News and notes on the latest from Google.
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”
YouTube TV is YouTube’s own service that offers the streaming of live TV channels including local sports and news. When it first launched, it cost $34.99 a month which then increased to $39.99 in February 2018 (existing subscribers were grandfathered, however). Starting today, YouTube TV’s monthly pricing is increasing to $49.99 for all subscribers and eight new channels are being added.
Continue reading “YouTube TV increases its monthly price to $50, adds eight new channels”
Two years ago, dbrand launched a campaign on Indigogo for a bumper case called Grip. It intended to offer extreme grip and shock protection, but unfortunately, after long-term use, customers reported it falling apart. This year, dbrand came out with the second generation of Grip. This time, they’ve opted for a material that offers less grip but doesn’t fall apart in the long term. Also, it’s not a bumper case but a full body case that you can customize with dbrand’s own skins.
Google just can’t keep a secret anymore. The Pixel 3 and 3 XL had leaked a lot before their announcement. We had known almost everything about the phones from their design to their specs, and this time is no different for Google’s planned budget Pixel devices: the Pixel 3a and 3a XL. Make what you want of that name, but recently, they both showed up on the Play Console and the Google Store which could mean we’re getting closer to their launch.
Continue reading “Pixel 3a and 3a XL show up on the Play Console and Google Store detailing specs”
Google is bringing an upgrade to the Google Assistant that adds larger, richer card interfaces with more visuals. They’re also including new built-in tools like a tip calculator, color picker, metronome, and bubble level.
Continue reading “Google Assistant gets richer card interfaces and some built-in tools”
The first beta of Android Q was released less than a month ago, and today, Google just released Beta 2. This also comes before Google I/O which is likely when the next beta will be announced. The beta is still only available on Pixel phones, Android Studio’s emulator, and as a generic system image (GSI).
Continue reading “Google releases Android Q Beta 2 with bubbles, Scoped Storage, and more”
Google announced Duplex back at I/O 2018. It enables the Google Assistant to call businesses and make reservations or appointments for you. In March, it started widely rolling out to only the Pixel phones and turned out to be pretty reliable too. Now, according to a report from XDA-Developers, Google Duplex is rolling out for iPhones (with the Google Assistant app) and most Android phones in the US.
Continue reading “Google Duplex is rolling out to non-Pixel phones in the US”
April Fool’s Day is today, but this is not a prank. Google’s April 2019 security updates are here. Head to Settings > System > Advanced > System update to get the OTA.
Who doesn’t like Harry Potter? Recently, Warner Bros. released a new Google Assistant action called “Wizarding World.” To try it out, all you have to do is simply ask your Google Assistant to “Talk to Wizarding World,” and this can be done on any Google Assistant-enabled device—your Android phone, Google Home, etc. If you’re an iOS user, you can install the Google Assistant app from the App Store.
Continue reading “Harry Potter fans: Try out this new game in the Google Assistant”
The Pixel phones are known for their best-in-class cameras, but the camera app’s performance has degraded somewhat in the past couple of months. However, with the v6.2 update, users are reporting “noticeably quicker launch” times.
Continue reading “Google Camera v6.2 brings faster launch times and mode switching”
