latest
Google Opinion Rewards brings its free Play Store credit to five more countries
Your next Android game is on the house
Paid apps and games usually only cost you a few bucks, but that's still money you can put towards your next coffee or beer (you know, depending on the time of day). Google Opinion Rewards makes it easy to pick up a movie rental or to splurge on in-app purchases in your favorite games just by answering a few simple questions. If you've been waiting for it to arrive in your region, you might want to check out today's updated list.
Android Auto rolls out to 6 more European countries
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden, since you asked
Read update
Although a bunch of cars now come with advanced navigation systems, these can rarely beat the simplicity and expansibility of Android Auto. Sadly, though, Google's in-car service isn't globally available, leaving many users unable to properly use their favorite services from their ride's dashboard. Thankfully, Android Auto is expanding to 36 more countries, making it seamless to get directions, play music, and interact with Assistant, thanks to native integration with your car's infotainment system.
Samsung's watches now support ECG monitoring in 32 more countries
It still requires a paired Samsung phone
Samsung's Galaxy Watch3 and Watch Active2 both have hardware support for ECG monitoring, but it is taking a long time to show up for everyone, since the feature has to be approved by each country's health agencies. It was exclusive to South Korea until September of last year, when it was enabled for use in the United States, and now it's coming to 32 more countries.
Galaxy Watch3 owners in Europe can now access blood pressure and ECG data
Samsung Health Monitor app approved by EU, other governments
More governments are giving their mark of approval to Samsung's ability to read and monitor your blood pressure and electrocardiogram. The company has announced that its Samsung Health Monitor app — where those tracking features can be found — will be available in 31 new countries.
Spotify has been working on proper lyrics support for ages. It likely takes this long to implement the seemingly simple feature in part due to licensing issues surrounding songtexts, which already led to a lawsuit against Google. Spotify seems to have finally found a suitable solution, as TechCrunch reports that the company is planning to roll out lyrics synced with music to 26 markets today. The US, Canada, and the UK aren't among these, though.
Read update
Google Assistant has supported the Indonesian language on phones and TVs since March 2018, but since not all Assistant devices are created equal for languages and features, that meant smart speakers were left out of the loop. That's changing now.
YouTube Music and Premium are continuing their expansion across the world. After adding eight Middle Eastern countries in September, the service is now spreading to seven more markets in Asia. Most notable among these additions is Indonesia, the fourth most populated country in the world, and a potentially huge market for Google.
Google Assistant is an incredibly powerful tool in the US, and as of late, the personal helper is getting better all around the globe with an ever-growing number of supported languages and actions. This goes hand in hand with Google's recent announcement that it wants to massively expand Assistant all over the world, which has already led to a plethora of new and improved languages. Now, another round of updated and new voices have arrived for even broader international support.
There are many cities around the world where traffic is insane and getting around on a motorcycle is faster, more convenient for parking, and cheaper than buying and maintaining a car, not to mention the gas prices. But motorcycle drivers often don't really know which road to take on Google Maps: they're not cars but they're not bicycles either. Last December, Google Maps started rolling out a two-wheeler mode in India that helps motorcyclists find roads specifically tailored for them. Now the same mode is starting to show up for users in Indonesia.
A new version of Google Maps began rolling out late last night. The immediately visible changes are semi-cosmetic, including some slightly more informative details, but there aren't any obviously huge additions to see here. As we turn to a teardown, there are signs that reviewers will soon be able to start writing, then save their work as a draft. Also, if you're going to be driving in Jakarta, Indonesia, Google Maps is going to make it easier to deal with odd-even driving restrictions.
WhatsApp Business was officially announced in September of 2017 but back then you had to sign up for a beta, register your interest, and hope to be picked to give it a try. Now the app is made official and it's launching for Android in 5 countries to begin with, with a roll out "around the world" in the coming weeks. The lucky five are: Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the UK, and the US. Yes, the US, where everyone says they don't use WhatsApp. I also find it odd that the launch post mentions how businesses in India and Brazil rely on WhatsApp a lot for their communications, but then these two countries aren't among the list to get it first. Maybe WhatsApp wants to make sure things are smooth before rolling it out to its widest potential markets.
Earlier this year, Google released 'YouTube Go,' a super-lightweight version of the YouTube app tailored for developing countries. You can download videos in varying qualities, and then send the local copies to nearby friends over Bluetooth. In areas where a working (let alone fast) data connection can be hard to come by, these are welcome features.
Google has another major event lined up for today, where the announcement of the Pixel 2, Google Home Mini, Pixelbook, and other devices will likely take place. It looks like more countries could get the chance to buy Google hardware (maybe including the upcoming products), because the Google Store is expanding to more nations.
A couple months back we heard that Google was testing a new Search Lite app. It appeared to be targeting the Indonesian market, and — as the "lite" name would suggest — it's meant to use a bit less data, working better on a slower connection than the old search app. Now it's been updated to version 0.2, and it's brought a tweaked layout with it.
Android Pay has become a popular method of digital payment since its launch in the US and Europe. It hasn't been launched in India, however, where the mobile payments landscape is a bit different. A government-endorsed platform called UPI (Universal Payments Interface) is widely used in India, with banks, e-commerce sites, and even tech companies like WhatsApp and Truecaller launching payment services based on it, hoping to grab a slice of the lucrative pie. Google is almost ready to enter this crowded space, with the launch rumored to be happening on Monday September 18th.
Today Google had a huge announcement for Indonesia, in which it detailed six new products for the nation that are arriving now or coming soon, as well as milestones and new initiatives for residents of the country. Among the more exciting announcements are support for the Google Assistant in Bahasa Indonesia, the rollout of Google Stations for expanded WiFi internet access, YouTube Go for the country, Waze support for the capital's odd-even license plate policy, and expansion and milestones for Google's programs in the area.
Read update
- We have the link to the file over on APK Mirror. Head on over and download it; we were able to use it in English it by selecting the top language option "Bahasa Indonesia."
Google recently showed ads on Facebook in Indonesia inviting users to test a new app. Those who saw the ad and signed up have started receiving a link to try an experimental new search app from Google called Search Lite or, technically, Search (Test App) which looks targeted at the Indonesian — and maybe Indian — market.
There are so many thing to buy in the Play Store! I mean, that pack of 1,000 gems for $99.99 is really tempting, but maybe you can't justify the ridiculousness of that expense until payday. No problem—there's carrier billing. Simply bill it to your carrier and pay at the end of the month. Of course, your carrier needs to support it. Google has updated its support docs to indicate several more carriers around the world are now on board with carrier billing.
Google Play carrier billing is expanding to more carriers around the world, as per an update to the support page. Some of the newly listed carriers may have been offering the option for a while (but weren't mentioned in the page), others may be about to add it soon, but the official word is out now.
There's a new BlackBerry smartphone, but it's not the recently announced KEYone. BlackBerry fans in Indonesia will soon have access to a BlackBerry device developed exclusively for them. It's called the Aurora, and pre-orders are available now.