apps

Apple Music is finally available to download for Android, so I wanted to give you a quick setup tour and first impressions of Apple’s second app for Google’s mobile platform. It’s free to download and offers almost all of the same features and services found in the iOS and OS X apps, including the option to sign up for a free three-month trial…

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Thanks to the impending arrival of Star Wars: Episode VII, one of this year’s most talked-about console games is Battlefront, which is undoubtedly one of the best (if not THE best) Star Wars games of all time. And now, it has its own official mobile companion app on the Google Play Store. The Android app was just released and features a number of mini games that unlock various objects in the full Battlefront console title…

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YouTube announced today that it’s bringing two new features to its popular video-viewing service. Perhaps the most important of the two updates is that YouTube now supports VR Video. That means people can upload full virtual reality experience videos which have an added depth versus the regular two-dimensional flat video. Objects that are near look close, those further away seem far.

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Last week a cool new app was launched which lets any user running Android 6.0 Marshmallow launch apps from their quick settings drop-down menu. I decided to take a look and shoot a quick video showing how to use it, and how — despite it taking a little time to set up — it can save a lot of time in your daily workflow. Check it out below…

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Dish Network’s Sling TV has been around for a while, but one feature that was long been missing from its Android and iPhone apps was Chromecast support. Now, following Google’s announcement last month that the feature was on the way, watchers of live on-demand TV programming via Sling TV can finally sling that content onto their big screen…
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Pushbullet, the popular multi-device notification and link-sharing tool has been updated today to take full advantage of Android 6.0 Marshmallow’s built-in improvements. The company announced that the new update uses Android 6.0‘s runtime permissions and Direct Share features to give you more fine-tuned control over which parts of your system it has access to, and give the option to share items more easily and quickly with compatible devices…

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Google is making some announcements for its Google for Work platform today at the Web Summit in Dublin, including the introduction of a new program dubbed “Recommended for Google Apps for Work” and an update on paid user numbers.

In addition to announcing the new app recommendations, Google’s Amit Singh unveiled that the company has now hit over 2 million businesses with paid Google Apps for Work accounts:
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Update: It looks like the Smart Reply feature is rolling out starting tomorrow.

To all those asking, Smart Reply will start rolling out to Inbox on Android and iOS tomorrow.

— Inbox by Gmail (@inboxbygmail) November 4, 2015

Google’s Inbox app for Gmail is one of the best things to happen to personal email management since email was invented. Using Google Now’s power, it can automatically create calendar events, sort out your junk and priority emails and suggest reminders. Now it’s about to get a whole lot smarter…

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It’s certainly not the only connected-security camera, but following Google’s acquisition of popular security cam maker Dropcam last year, the company has just launched a second-generation product with new features. The new product was re-envisioned by Google’s Nest team— the people building smart home accessories like the Nest thermostat and fire alarm— and in the process dropped the Dropcam branding and gained a few notable enhancements.

But is the new Nest Cam worth an upgrade from your current Dropcam setup? And how does the product compare to the other connected home security-cam and all-in-one security devices on the market? We’ve been testing out Nest Cam since its release a few weeks back to find out.
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When Microsoft purchased Sunrise, things didn’t look good for the popular cross-platform calendar app. There were fears Microsoft would take its talent and shut the app down. Fears — it seems — that were completely justified. Sunrise announced in a blog post today that the app will no longer receive any updates. If you are an avid user of Sunrise (like me), you’ll now need to go hunting for a new calendar app if you expect new features.
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Google has raised the per-app maximum charge limit available to developers on its Play Store to $400 in the US. The maximum limit has been increased in multiple regions, and means app developers can now charge up to $400 for an app. It’s worth noting that $400 apps probably won’t show up any time soon. However, it is perhaps concerning to think which developers may decide to start offering ludicrously expensive in-app purchases for virtual donuts, credits or gold (or whatever else you may wish to pay for).
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A short while ago, Google revealed a new redesign for its mobile Play Store which, among other changes, would separate apps and entertainment content. From today, you could see that new design hit, and when it does, you won’t be able to miss it.

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Last week, WhatsApp announced that it will be bringing a much-needed feature to its Android app: Google Drive backups. While the updated version of the app hasn’t hit the Google Play Store yet, you can already download it directly from WhatsApp and install the Drive backup-equipped app on your phone now. Installing it couldn’t be simpler:
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