Part of Google's Material You design philosophy is a renewed focus on widgets, revitalizing a stale look that has plagued the platform for years. Some of those widgets sport some odd designs, but they still fit into Android 12's overall appearance pretty well. We didn't expect Google Drive to be one of the apps to get a brand-new interactive tool, but that's exactly what's happened with the app's latest update — and it's sporting a pretty unique look as well.
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Turn-by-turn navigation is great — especially when you're headed somewhere new. It's all too easy to miss your exit while jamming out on a road trip, but with a quick prompt from Google's voice directions, you'll know precisely when to merge into that right lane. The last thing anyone needs while driving is the surprise of an unexpected voice echoing out of their car's speakers, but that's just what's happening with a bug in Maps.
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Samsung Music is your default music app on Samsung phones, and as such software goes, it's pretty good — it comes with Spotify integration, plays various music files, sorts them by categories, and integrates with many Samsung smart devices. If all you want is play your offline music library, then it does the job, and does it well. The latest update to Samsung Music improves support for a specific form factor — one that should have been supported for a long time.
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Google's new Material You design language, first debuting with Android 12, is steadily making its way to all the company's other services. Today it's coming to the Google Photos app for at least some users, spreading out subdued pastel hues and rounded interface elements while keeping most of the basic structure the same. So far the changes are appearing primarily for Android 12 devices, but a few users on older Android versions are telling us they're seeing it, too.
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Privacy concerns aside, WhatsApp remains one of the largest messaging services in the world. It's not limited to your friend group, either — thanks to its business-focused platform, communicating with all sorts of retailers online is a cinch. With its latest update, WhatsApp is adding a search feature for businesses for users to discover and contact companies right through the app.
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Google Keep is one of the most useful apps in Google's ecosystem. I personally use it a lot, since the ability to take quick notes on your phone and accessing them from any device is really convenient. And now, it's getting even better, since it's joining the list of apps that will be using Material You. Ahead of the final release of Android 12, which is due soon, Google has worked on updates to most of its apps to make them adhere to Material You and its UI changes, as well as its headline dynamic theming feature, and Google Keep is joining this list.
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Streaming services have taken over our lives. Even if you're more into live TV and not really an on-demand video streaming person, live TV can be streamed too. YouTube TV is one of the more popular services out there with that premise — cut the cord and access your favorite channels over the Internet. Even though the service isn't as cheap as it once used to be, it remains a viable option, especially since it gets constantly expanded with new channels and content over time. Now once again we're checking out the newest channels joining YouTube TV's roster.
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With lots of smartphones in 2021 now shipping with hole-punch front cameras, the Energy Ring app has become one of the coolest tweaks you can add to your handset. In case you're not familiar with it, it's made by developer IJP, and it allows you to display your phone's current battery level as a ring around your camera, instead of putting that space to waste. Earlier this year, it was made into a universal app (previously, every supported phone got its own individual app) with support for multiple devices like the Galaxy S21 and the Google Pixel 5. Now the app is getting support for a handful of new devices.
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Hispanic Heritage Month is here. Observed from September 15th to October 15th, it commemorates the contributions and achievements of Hispanic Americans and how they've helped shape the history of the United States. The month starts today because this marks the anniversary of the independence of several Hispanic countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and others. And if there's one company that doesn't shy away from these kinds of celebrations, it's definitely Google.
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The Google Tasks app launched in 2018. With to-dos that sync across all of your devices, you can manage, capture, and edit your tasks from anywhere, at any time. While apps like Gmail and Google Keep allowed you to make and edit to-dos, Google Tasks is dedicated solely to that purpose. It integrates with Gmail and Google Calendar, too, making it great for those solidly invested in the Google ecosystem. One small problem with it, though: the icon kinda sucked. Thankfully, Google is now improving it.
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