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Signing into apps on your phone is annoying enough, but doing it on a TV is far worse. Amazon is rolling out a new feature in the latest Fire TV update called Single-Sign-On. As the name implies, once you've signed into a participating TV provider's app, you're automatically signed into all of them.This item is part of the changelog for all versions of the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick in the new update. The version number varies by device, but on the 3rd gen Fire TV it's Fire OS 6.2.1.2. Here's the full changelog. There's not much else there.
It's common to open the Play Store client on your phone and then immediately zip over to the "My apps & games" section via the navigation menu. What about subscriptions, though? Google is apparently adding that as a navigation item for some people right below the app shortcut. That's faster access for those with subscriptions and a reminder that subscriptions are a thing for those who don't.
Twitter doesn't show full photos when they appear in the stream—you need to tap to expand the whole image. Unfortunately, the cropped version of the photo is often framed awkwardly because it's just the middle section of the image. Twitter is solving that problem with a neural network that can understand the composition of your images.
Google tends to keep the Go apps locked down in the Play Store, so most devices can't download them directly. However, it opened up Files Go to everyone a while back. This app helps clear space on your device, and it's getting an update today with three new features.
Google's smart replies have shown up in a few apps including Inbox (the original), Gmail, and Allo. Now, this handy feature has arrived in the Android Messages app. However, it's not for everyone. This is a feature for Project Fi subscribers only.
Mozilla pulled the trigger on a substantial redesign of Firefox a few months ago, but the devs haven't taken any time off to celebrate. The updates are still coming fast with v59 hitting the beta channel. This version adds quick access to Firefox search via the home button, revamped HLS video support, and a few more goodies.
It's almost time for the best athletes of every nation (except Russia) to gather and compete on the world stage. This time, it's happening in PyeongChang, South Korea, and the official Olympic Games app has been launched in partnership with Samsung. You can pick it up right now to get a handle on the happenings before the games start in a few weeks.
Many people consider YouTube their go-to source for music, but a lot of artists have a mishmash of official channels. YouTube is aware of the confusion this causes, and it's looking to streamline music on its platform. Starting soon, you'll see a new "Official Artist Channel" label on YouTube, and your subscriptions might change a bit.
Netflix was one of the first video services to add support for Google Assistant, but you could only access the main video profile. That really limited usefulness in households where everyone has their own profile. Now, it looks like Google has flipped a switch to add support for multiple profile access via voice match.
Camera maker RED started teasing its first smartphone last year, promising a totally new visual experience with a "holographic" display. We still don't have any specifics on how that will work, but there are a few more specs available, along with an updated release window. According to CEO Jim Jannard, the Hydrogen One will launch with carrier partnerships this summer.
You can get a cheap capacitive stylus that works with your phone, but they're not much more precise than your finger. Wacom says the new Bamboo Tip is in a completely different league. This stylus has a small tip more like what you'd see on an inductive stylus like the S Pen. However, it works with any phone or tablet. It's a bit spendy for a stylus, but it's available now.
Google is in the process of launching all the "Go" apps that will power the lighter, faster version of Android designed for low-power devices. We've already seen Maps Go, YouTube Go, and several more, but now there's Gboard Go. This app doesn't seem to have its own listing in the Play Store, but it's available to devices with low RAM and anyone running Android 8.1 who wants to sideload it.
Telegram is an increasingly popular messaging app thanks to its focus on security and the free price tag. An alternative client called Challegram popped up a while back, and now the developers of Telegram have acquired it and changed the name to Telegram X. It includes all the basic messaging features from the regular Telegram app, but there are a few experimental features, too.
By last count, Google had 39 messaging apps. Okay, that's not accurate, but it's not that far off. After moving away from Hangouts as the unified Google messaging platform, Google launched Hangouts Meet as a business-oriented video conferencing product. You may not think about Hangouts Meet a lot, but it still exists and today has gained support for tablets.
Anyone who's set up a Samsung phone has probably seen all the popups for Samsung Cloud backups. It's actually a rather robust system backup tool that can save system settings and app data, but Samsung is dropping a big part of that service. Starting next month, third-party apps will no longer be supported on Samsung Cloud.
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Amazon partnered with Huawei a year ago to launch the Mate 9 as the first Alexa-enabled phone, but there have only been a few since then. Simply installing the Alexa app on your other devices didn't get you Alexa voice commands. Well, until now. Amazon says an update is rolling out that adds Alexa to the Alexa app. Seems fitting.Previously, the Alexa app was basically just a way to control your Alexa devices and access certain bits of data like shopping lists. You could shout "ALEXA!" at your phone all day, and it wouldn't do squat. There have been Alexa commands in the Amazon shopping app for a while, but it makes a lot more sense to just put it in the Alexa app. Most people don't even know Alexa is hiding in the main Amazon app.When the update is live, you'll be able to access Alexa skills, control music playback, send messages, and more. Your phone won't be able to do hotword detection outside the app, but saying "Alexa" with the app open should work. This update is not live yet, but Amazon says it will be available on all devices in the coming days. Keep an eye out for the new version in the Play Store. And yes, you can also get it in the Amazon Appstore.
Google's Pixelbook comes with a big trackpad, a touchscreen, and (obviously) a keyboard. If that's not enough input for you, there's the Pixelbook Pen for an additional $100. This fancy stylus lets you write, draw, and access Google Assistant. One thing it can't do is dock inside the computer. Recognizing the obvious storage conundrum here, Google has decided to send out pen loops to all previous purchasers.
Gone are the days when OTA updates were necessary to add new features to your Android Wear watch. Now, Google can add new features via the Android Wear app. A new version of the Wear app is rolling out today with a few notable changes. The theme is darker, and notifications are getting some potentially interesting changes.
We're probably just a few months away from the first developer preview release of Android P, but there are some hints of what Google's cooking in AOSP. According to a report at XDA, Google might be planning a move that'll upset some developers. New commits suggest Google will remove access to unofficial APIs in the next big Android release.
It's been almost a month since Essential rolled out the second Oreo beta for its phone. If you were hoping for a final release, that's not happening yet. Essential has, however, released a third Oreo beta for the Essential Phone. It includes new security patches and minor fixes.