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YouTube Music tests seven Spotify-like daily playlist mixes
Spotify Daily Mixes, just for YouTube Music
YouTube Music has been picking up the pace lately in adopting some well-liked features of the outgoing Google Play Music. In addition to all the inherited stuff, the streaming app has also been getting a whole bunch of new features to make the experience more personalized and engaging for its users. In line with that, YouTube Music is now adding a new My Mix section that offers several playlists tuned according to your music taste — but they aren't live for everyone yet.
Spotify's new tool compares your music taste to celebs like John Legend or Conan O'Brien
You can even see what they listen to
Spotify already has over a hundred million users globally, and it’s a big task to keep them all engaged. The streaming service added Group Sessions to help out with that not too long ago, and many more interactive features are still in the pipeline. In its latest move, Spotify is introducing a tool called Listen Alike that tells you how close your music taste is to that of some celebrities.
Google's upcoming Nest Audio speaker gets the early unboxing treatment
Audio quality 'blows the original Google Home out of the water,' apparently
It’s no secret that Google is about to reveal a long-overdue refresh to its original Home speaker from 2016 — yeah, the air freshener is that old. Google even released a short video showing off the Nest Audio way back in July, before we knew that would be its name. Just days before it’s set to launch officially, someone was able to get hold of a Nest Audio unit that went on sale prematurely, which they then unboxed for our viewing pleasure, much like what happened with the Chromecast with Google TV dongle.
Asus is now accepting sign-ups for its ZenFone 7 Android 11 closed beta program
A late bloomer in the ZenFone family
Asus released its first Android 11 beta build last week — not for the latest ZenFone 7 line but yesteryear’s ZenFone 6. It’s not typical for companies to treat their older models with latest Android updates before their current flagships, but nothing seems to be going straight in 2020, so what the heck. The ZenFone 7 and 7 Pro are at last catching up with their predecessor as they’re now getting their own Android 11 beta program, which you can sign up for right away.
Premature OnePlus 8T Amazon listing points to cheaper starting price
120Hz display confirmed, other specs also leaked
With OnePlus phones, it’s customary to receive a barrage of leaks and tidbits in the lead up to the eventual reveal. While the OnePlus 8T is set to go official next month, we already know a fair bit about the upcoming budget flagship, except for its price. It looks like we now have an idea about that, too, thanks to a leaked Amazon listing. The most interesting takeaway here is that OnePlus could price the 8T considerably lower than the 8.
Samsung's foldable Galaxy Z Flip could be yours for just $880 ($500 off)
You have just a few hours to grab this deal of the day at B&H
Foldable phones and affordability don’t quite go hand in hand. For instance, the cheapest Samsung device to sport a flexible screen, the original Galaxy Z Flip, cost about $1400 at launch. That’s a lot of money! But if you'd still like to end calls by slamming the phone shut and flaunting your foldable, you can jump on this fantastic B&H deal that is straightaway striking $500 off the Galaxy Z Flip’s sky-high retail price.
Google Pay India picks up a tweaked design in beta with Flutter rewrite (APK Download)
Giving us a hint of dark mode and a lot of Product Sans
Google Pay’s Indian edition has been growing strong, and even expanded overseas recently to bring a similar experience to shoppers in Singapore. The app got a Material design facelift not too long ago and picked up a much-requested payment option just yesterday. Keeping up with that pace, Google has now rewritten the Pay India app from the ground up, bringing a few visual tweaks along with a host of under-the-hood changes to beta users.
More info about the upcoming standalone OnePlus Buds app surfaces
A dedicated companion app could land sooner than later
OnePlus’s first truly wireless Buds do look like AirPods knockoffs, which even got them into trouble recently, but their price-to-performance ratio was pretty much on point. One of their bigger caveats is that you need a OnePlus phone even for basic customizations, leaving out a big chunk of non-OnePlus users. The company is preparing to fix that at last by releasing a dedicated app for the OnePlus Buds.
Paytm is back up on the Play Store within hours of its takedown
India's leading financial services app disappeared earlier today
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Paytm is One97's flagship and one of India’s biggest all-round financial services apps — and perhaps even the most widely recognized and accepted in the country. Many Paytm users were left perplexed when the noted app went missing from the Play Store earlier today. As it turns out, Google has pulled the app from its marketplace for violating some of its gambling-related policies.
Android 11 is finally rolling out to Pixel users in India
Google had delayed the local release by a week
A big reason for getting a Pixel phone is that you get major Android updates on release day. Android 11, which debuted last week, reached everyone right on time — well, not everyone really. Google stalled the update for a week in India as it still needed some fine-tuning ahead of a formal release. After a long and borderline excruciating wait, Android 11 is finally hitting Pixel phones in India.
Google's Advanced Protection Program now offers improved malware detection in Chrome
Sending risky files to Google for further scanning is now an option
Google’s Advanced Protection Program gives users an extra security layer to protect their online accounts and data from prying eyes, especially useful for journalists, activists, and the like. For over a year, the initiative has alerted users of potentially malicious files downloaded through Chrome. Google is now taking that a step further to make the tool even more useful in identifying malware.
Latest Google Home app update hints at Google TV rebrand
Getting rid of Android branding, one service at a time
Google products undergoing multiple rounds of rebranding during their life cycle has become the norm — sparing not even the more popular ones. Android Wear shed the Android prefix back in 2018 to be simply called Wear OS, while the Home line picked up the Nest label more recently. Something similar is about to happen with Android TV, and we’re seeing yet another sign that a rebrand to Google TV is imminent.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 picks up some Tab S7 goodies with One UI 2.5
The update is rolling out first to those in Germany
Samsung’s been busy pushing the latest edition of One UI to its entire fleet of flagship phones, even covering the Note10 and the S10 from last year. Between all that, the company hasn’t forgotten its tablet range, which has also started getting some similar treatment. The Galaxy Tab S6, Samsung’s 2019 flagship slate, is picking up One UI 2.5 with a bunch of new features, including a couple from the recent Tab S7.
YouTube Music to let free tier users cast uploaded songs to smart speakers
This will go some way to placating former Google Play Music users
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After years of playing catch-up with Google Play Music, YouTube Music finally got the ability to let you upload your purchased song library in March. However, that much-requested addition comes with a caveat: You need a premium subscription to cast your songs to smart speakers, which extends even to the ones you uploaded. Some findings by 9to5Google indicate that Google is planning to fix this soon enough.
Android 11 (Go edition) brings notification and privacy improvements to budget phones
Gesture navigation is also making its way to this stripped-down Android version
The full-fat version of Android 11 landed just a couple of days back with a ton of under-the-hood improvements, some visual facelifts here and there, and new privacy options. Google is now porting a few of those features to Android 11 (Go edition) — the latest iteration of Android’s stripped-down version meant to run on entry-level hardware without hiccups.
Redmi's new Smart Band is super cheap and charges without a cable
It lasts for up to 14 days on a single charge
Xiaomi’s Mi Band series is a globally recognized brand of eminently affordable fitness trackers, and the recent Band 5 sure lives up to that rep. Its sub-brand Redmi also runs a parallel fitness product line, more common in Asian markets. The company announced its super-cheap Redmi Smart Band packed with a ton of features back in April, and now it's making its way to India at a similar bargain price.
PUBG Mobile plans to avoid Indian ban by dropping its Tencent cooperation in the country
The original South Korean owner will take full control hereon
The ongoing skirmishes along the Indo-Chinese border have led India to put curbs on several apps and services belonging to the other side. TikTok was among the first high-profile bans, and Tencent's PUBG Mobile became another victim last week. Within days of the block, PUBG’s original South Korean publisher has decided to cut its ties with the Chinese developer, though just for its Indian business.
Google is giving out special Pixel 4a unboxing experiences to people in the UK
Aside from the phone, the package also has a whole bunch of other goodies
The Google Pixel 4a made waves as a budget champ with its remarkable camera and reasonable launch price in the US. But those waves haven’t quite hit the international shores as yet since the phone doesn’t ship until October in many parts of the world. In the UK, Google is using this intervening time to hype up its latest mid-ranger by handing out free gifts containing the Pixel 4a and more.
Google Chat will soon tell you when colleagues ignore your messages
Read receipts are coming next month
Google Chat started transitioning users from Hangouts a while ago, but it’s still missing a few features that the legacy app had. One of those features — read receipts — will finally arrive for Chat users next month.
The Instagram app is rolling out Reels navigation button to all, starting with India
Messing with your muscle memory big time
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TikTok facing bans in two of its most prominent markets is only putting pressure on competitors to step up and fill that gap. Instagram jumped at the chance and quickly expanded its own TikTok clone, Reels, to international markets. The feature currently lives inside the Explore tab, but the photo-sharing app doesn't want things to stop there. Instagram is now trying to push users towards Reels even more by giving it a prominent position on the home screen.