Digital Wellbeing, first introduced with Android 9 Pie last fall, is part of Google’s push towards balancing your technology usage with a healthy life. With the beta v.1.0.2483 (and a server-side switch), you can finally pick which days you want Wind Down to enable.
[Update 2: Back with v15.2.38] The Play Store’s Material Theme redesign is rolling out to users
Google has been redesigning its apps one by one to match its new Material Theme. A few months back, Gmail and G Suite received a Material redesign. Now’s the time for the app that really needs it: the Play Store. Earlier, 9to5Google was able to get us some early pictures of the redesign, but now, it’s officially rolling out to users.
Google silently adds Huawei back to the Android Q Beta program
Earlier last week, the US-based tech giant Google revoked Huawei’s license to use the Android operating system as the base for its EMUI skin. That came after President Trump signed an executive order to put Huawei on what’s known as the “Entity List.” This means that all American companies are forbidden from doing any kind of business with the Chinese tech giant without explicit government approval.
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The Huawei and Google dilemma: A complete rundown of everything
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that the United States Government added Huawei to its “Entity List.” This prevents American companies from doing any type of business with Huawei without explicit government approval. To comply with this order, Google has to stop providing Huawei with Google services like the Play Store, Gmail, and anything else that requires the Play Services Framework.
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Recap: Here’s what was announced at Google I/O 2019
Google wrapped up its annual I/O keynote today led by CEO Sundar Pichai. Pichai talked about the new developments at Google and gave us a glimpse of what’s to come. Here’s a quick recap of what was announced.
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May update for Pixel phones now out
The first Monday of May has arrived, and in an orderly fashion, Google’s monthly security updates are here. As always, just head to Settings > System > Advanced > System update to get the OTA.
Google removed 200 adware-infected apps from the Play Store
We all know that Google does not leave any stones unturned when it comes to taking security measures for protecting the apps which are published on the Play Store. However, recently, a team of researchers conducting security test activities found a new kind of adware named SimBad. This adware affected more than 200 Android applications, most of them being simulator games. Combined together, the apps had over 150 million downloads.
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Counterclockwise: Using an Essential Phone in 2019
Every year, the multi-million worth tech giants, in Samsung, Apple, and Huawei, introduce the world to their latest fleet of flagship smartphones, boasting about the hardware and some of the features their phones have on board. And while these phones gain a lot of traction among the average Jacks and Joes of people, these tech marvels don’t necessarily float the boat of the geeky critiques—it’s a natural progression that newer models will continue to improve and fill the voids of their predecessors. Apart from the eye-watering price tag these phones have, their manufacturers don’t really care about those who love to tweak their phones and develop interesting projects for them. And when Google wielded an ax in the Nexus lineup, there weren’t many choices left for these people other than OnePlus, a (sort of) fresh start-up company at that time. However, I think there is one brand that escaped through the nets that many have unfairly given their cold shoulders: Essential.
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Google introduces Android search and browser app choices for users in Europe
Last year, the EU had hit Google with a €4.3 billion antitrust fine. One of the reasons was that Google makes Android phone manufacturers install the Google Search app and Chrome as a condition for allowing them to offer access to the Play Store and other Google services. According to the EU, this helped Google’s monopoly over web search. Google did split Android, Chrome, and Search to comply with regulations, but now Google will also start presenting prompts to Android users in Europe with an option to download other search apps and browsers.
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The Play Store’s Material Theme redesign is coming soon, and here’s how it looks
Google has been redesigning its apps one by one to match its new Material Theme. A few months back, Gmail and G Suite received a Material makeover. Now’s the time for the app that really needs it: the Play Store. The redesign isn’t out yet, but 9to5Google was able to forcefully enable it.
Continue reading “The Play Store’s Material Theme redesign is coming soon, and here’s how it looks”
