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The Google Play Store dons a modern look with a new card-style context menu
Bottom sheets look sharp now
The Google Play Store is the default App Store on most OEM Android ROMs, including stock Android running on the company’s Pixel phones. However, it doesn’t usually abide by the latest Material You design guidelines. Although most Google Workspace apps are quick to adapt, the Play Store rarely features the latest design elements. Now, we’re seeing the Play Store app on Android adopt a new design for bottom sheets, hot on Google Maps’ heels, which picked up this change earlier this month.
Google reminds you the Android Auto app has a beta program — have you signed up yet?
Try it out to get the latest tweaks
Google's car platform, Android Auto, gets updates just like the rest of Android. The company is now letting users try out beta updates to the system, delivered via the Android Auto app on the Play Store. The beta version should run on any car stereo that's Android Auto-capable.
Fans of testing out buggy or unstable versions of Google apps, which would be most of our readers here at Android Police, will be excited to hear that Google is rolling out a testing program for the Messages app (née Android Messages). As with other beta testing programs, all you need to do is opt in, and you'll be among those who get to check out new features and bugs early.
VLC, the desktop favorite of local video enthusiasts for more than a decade, doesn’t have quite the same kind of universal acclaim on Android. But the developers are still hard at work making improvements. According to a blog post from Geoffrey Metais, the 2.1.0 update to the beta release adds a ton of new features, notably including compatibility with Android Auto (for audio, not video).
S Note is the included app for Samsung's Note series that enables, well, notation. It's designed to be used with the S Pen stylus for a variety of quick notes and drawings. It features most of the things that you'd expect from a notation tool, but since it's such a signature part of the differentiating hardware, Samsung seems interested in making a beta version of the app available to its users. The beta app is up on the Play Store now - head to this address to opt-in to the program, then this address to download it.
It was only a couple of days ago that the Play Store got updated to version 6.7 with several new features including better access to betas and beta feedback, features that were soon reverted through a sever-side switch probably because they were revealed a little prematurely. Now we have official word from Google about those new betas as well as plenty of other goodies for Google Play that are in store for users and developers alike.
Are you still playing the mobile version of Minecraft? Good, because just like the original PC version, developer Mojang is still adding new features. The beta version of the .11 release is now available via the Play Store/Google+ community method. (Previously it wasn't available to the public.) It has more additions and improvements than you can shake a pickaxe at, including some features that have been hotly anticipated by the large player community. Here's a breakdown of all the new stuff from the Google+ news post:
Kodi (formerly the Xbox Media Center) isn't the only piece of software attempting to find a new image. One of the most popular Android remote control apps for the media manager, Yatse, is getting a major visual overhaul. Version 5.0, now available in a Google+ beta, is showing off a shiny new interface that takes more than a few pages out of the Material Design playbook. Check out some comparison shots below.
Good grief, the developer behind the Wear Mini Launcher is certainly setting a rapid pace. The app has only been available for a couple of weeks and already it's seen a major update. Today you can download the Play Store beta version (after you've joined the Google+ community, bah) to try out the 2.0 release. The 2.0 update includes options for moving the swipe-in activation gesture to other screen positions. You know, in case your tiny watch-based app launcher needs more customization.
Pebble fans have been faithfully following each step of the breakout smartwatch since it set almost every Kickstarter record ever. While most of the big news has died down, that doesn't mean the development team is on a break. To speed up the process of getting new features and bug fixes out to eager users, Pebble is opening up an official beta channel through the Play Store. These betas are technically for the Pebble companion app, but since the app also installs firmware updates on the watch, it's likely that you'll be able to get in on all of the new features.
Do you like Pushbullet? As an Android user, you are required to like it. Sorry, we don't make the laws, we just enforce them... with extreme prejudice. The news you are henceforth required to celebrate is that the Pushbullet devs have created a Play Store beta program. Just a few clicks and you'll get the new stuff first. Plus, there's an update coming to the desktop app that takes some of the weight off the browser extensions.
For a very long time, the Facebook app on Android was atrocious, and it's still not great. The folks at Facebook are trying, though. After starting a Play Store beta program not long ago, the social network is now setting up an alpha channel to test the newest (and potentially most unstable) features. Want in?
We've seen Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat all turn to the Play Store to manage their beta programs, and while this is a great mechanism for handling unpolished software releases, most of us use our phones for more than making status updates, tweeting, and sending private pictures. There are other apps out there that it would be fun to have early access to, and web browsers rank high among them. For us Android users, the Dolphin browser is perhaps second to no one in terms of rolling out new features, and now developer Mobotap has introduced a means to test out the beta version of the app through Google Play.