Google is working on “Fast Share” to share files with nearby devices

According to a report from 9to5Google, Google appears to be working on a new and simple way to share files between a variety of devices including Chromebooks, Android devices, smartwatches, and even iPhones. Google’s calling this “Fast Share” and it’s similar to Apple’s AirDrop for iOS and Mac.

Continue reading “Google is working on “Fast Share” to share files with nearby devices”

Google is officially done making tablets, focused on building new laptops now

In a new report published by Computerworld, Google is officially done making first-party tablets. The company reportedly had two more tablets in the works—both smaller than the current Pixel Slate; however, development on them have since been suspended and employees working on them have been reassigned to various other areas, with most being moved to the laptops division. Google still has plans for more laptops it seems.

Continue reading “Google is officially done making tablets, focused on building new laptops now”

Google is rolling out RCS without waiting for carriers to support it, starting in the UK and France

RCS has been considered to be the successor to SMS and possibly even a competitor to iMessage ever since Google had announced it. Google’s been working hard to widely roll it out, but carriers? Not so much. Now, Google is finally taking charge of the RCS rollout—sort of.

Continue reading “Google is rolling out RCS without waiting for carriers to support it, starting in the UK and France”

Huawei is requesting developers to publish their apps on its AppGallery app store

Amid the U.S. trade restrictions placed on Huawei, the Chinese tech giant must find an alternative to the Google Play Store. Huawei’s Android skin, EMUI, does come with their pre-installed AppGallery app store. However, if they really do plan on going for that alleged Android replacement, they’re going to need developers to port their apps to AppGallery.

Continue reading “Huawei is requesting developers to publish their apps on its AppGallery app store”

Why the Pixel 3a is the best mid-range phone you can buy in the US

Ever since the launch of the original OnePlus One, the recipe for a killer mid-range smartphone was very simple: flagship specs coupled with a modest camera hardware setup for nearly half the price of a fully fledged flagship. Things like decent software support and build quality were the icing on the cake, but they were never a guarantee. Over time, as prices kept creeping up, these two factors started to become a bigger part of the picture, even putting some of the bigger names to the sword—OnePlus is talking about updating the OnePlus 5/5T to Android Q while Samsung is yet to roll out the Android Pie update to the Galaxy S8 and S8+. Of course, this incredibly saturated segment of the market features a lot of the endeavors of other companies. But ultimately, they all share the same recipe. Google, on the other hand, had the guts to stray away from that route and create their own recipe for a worthy mid-range smartphone. In this article, we will discuss why Google’s new recipe will pay huge dividends to the Mountain View tech giant.

Continue reading “Why the Pixel 3a is the best mid-range phone you can buy in the US”

[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.

Continue reading “[Update 2: Back with v15.2.38] The Play Store’s Material Theme redesign is 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.

Continue reading “Google silently adds Huawei back to the Android Q Beta program”