Following in the footsteps of Facebook, Instagram today announced in a blog post that it will soon adjust the way in which content is presented in its iOS and Android apps. While content is currently shown in chronological order, Instagram will soon switch to a new personalized algorithms based on each user…
Google is on a roll lately with readying its iOS apps for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro announced last September and released last November.
Google’s YouTube app gained native resolution two weeks ago, but lacked iOS 9 multitasking features like Split View and Picture-in-Picture, then yesterday we saw Google Photos update with iPad Pro support in an update that actually includes Split View and Slide Over features.
Now it’s the Google Docs apps turn, at least to start, as the latest version of Google Docs for iOS adds native resolution support for the iPad Pro.
Google Photos already lets users backup and view an unlimited number of high-resolution photos and videos for free, and Google recently added a button that lets users manually purge downloaded content to make room for more free storage. There’s a new update awaiting Google Photos users today that adds support for the latest software and hardware features on iPhones and iPads.
Google is today adding new templates to the initial selection it first rolled out to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides back in September of last year.
Twitter has toady announced long-awaited support for native GIF search with partners Giphy and Riffsy. The addition of GIF search means that users will now be able to search for GIFs from a library of thousands and instantly insert them into their direct message or tweet.
Update: A new hands-on video shows the $4 iPhone clone in all its glory (embedded below).
We told you earlier today about the insane $4 Freedom 251 phone, and now at least one publication has managed to get their hands on the device. Initial impressions aren’t great, and it looks like this phone — unsurprisingly — is just a mess of copyright infringement. Not unlike many other low-end offerings from dozens of overseas manufacturers, the phone pulls a lot of “inspiration” from the Cupertino company’s smashing successes…
Google has today uploaded its latest “Be together. Not the same.” ad to YouTube, and it’s a profound statement of how the company views its mobile platform, as well as how it views competitors. In the ad, dubbed “Monotune,” an unnamed pianist plays a tune in two versions: one using all the piano’s normal variety of keys, and the other on a special piano Google rigged to play the same note on all its keys…
Google has finally launched a full-fledged iOS app for users of its AdWords advertising service. The AdWords app arrives today as the first official iOS app for the service and it’s available for both iPhone and iPad users now.
Following an announcement for a revamped news discovery and commenting experience for its homepage and Yahoo mobile apps, the company is also rolling out an updated Yahoo Mail Android app today.
Yahoo today announced that it’s revamping the way it aggregates news content and in the process launching redesigned commenting, news discovery, and notification features to users on Android, iOS, and through its Yahoo homepage on the web.
According to a new report out of app analytics company App Annie, Apple’s trend of bringing in more revenue via its App Store than Google does via the Play Store continued in 2015. Google, however, continued to see far more app downloads than Apple…
Google’s Maps app for iPhone and iPad got a small but useful update on the App Store today. The latest version of the Google Maps iOS app now includes a couple of handy features.
First up, and undoubtedly the most useful for drivers is the up-to-date gas prices in the US and Canada. The feature was included in the Android version of Google’s app a couple of months ago and lets users check nearby gas stations to see which has the most affordable prices. You can find prices simply be searching for ‘gas’ or ‘gas stations’ in the search field and Google Maps will automatically bring up the nearest options and list pricing for those locations.
Business hours have been included in the app for some time, but today’s update also lets you check when is best to avoid/visit particular businesses. Like its online search and maps tools, the updated iPhone app brings the ability check popular visiting hours for local stores and outlets. Now you can see what you always knew about any business or retail location: It starts getting busy after lunch.
Google Maps version 4.13.0 is available to download from the App Store for free and requires users to be running iOS 7.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
Google today has pushed a beefy update to its Play Movies & TV app on iOS that bumps it to version 2.0.7910 and brings several new features. The update gives the app a refreshed interface, AirPlay support, recommendations, and more.
Google has highlighted new features for Google Drive apps today that it says make it easier to search for files on Android, iOS, and web.
Among the improvements to search in the app, you’ll now be able to narrow your search by file type and open advanced search from the search box. For iOS specifically, users can now get quick access to recent files and search from the Home screen icon using 3D Touch and the ability to search from iOS’s Spotlight feature.
Here’s a full list of improvements courtesy of Google:
Google says the improvements for Drive will roll out to the Android and iOS apps over the coming weeks.
I’ve been an iOS user since day one — back when it was called “iPhone OS” — and haven’t had any reason to leave Apple’s camp. Each day, I use iOS devices and apps, and for the most part, they “just work.” You could offer me a cheap Android phone or tablet and I wouldn’t have much use for it.
Or so I thought. Just in time for the holidays, 9to5’s publisher Seth Weintraub sent me an unexpected gift: a $99 Motorola Moto G (2nd Gen), also available on Amazon. That price isn’t a typo — for under $100 (half the price of the recently released sixth-generation iPod touch), Motorola is selling a full-fledged smartphone with a larger, higher-resolution screen than the $199 iPod, and for that matter the old iPhone 5c I decided to replace it with. You’ve probably heard that Amazon is trying a similar tactic with its $49 7″ Fire Tablets, which so radically undercut the price of Apple’s iPads that you can buy five for the same price as an entry-level iPad mini 2… and still have change left over. Since these products were developed by well-established companies, they’re budget-priced, but not junk.
I wanted to see whether the Moto G would have any value in my life, and how it would stack up against lower-end iOS devices. What I found was exactly the reason Apple leads the cellular industry in profits yet continues to lag behind Android in market share: the Moto G offers a more than “good enough” alternative at a price that anyone can afford. From my perspective, the existence of a good $99 smartphone is precisely the reason the iPod family has all but disappeared, and why even iPad mini pricing is arguably unsustainable…
Update: Just like the multiple account support that disappeared mere hours after it appeared, this awesome 3D Touch feature is now gone.
Instagram for iOS has had 3D Touch features for quite a while, but it looks like the Instagram team wanted to experiment with bringing some of these to Android as well. While the latest version for Android obviously doesn’t take advantage of force sensitive hardware (which doesn’t really exist of this side of the mobile space anyway), it does add a nifty new pop up for quickly liking, commenting, and sharing posts…
Today Google Calendar for both Android and iOS gains a handy new Reminders feature that works alongside the app’s to-dos feature.
With the Reminders feature, users will be able to keep track of to-do lists across Google platforms including Inbox, Google Keep, Google Now, and Calendar.
Here’s how the new reminders work:
You might already create calendar entries to remind you to call the doctor or pick up groceries on the way home. But while those entries come and go, Reminders stick with you over time so you can track them until they are actually done. If a Reminder isn’t completed, it will appear at the top of your Calendar the next day. And the next. When you do finally call the doctor or pick up those necessities, just swipe the Reminder away … and you’re onto the next to-do.
And since the reminders work across Google apps, you can create them from Inbox, Google Keep, Calendar, and even using Google Now voice commands: “Ok Google, remind me to buy birthday candles.”
The new Reminders feature for Calendar on Android and iOS is rolling out this week. Google says it will come to the web apps in the near future. The updated Google Calendar app for iOS also adds 3D Touch to create events or reminders.
Yahoo Messenger has long taken a back seat to other Yahoo products on mobile devices, but today the company is finally unveiling a revamped app that brings its messaging platform into this decade with a completely redesigned user experience and new features.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Google today has announced an update to the Google Maps SDK for iOS, bumping it to version 1.11. The update includes bitcode support, new events, and brings some features previously available only in the Android SDK to iOS.
Bitcode support means that Apple can optimize for specific target devices at provisioning time and is an intermediate representation of your app that is uploaded to the App Store.
Google Maps SDK for iOS 1.11 also includes two new events that take better take advantage of multitouch features of iOS devices. Google writes on its Geo Developers blog:
The Google Maps SDK for iOS 1.11 also introduces two new events: didLongPressInfoWindowOfMarker and didCloseInfoWindowOfMarker. The long press event takes advantage of iOS long-touch as another way for users to interact with Maps SDK for iOS enabled apps. The close event is particularly useful if you wish to programmatically zoom back out on the map after the user has looked at the detail associated with a particular marker.
The latest Google Maps SDK for iOS 1.11 also includes a handful of new features and bug fixes:
Google today has updated its Drive app on iOS with a handful of notable new features and enhancements. First off, today’s update to Drive, which bumps the app to version 4.4, adds 3D Touch support for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users. Now, pushing with more pressure on the Drive app icon will bring up two options, one to quickly upload photos and another to quickly search the contents of your Drive.
Big phones have been a mainstay in the smartphone market for a few years now. Even Apple got in on the game for the first time last year with the iPhone 6 Plus. This year, Motorola gigantified its Moto X range, and Apple is on to its second generation premium phablet. The Moto X Pure, or X Style, is Motorola’s premium super-phone. Here’s how it compares to Apple’s biggest and best phone yet…
Google today is rolling out an update to its iOS app that brings the app to version 10.0 and includes a handful of visual changes. With today’s update, the voice search feature has been redesigned to be more inline with Google’s Material Design aesthetic, while the Google Now cards in the app are now organized in a much more straightforward way.
Google is rolling out a redesigned Google+ today hat it says focuses on two features, Communicates and Collections, that people said kept them coming back to the service.
Expand
Expanding
Close
At the beginning, OEM partners were vital in order to spread Android. Google would handle the hard work of creating the operating system, while OEMs would manufacture and deal with carriers. This approach worked and Android is now the most used mobile OS and Samsung is the largest smartphone vendor in terms of shipped devices. But how is Google going to keep Android growing into the future?..
Expand
Expanding
Close
