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Google I/O 2015 is drawing ever closer, and that means it's time to start lining things up for the big event. As tradition dictates, Google is working on a fresh update to the Google I/O app. We've now got a beta release of the app, which just started rolling out to a small group of people who signed up last year. The changes aren't too elaborate, but they do some visual refinement and a few adjustments to the feature set. There are even a couple tidbits to learn from a quick teardown.
These days, it takes much more to sell an app. It used to be good enough to build something that simply did what it was supposed to and didn't crash too often. Over time, users came to expect better performance, lower power consumption, and an attractive interface. Even those things aren't always good enough because many apps are presented with high quality demo videos. How can independent developers and small teams compete with companies that can pay for high-end shoots and professional models? A new service called PlaceIt might be able to help. Developers can submit screenshots or recordings to PlaceIt and have high resolution photos and videos generated on the spot, and it gives the appearance that real people are using the app.
The long-awaited update to 5.1.1 is finally available for the Nexus 9, bringing with it the many significant bug fixes everybody has been looking forward to. Surely, people are curious about what could possibly have delayed the update by so long, so we've generated a changelog of the commits to AOSP. Prepare to be underwhelmed, because it may be the shortest changelog we've ever seen.
A brand new update to YouTube just started rolling out, and it gives users just a little more control over their privacy. The latest version adds a new option called "Pause watch history" so users can prevent new videos from joining their previously watched list. This joins an existing option to pause search history and two commands to clear the history from either list. Now we've got an easy way to keep prying eyes from discovering that we watch cartoons during lunch breaks.
If you're looking forward to the next Terminator game, get in line – literally. The Play Store now allows customers to Pre-register for certain apps and games. The first title to receive this honor is Terminator Genisys: Revolution by Glu Mobile. No price or release date is listed on the app page, but the game will probably become available around the same time as the movie, which hits theaters on July 1st.
Teardowns can bring both good and bad news. At times, I've been afraid to write about things buried in the dark corners of an apk because they would be misunderstood or make people angry. Then there are times that I see something and I can't wait to tell everybody about it. This is one of the good times. I know people want this, so here it is: Inbox is finally going to offer email signatures. Go ahead, it's ok to shed tears of joy.
In just 3 weeks, we expect Google to officially announce a new subscription option that will allow users to enjoy YouTube completely ad-free. In the lead-up to this, both the web service and its Android apps have received a swarm of updates and features. In just the last month, there has been a revised web player, search for 360-degree videos, and some improvements to YouTube Kids (with more to come). There has even been a pretty severe service interruption for Music Key subscribers, most likely as a result of upgrades to the software. With so much happening, it comes as no surprise that the YouTube Creator Studio app also received an update. The new version finally brings a Material redesign and adds traffic sources to the Analytics screen.
Toddlers deserve teardowns too! Ok, maybe teardowns are still for grownups, but let's do something for those little ones that haven't learned to read xml yet. The YouTube Kids app has only been available since late February, so it's fair to expect a lot of changes and new features in each release. Last week's update brought immersive mode and better voice search, but a look inside revealed that there are some extra toys in the future. To begin with, it looks like Chromecast support is right around the corner. However, the really cool addition appears to be a built-in recording mode to capture your little one singing along to The Wheels On The Bus.
I'm sure everybody can agree, it makes almost no sense that the Nexus 9 is only now receiving a tiny maintenance update to 5.0.2 a couple of months after 5.1 came out. Nevertheless, that's how events are playing out, so we should at least know what's so special about this update. We've generated a changelog from AOSP, and honestly, there's not much to see.
A relatively small Google Maps update to v9.8 began rolling out last week, adding batch photo uploads and a way to restrict bookings from showing up in location screens. It turns out there was another secret feature waiting to be shown off. In the latest version, a search for one of four key phrases will pop up results related to your personal bookings. Just try asking for my events, my flights, my hotels, or my reservations to see a short list of personalized results.
Update Wednesday came and went this week, leaving us with about a dozen new and updated apps. Project Fi and Google Connectivity Services were added to the Play Store in preparation for Google's first MVNO customers, and new versions were rolled out to bring Quick Reply to Messenger and prepare Google+ for the wide release of Collections. A small bump to Google Play Music also made the list, but there wasn't much in the way of visible changes. However, a look inside suggests there may soon be a new behavior when two or more devices try to use the same Chromecast at once.
Most of the standard (non-game) Android apps we use today are created with Java. Alternatives are available, like Apache Cordova and Mono for Android, but there's no doubt that Java is the only true first-class citizen. However, a team at Google is now working on a new cross-platform alternative called Sky, and it's able to deliver 120 FPS out of the box.
Almost exactly one month ago, Android Studio 1.2 was given the go-ahead to begin beta testing. It gained an unprecedented set of new features as a result of upgrading to IntelliJ 14.1, and even the Canary builds remained perfectly usable despite a few small bugs. After weeks of poking, prodding, and fixing any bugs that turn up, the Android Tools team has decided v1.2 is ready to go out to all developers through the Stable channel.
After an early tease with the Nexus Player, it looks like Android 5.1.1 is legitimately rolling out to the Nexus family. An OTA for the Nexus 10 was spotted just a few hours ago, and now factory images and binaries have been posted for that tablet and both generations of the Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi only, for now). There haven't been any OTA reports for the two smaller tablets, but they will probably start rolling out shortly.
Running a good business requires an intimate knowledge of anything and everything that affects its operation. This means keeping track of numbers, reports, and any other data that can possibly be accumulated. Distributing apps on the Play Store is no different. Developers need to know if users are leaving bad reviews, if their apps are crashing, or if the install numbers suddenly rise. While the Play Store does tracks these things and more, many companies have more specific needs. Google is now allowing developers to export this data so it can be analyzed and re-used in many different ways.
Microsoft is in the midst of its annual Build conference. This is sort of like Google I/O or WWDC, but with fewer online viewers. Wednesday's keynote presentation was filled with announcements about Windows 10, the Microsoft Edge browser, an augmented reality headset, and quite a bit more. One product failed to earn stage time: the Visual Studio Emulator for Android, but developers may find renewed interest since the latest version is showing maturity as it expands through the addition of Device Profiles and a number of other recent enhancements.
A few days ago, we posted about a new Google+ feature called Collections expected to launch in early May. An update to the social network's app appeared earlier today, and while it probably won't produce any noticeable changes to the interface for most of us, it's packing everything Google needs to begin rolling out Collections to everybody. There are also some reports that a few people are already gaining access to Collections a little earlier than expected without being a part of the initial test group.
When Google Play services receives an update, there's almost always something interesting to discover. Many of our future experiences – good and bad – are shaped through the new features Google adds to this one framework. Google Play services 7.3 recently rolled out to users, and like previous versions, it contains some hints about new features and capabilities we can expect for the future. With this update, we've got signs of a built-in invitation system for apps, more forward progress on the long-rumored Nearby feature, and more.
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It seems like forever since we've talked about an update to Newsstand, but we get to change that with today's bump to version 3.4. In terms of user-facing features, this release is essentially focused on visual changes. Adjustments have been made to the navigation drawer, some icons, and at least one button. The potentially bigger news comes via a teardown that reveals Newsstand will enable customers to share details and verify their subscriptions with publishers, and that Google may be testing in-content advertisements for some content.
Google Play services 7.3 started rolling out to Android devices a little less than 2 weeks ago, making some small, but much needed changes in the process. It turns out that wasn't the only purpose for that release, as it also brings some cool new capabilities developers can use in their apps. Now that the rollout is finished, Google has released an updated Play Services SDK with new capabilities for Android Wear, Google Fit, and Location Services. There's also an improvement to the GoogleApiClient class to handle situations when APIs aren't available on a given device.