screenshots below, but the app’s functionality (shown in the videos) seems to be very similar to the iPhone version and it would make sense for Google to release it for iPad. Though we’re still unsure if the update will arrive as a universal build or if Google will have separate versions available in the App Store.
As we predicted last month, screenshots of a redesigned Gmail Android app loaded with new features hit the web. Not stopping at its mobile mailbox, new images of an overhauled desktop version of Gmail have surfaced and they look very similar to what we saw a few short weeks ago.
Not stopping at its Camera app, Google has also rolled out an update for its Android and iOS Wallet apps. While both versions aren’t identical, the biggest standout of today’s software releases is the ability to use multiple Google accounts from within Wallet’s Android app. To accommodate this new addition, Mountain View has made a few adjustments to the payment software’s UI. User accounts are accessible via a pull-down panel on the upper left-hand corner of the app, along with a slide-out section for your list of cards and bank accounts. Rounding things out is the ability to receive package shipment updates on purchases made with Wallet.
iOS users rocking Google’s mobile payment system are being treated to unidentified enhancements to the app’s loyalty programs and orders features, along with some token performance fixes. If you haven’t updated Wallet yet, you can pull down this new software from your mobile platform’s respective source link below.
(via Google Play, iTunes)
Google’s new take on Docs and Sheets might be the first of many changes for the company’s Drive platform. The folks at Android Police managed to get their hands on a new, unreleased version of Drive and it appears to be missing editing functionality for sheets and documents. If you attempt to open a document while in Drive, it’ll display a view-only version of the item and will prompt you to install Google’s new standalone word processing app. We understand that this change might be frustrating for some users, but unbundling these apps lets people pick and choose the software that they want to use. It also gives Google a chance to focus on each app individually, which will hopefully result in a better user experience for each platform. Our fingers are crossed.
Today, Google opened Google Play merchant registration for eight new territories. Developers residing in Greece, Luxembourg, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam can now apply for a merchant account with Google Play, which will allow them to collect money for paid apps in local their local currency.
Today Foursquare announced that it will be repurposing its mobile app to focus specifically on search, reviews and finding places to eat. As for check-ins, that’ll soon be handled by a new piece of software known as Swarm. This new application will focus on the social media side of things, giving users an easy way to locate and connect with their friends when out and about.
Samsung’s smartphones might be selling like gangbusters, but consumers don’t seem to care much for the company’s homegrown app suite, according to a new report. Research firm Strategy Analytics recently polled over 250 Galaxy S3 and S4 users and concluded that Samsung device users spent around seven minutes a month using their phone’s pre-installed bloatware.
In comparison, GS3 and GS4 owners used Facebook for around 11 hours per month alone. Samsung’s S Voice software averaged less than five minutes of monthly use across both devices, however the least used of Samsung’s native applications was the company’s ChatOn messaging service. It only averaged six seconds of use per month, which means that a large portions of its users could have accidentally launched the app.
Despite their lack of popularity, most of Samsung’s pre-installed apps cannot be uninstalled without a serious workaround or the purchase of a Google Play Edition device. There’s no denying that Samsung has sold a lot of smartphones, but the company may want to revise some of its software or at least give consumers the option to remove unwanted applications from their devices.
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore.When you can order pizza from Domino’s using Google Wallet, that’s convenient! The world famous pizza chain recently updated its Android app with support for Google’s payment system, making it even easier to complete orders from your smartphone. In celebration of this new collaboration, Domino’s customers who place an online order of $10 or more using the company’s Android app and pay with Google Wallet will receive a free order of the pizzeria’s Specialty Chicken, now through June 15th.
After listening to user feedback, Beats Electronics has released an update for its Beats Music app for Android. The 6.9MB download brings a new widget, refined social media tools, improved offline play and a standard group of undocumented fixes. While these enhancements may not be enough to lure some folks away from other music streaming services, they’re definitely a step in the right direction.
Here’s a look at version 1.0.8’s complete changelog:
If you’re a Beats Music subscriber ready to get your groove on, dance on over to the Play Store and pull down this update.
