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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.
Android Auto expands wireless compatibility to most supported countries
Only Japan and Russia are excluded
Some cars and head units are capable of displaying Android Auto from your phone wirelessly, but there are additional restrictions to the functionality — other than owning a compatible handset, you also need to live in one of the regions where the wireless connection is available. Luckily, the list of supported countries is expanding, and now you can use wireless Android Auto in almost all locations where the wired version is available, with only two exceptions: Japan and Russia.
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 Station is a program in developing countries, where local partners and Google tie up to bring free Wi-Fi to high traffic locations like railway and bus stations. Piloted in India in 2016, the program then expanded to Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Thailand, even rolling out to college campuses and hospitals. It's now coming to a sixth location: the Philippines.
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- The Google Duo rewards scheme has now rolled out in India as well, and in that region, the prizes are even better. Instead of the free data on offer in the Philippines, users in India can get cash rewards. All you have to do is have is invite someone, and when they make their first call you'll get an email about your bonus. You'll need to have an Indian phone number and bank account to redeem the reward, and you will also have to sign into Google Pay with the same account you use for Duo.
In the last couple of versions of Google Duo, Cody has found evidence of rewards for inviting friends to install the app (v37 and v38). The scheme now appears to have gone live for users in the Philippines, potentially ahead of being launched in other regions.
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.
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Twitter Lite was released in March as a Progressive Web App. Not only was it a significant upgrade over the previous mobile Twitter site, but it included almost all the functionality of the native app (including push notifications). In fact, it earned a spot in our best Twitter clients list a few months ago.
Google announced an interesting product last year called YouTube Accelerator that aimed to do away with buffering by caching YouTube videos on local networks. Accelerator initially launched in a handful of locations in the Philippines, but now Google is rumored to be dropping Accelerator. Instead, it's just going to work on rolling out faster WiFi in public spaces as part of the Google Station program.
Slowly but surely, the creatures are coming. They advance, nation by nation, relentless, refusing to stop until the entire planet is their domain. Hundreds of millions have felt their impact. Politicians and titans of industry are not immune. And even mainstream news outlets are scrambling to find "22 Tips For Catching Pokémon - #12 Will Make You Scream!" Today developer Niantic continues its bid for global mobile gaming domination by expanding Pokémon GO to 15 new markets in Asia, including hundreds of millions of new potential players on iOS and Android.
You know what I hate? Being at the airport or a café and trying to watch a few YouTube videos to pass the time only to be hit with a buffering animation and interminable amounts of waiting. Well, it doesn't really bother me now, because I haven't had time to travel or go chill in a café in years (you do realize I work two full-time jobs, simultaneously?!), but I suppose it would if I was the kind of person who did that. I'm just very sympathetic to everyone who's tried it and I have very good news for them: YouTube is about to make you wait less and watch more.
Thanks to semi-standardized hardware and "pure" builds of Android, Google has maintained an impressive track record when it comes to speedily updating the Android One phones that it's designed with various partners in emerging markets. One of our readers was kind enough to track down a handful of links for over-the-air updates to Android 6.0 for these phones, in case users are tired of waiting and want to update their phones manually. To flash these OTA files in recovery, you need to be on the latest Lollipop build (LMY48M) with unmodified software.
Yesterday saw the release of Android 6.0's factory images and OTA updates for the Nexus family. One other group of devices that are supposed to get the update just as quickly (and way before all the OEM smartphones) is Android One phones. And it looks like Google is making good on its promise to update these One devices timely and efficiently.
Here in the States, we largely take Street View for granted. Sure, Google hasn't sent cameras down our large web of rural roads, but it has covered the bulk of our cities and large towns.
Newsstand is probably the least sought-after of Google's various media offerings in the Play Store, if only because most of the content found in those newspapers and magazines is available elsewhere. Even so, Google seems to be standing by it. Today four new territories have access to the paid issues and subscriptions in Newsstand: the Philippines, Poland, Taiwan, and Ukraine. Readers from those countries, head to the Play Store on the web or your phone or tablet to check it out.
Who wants a faster and easier way to pay for more apps and games? Oh right, you're reading Android Police, I should be ashamed to even ask you this question. But if you live in Poland or the Philippines, you are a lucky app/game addict because Google just turned on direct carrier billing for some of your operators there.