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Android app update prompts could soon get a lot harder to ignore
End procrastination with a prominent Update button
Keeping your apps and OS updated ensures you have the newest features supported on your devices, and also keeps you safe from security loopholes exploited by bad actors. On Android, Google makes it easy to access app updates through the Play Store and OS updates through the Play System. App developers also have the freedom of prompting users to update if they’re still running outdated versions. Now, Google is bringing a modicum of standardization to these in-app update prompts.
Samsung's Good Lock suite can finally update multiple modules at once
Quality-of-life improvements are always welcome
Samsung's Good Lock software has become a staple of the Galaxy user experience for so many of us thanks to the wide range of customization it offers, and we love using it. For all its benefits, Good Lock is in need of some quality-of-life updates, and thankfully that's becoming more of a focus, with the app recently gaining Smart Switch support. Keeping all the modules updated has always been a hassle, especially with the app failing to notify you when updates become available. As of the latest version, you can now install all available updates with the touch of a single button, removing much of the friction from the process.
The redesigned Steam app is live, complete with a new login flow
Experience login convenience like never before
Steam has been a go-to hub for the gaming community for years, and even though the desktop app looks relatively modern, the same couldn't be said about the mobile app. Earlier this year, Valve decided it was finally time to beta test a replacement for the dated user interface of the Steam mobile app, complete with a striking new UI, framework, and several other changes, which are rolling out widely right now with the stable release.
Telegram 8.2 pushes its media library beyond fast into hyper-speed (APK Download)
Plus group admins receive a buff
Telegram has been chugging along with the persistence of a freight train for the past 8 years, putting out updates every couple of months. Sometimes it improves the look, sometimes it adds huge new features. Sometimes, like today, it just makes things easier, introducing some convenient tweaks with the release of Telegram 8.2.
Venmo's redesign moves its tabs to a bottom bar, and it's going live for more users
Say goodbye to the global feed
Read update
Payment apps like Venmo have improved many group dinners out at restaurants — no more fighting over the bill when you can transfer money right at the table. Of course, it's far from a perfect service. Although the social feed makes it easy to find your contacts in Venmo, it also features a global feed broadcasting every public transaction made in the app. With an upcoming redesign, you can say goodbye to that worldwide channel.
Google Messages is getting a streamlined new attachments UI
The redesign is currently rolling out to some beta users
Google has been experimenting with various different approaches for attachments, emoji, gifs, and stickers in its SMS app in recent months. The latest incarnation is now being spotted in the beta version of Messages, replacing the blocky UI with more colorful and simplistic circular buttons.
Telegram v8 takes off cap for livestream viewership and makes a priority out of sticker choosing
These anniversary updates pack in plenty of goodies
Messaging app Telegram is celebrating its eighth anniversary with the push to version 8, packing in a whole bunch of improvements that will make sending stickers and emoji more lively and timely, speed up your channel browsing experience, and drastically increase the headroom of live streams and group video calls. And yes, you can get it all right now.
Google Photos is testing a new way of finding your best shots
A more visual way of showing recommendations
Top Shot is one of the most useful Google Photos features, as it allows you to choose a better photo from a selection of similar images you've taken. It's been around since the Pixel 3 launched, and there's also a little suggestion chip that pops up to remind you to use it. It looks like that chip could be replaced by a new row of image previews, or at least that's what Google is currently testing on some users.
If you spend enough time using social apps, you get used to certain UX patterns. One example is the ability to react to a message or post — think Instagram or Twitter DMs — but you don't see it so much with more traditional chat apps. WhatsApp would like to change that, however, and is working to bring message reactions to its app.
Google Tasks is about to make it even easier to sort through your most important to-dos
Starred tasks are coming, along with their very own tab
Google has no shortage of ways to manage your task list, with the standalone Tasks app chief among them. Although the service hasn't quite caught on with a general audience — if its meager install count is anything to go by — it's still actively improving with each update. The Android app is getting a new addition soon, one that should make even the strictest of task managers feel a little more in control of their to-do lists.
YouTube's latest trick lets you jump straight to video chapters from search
Preview snippets are also gracing the new search results page
In another big change to the way YouTube does things, it will start to show results in other languages with automatically translated captions, titles, and descriptions. It's hoped that this will allow users to learn about a wider variety of topics than they otherwise might have if they were only able to view videos in their native language. Another feature that's already being tested in India and Indonesia sees YouTube surface web links and Google Search snippets in video searches. This might be expanded to include more countries in the near future.
Google Tasks updated to make list management a whole lot easier
This will help you keep 'tabs' on your tasks
Google Tasks has improved a great deal in the last couple of years, so much so, in fact, that I eventually ditched TickTick for it earlier this year. It still has a long way to go to be the perfect task management app, however. This latest update makes it easier to switch between lists, at least.
New Google Photos feature makes memories much more useful
If only my actual memories were this detailed
The Google Photos memories feature is super popular — we know this because you all love to read about it — and it's just got a small update with a welcome improvement. Individual photos that make up Memories now have a more useful swipe-up menu with a lot more detail, so you can really dive into the nostalgia.
WhatsApp's got a fresh new batch of very affectionate emoji for Android beta users
Though, its kissing and cuddling will need a lot of work
The Unicode Consortium's Emoji 13.1 update, which brings 217 new symbols to the official universal list, is working its way down to the end user. They've already landed for a lot of people on Gboard and iOS, but now, even more Android users will be able to access them — that is, if they use WhatsApp.
Gboard's cleaning up its settings menu to make room for what's clearly most important: space for emoji and stickers
No more digging through obscure lists
Gboard is one of the best mobile typing experiences you'll find on the Play Store, and with Google constantly updating it with new features, it's only getting better. As its Material You redesign continues to come to phones running the Android 12 beta, it's also gaining a rearranged settings menu to make it easier to customize your emoji and sticker experience.
Waze's new pre-drive display shows all the crap you want to avoid on your morning commute
Get to your destination just a little bit faster
Whether you're headed out on a road trip or back into the office, knowing the best way to drive from one place to the next is essential to avoid headache-inducing obstacles. Waze is already one of the best alternatives to Google Maps, utilizing crowdsourced data to track speed traps and traffic jams. With a new update, the app wants to ensure drivers know what they'll face well before rubber hits the road.
Bixby's big new update might actually make it nicer to use
No killer new features, but some welcome quality of life changes
Samsung's much-mocked personal assistant Bixby keeps on trucking no matter what people think about it. The last meaningful update introduced some Google Assistant-inspired design changes, one of which meant it wouldn't open in full-screen whenever launched. With this latest update, some results will also be confined to the lower portion of the screen for a much less obtrusive look.
Gboard's rounded Material You redesign is starting to roll out more widely
You probably need to be on the beta to see it
Google has been testing different Gboard redesigns for quite some time, but it seems some of these changes are now coming to more people. No sign yet of the updated typeface — Google Sans Text looks like it will be replacing Roboto eventually — but rounded buttons are being spotted that align with the big Material You update coming with Android 12.
New WhatsApp feature permanently hides those annoying chats you're trying to avoid
Out of sight, out of mind
Read update
If you have a lot of WhatsApp contacts, the chat screen can quickly become cluttered. Archiving conversations is an easy way to organize this list, with archived chats disappearing until you need them again. In a server-side test, WhatsApp is testing some improvements to make the feature even more useful. And with the latest WhatsApp beta, the experiment is rolling out more widely.
Gboard is bringing screenshots to the clipboard for easier sharing
Google's on-screen keyboard goes from strength to strength
Gboard is probably one of Google's best Android apps — it's constantly evolving and gaining useful new features. Last year, its clipboard was expanded to allow for easier copying and pasting of images, and now screenshots are being added into the mix for your convenience.