googleplay
Latest
Android apps with emoji descriptions get more downloads
With a feature film, touch bar and dedicated search engine, emojis are having a moment. Now, app developer Novoda has done a study showing that they can even convince you to download apps. Using the A/B tool in Google's Developer Console, the team tested three emojis (🚀, 🚮 and 💯) in the short description of the popular CCleaner app from Piriform.
Vizio gives its SmartCast phone app a more useful home screen
Rather than using proprietary apps and tuners, Vizio's E-, P- and M-series smart 4K TVs rely on "Chromecast built-in" (formerly Google Cast). That means you're essentially running your TV from a smartphone (or included 6-inch tablet), which makes it easy for Vizio to do quick improvements. As such, the company just updated its SmartCast app by adding a streamlined new home page with larger buttons and simplified navigation. You can also access more TV shows and movies straight from main screen, rather than needing to dive into menus.
Russia demands LinkedIn's removal from iTunes and Google Play
Russia wants to scrub LinkedIn's presence from the country completely. According to The New York Times, people in the country can no longer download the social network's mobile application from the App Store or Google Play. Russian authorities required Apple and Google to kill the app from the local version of their software markets, a couple of months after a local court ruled that the service violated its data protection rules.
Find out when you can download 'Super Mario Run' on Android
If you've been staring wistfully at the many iOS folks who are playing Super Mario Run on your commute, wondering when your Android gizmo could get in on the action, maybe stop doing that. First up, it's a little creepy and, secondly, soon enough you'll be able to play on your own device. To find out exactly when, you can pre-register for the app via Google Play and be alerted as soon as the download is ready. Precisely when that is isn't clear, but hopefully the gap will be shorter than it was between announcement and availability on Apple's mobile OS -- a month.
Google further shrinks the size of your Android app updates
If there's a regular bane in Android phone owners' existence, it's the never-ending stream of app updates. Even though they're smaller than full downloads, they still chew up a lot of data -- just ask anyone who has sucked down hundreds of megabytes updating a new phone. Google's engineers have a better solution, though. They're introducing a new approach to app updates that promises to radically shrink the size of updates with "file-by-file" patching. The resulting patches tend to be about 65 percent smaller than the app itself, and are sometimes over 90 percent smaller. In the right circumstances, that could make the difference between updating while you're on cellular versus waiting until you find WiFi.
Why didn't Google make Chromebooks a priority this holiday season?
Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, and the holiday-shopping season is in full swing. As such, Google, Microsoft and Apple have all revealed their latest and greatest to get shoppers opening their wallets. Microsoft has the Surface Studio and refreshed Surface Book, not to mention the Xbox holiday lineup, while Apple goes into holiday battle with the new MacBook Pro and the iPhone 7. Google is trying something different this year. The company has a full ecosystem of products made in-house for the first time: the Pixel smartphone, Google Home assistant and Daydream VR headset. All three are important to Google's strategy, but it feels to me like something's missing: the humble Chromebook. Google's more traditional computing platform has gone neglected this fall, and it's especially surprising in light of a few big developments this year.
Android malware skews Google Play ratings by installing apps
Malware writers haven't stopped trying to game app rankings through bogus app installs. Researchers at Check Point have identified a new strain of the longstanding Ghost Push malware, Gooligan, that has infected over 1 million Android devices to date and continues to grow (about 13,000 new infections per day). As with earlier code, attackers trick you into installing a Gooligan-based app through either a third-party app store or a phishing scam. Once it's on your phone, the software takes advantage of Linux kernel exploits to access your Google authorization token and install fraudulent apps, whether to boost their Google Play rankings or to generate money through ads.
Google gets better at spotting bogus Play Store app installs
It'd bad enough when you download a crummy Android app, but it's worse when you're tricked into installing that app thanks to fake installs and other tricks that make it seem more popular than it is. Google wants to fix that: it's deploying upgraded detection and filtering tech that should do a better job of catching installs meant solely to pump up an app's placement in the Play Store. Developers won't immediately get the boot if they're caught (rookie developer may not fully understand the rules), but those who make a habit of rigging the system could lose their app presence.
'Secure' apps in Google's Play Store are a crapshoot
Infosec Apple fanboys are not known for their empathy -- either for those who can't afford their holy high fetish of phone security (iPhone) or for those who simply can't stomach the ecosystem's mounting hypocrisies. But there's one thing on their side. Apple's App Store at least tries to curate product security, while Google's Play Store is like playing appsec Russian roulette.
Leak shows how EU would punish Google over Android practices
You might not have to wait until the European Union officially launches its Android antitrust case to find out how it plans to punish Google. Reuters says it has obtained a copy of the European Commission's statement of objections (aka a charge sheet), and it looks like regulators wouldn't be playing softball. They'd not only order Google to stop offering payments or discounts in return for pre-installing apps, but issue a fine that could be tied directly to that which Google values most: its search ad revenue.
Google pushes Android Wear 2.0 back to early 2017
If you're champing at the bit waiting for your chance to try Android Wear 2.0 this fall, you're about to be disappointed. As part of the launch of a third Developer Preview, Google has revealed that the overhaul of its wearable platform won't officially reach smartwatches until early 2017. There should be at least one more preview release between then and now. It's more than a little unfortunate for smart wristwear fans, although it might be worth the wait given what Google is adding today.
Raise some Hell on your commute with the 'Doom' soundtrack
In case you wanted to listen to the crushing beats and guitar riffs of Doom's soundtrack during your daily trip to work or school, now's your chance. Composer Mick Gordon's industrial-metal score is available to purchase and stream from Google Play, iTunes and Spotify. A tweet from Gordon outlines what's available in the digital version: 31 tracks with new mixes spanning a 128 minute runtime. And at least a few pentagrams and numbers of the beast if you run it through a spectrogram.
Chromebooks now have an easy time running Android apps
You no longer have to be an early adopter to run Android apps on a Chromebook. Google has released a stable version of Chrome OS that includes Google Play Store access in beta, giving you the opportunity to run mobile apps on top of your usual web access. You'll have to own an Acer Chromebook R11 or an ASUS Chromebook Flip to give this update a shot, but it beats having to run a Chrome OS beta just to see what all the fuss is about.
Dark Sky's hyperlocal weather app is now available on the web
Four-year-old mobile weather app Dark Sky is mostly known for two things: its beautifully rendered radar maps and startlingly accurate hyperlocal weather predictions. The latter was Dark Sky's killer feature by far, and used your smartphone's GPS to let you know exactly when and how long you'd get rained on. With notifications like "Heavy rain starting in 12 min." it can be a lifesaver in rainy regions or places prone to sudden thunderstorms. Now those same features, along with a suite of new maps and visualizations, are available on your desktop via DarkSky.net.
Google wants to help find your next book to read
It doesn't matter if you've got the biggest or best shop in the world if you can't connect people to the things that they want. It's an issue that Google is hoping to address in its electronic bookstore with the launch of Discover, a new way to show people stuff they want to read. The service is designed to replace the human booksellers you used to find in Barnes & Noble, offering up recommendations and reviews for stuff you should read.
Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is now a virtual reality music video
We've all heard the dramatic faux-opera that is Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody -- but have you ever wondered what a song like that might look like? The folks at Google did. In a new collaboration with Queen and Enosis VR, artists and developers at Google have created The Bohemian Rhapsody Experience -- a virtual reality experiment created to take viewers on "a journey through frontman Freddie Mercury's subconscious mind." That's a fancy way of saying they turned the iconic song into a 360-degree virtual reality music video.
Google is killing off the Device Assist app on Nexus handsets
Google is killing off its homegrown Device Assist app that helps navigate the ins and outs of certain phones. That means tools like speed tests, settings for battery saving and live tech support are going away in favor of a website with tips and tricks. Affected folks with Android One, Google Play Edition or Nexus handsets will notice a "detected issue" card within the app, according to Android Police, with a link for Google Support when they try to use the application. It has already been removed from the Play Store, and 9to5Google writes that the app is still semi-functional and that no new tool tips will be added.
Airbnb takes down its experimental Trips app for Android
Airbnb has pulled down an unreleased app it was testing from Google Play shortly after people caught wind of its existence and what it can do. The experimental application represents the future of the company, you see, one that goes beyond vacation home rentals. While the test wasn't open to the public, a Bloomberg report revealed that travelers will be able to use the app called Airbnb Trips to book restaurant reservations and even city tours. If it can truly offer everything you'll need when you go on a trip, then it has the potential to become an essential companion for jetsetters and frequent travelers.
Google fined $6.8 million by Russian antitrust body
Russia's antitrust body has slapped Google with a $6.8 million fine after ruling that the firm didn't do enough to open Android up to other companies. Officials believe that the search engine has abused its dominant position by crowding-out domestic rivals like Yandex, commonly known as Russia's Google. For instance, other firms aren't able to pre-load rivals apps for navigation or search on Android devices that are certified ready for Google Play. It's an accusation that Google denies and its representatives have already told the New York Times that it's reading the charges "closely."
Google Play starts showing apps' actual download sizes
Google Play now displays apps' true download sizes, so you don't accidentally get anything too big. If an update is only 2.91MB, it will show that exact figure right there in each app's detail box. That will give you the chance to reconsider your download or to free up some space before getting a particularly large game or VR experience.
