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Ireland opens up its coronavirus contact tracing app for other governments to use
The company behind it built a white-label solution that's easier to customize
After publishing the source code of its COVID-19 tracing app, Ireland's Health Service has now additionally donated the code to the Linux Foundation. To make it available to other governments with as little modifications as possible, the company behind the application, NearForm, has built a white-label solution called "COVID Green."
Android 11 will make public Wi-Fi logins easier with a new captive portal API
It's based on standardized specifications
Public Wi-Fi hotspots with captive portals — those websites where you have to accept terms and conditions or log in before you can access the internet — are the bane of existence for people who frequent cafés. Sometimes Android's captive portal check fails, and you have to figure out which website to visit to accept the terms. Other times, you'll notice it's hard to revisit the captive portal when you want to check how much data allowance you have left. Google is trying to make that whole process a lot smoother with Android 11, but it has to rely on public Wi-Fi providers' help for that.
Chrome OS clipboard manager shown in first video, but it's still work in progress
The unfinished feature is only available in Chrome OS Canary at the moment
Windows has a built-in clipboard manager, but if Chrome OS is your platform of choice, you'll be hit harder by the lack of a native solution, as you currently have to rely on third-party extensions for clipboard history. While that works for Rita and me here at AP, many people are understandably worried about their privacy. It looks like that might soon be a thing of the past, as Chrome Story managed to activate the first few UI elements of a native clipboard manager in the latest Chrome OS Canary release.
A redesigned Google Assistant with Pixel 4-like light bar has been spotted on some phones
But it's not the super-fast, Continued-Conversation enabled Assistant from the Pixel 4
Google used the Pixel 4 to introduce a rethought Google Assistant design sporting new capabilities, but so far, this experience hasn't made it to any other phone. Unfortunately, that's not changing, but an Assistant redesign has popped up on other handsets that takes some cues from the light bar that decorates the bottom of the Pixel 4's screen.
Google Home now lets you specify what type of device a smart plug controls
The feature is live on Android and iOS
Smart plugs are a great way to make simple electronics more intelligent — be it an old lamp with a non-removable light bulb, an older TV, or a coffee maker. However, outlets can't tell what's plugged into them, so any smart plug just got a generic logo in the Home app. That changed when Google started automatically adjusting the symbol depending on what you call the device — e.g., "desk light" will give you a light bulb icon. Now there's a more straightforward way to change the device type right through an extra option in the Home app on Android and iOS.
AccuWeather adds minute-by-minute forecasts to fill the void left by Dark Sky
The new experience has been in beta for the past three months
Dark Sky may get to live on Android for an extra month until August 1, but after that, it's time to look for a new weather app. The competition is well aware of that and is bringing its applications up-to-par. As such, AccuWeather has been working on a full overhaul of its slightly dated app, featuring a new icon, more native code, an hourly minute-by-minute forecast front-and-center, and tons of customization options, including dark modes. The new app will roll out to the Play Store starting today.
Google Play Pass lands in nine new countries today
Google is also teasing a few new games coming later this year
If you're an avid mobile gamer or tend to spend a lot of money on apps regularly, you might already subscribe to Google's Play Pass — it allows you to access a selection of more than 400 apps without paying, free of ads and IAPs. The service has so far only been available in the US, but today, Google has announced it's expanding Play Pass to nine more countries this week. The company is also introducing a new $29.99-a-year subscription option and has added a few more apps and games.
Huge 26800mAh Aukey USB C Power Bank is only $56 ($24 off) on Amazon with coupon
Charge all the things
If you've been looking for a power bank that can charge almost all of your tech, you might want to look at the 26800mAh Aukey USB C Power Bank. It's capable of charging almost any USB C devices, including laptops, at up to 65W, and you can get it for only $56 on Amazon right now — if you use the coupon code PYN3RRGG during checkout, that is.Our own Corbin Davenport gives it an almost perfect score of 9/10 in his review and writes: "The Aukey Power Bank does exactly what it claims: it can charge all your USB-PD devices at roughly the same rate as a full-powered wall connector." Sure, it's a rather bulky thing, measuring 6.5 x 3.4 x 1.2 inches and weighing 1.54 pounds, but as long as there are no breakthroughs in battery technology, that's as small as 26800mAh can get. Corbin criticizes that only one of the two available USB C ports charges at a full 65W, while the other is capped at 18W, so you'll need to pay attention which of the two you use to charge something like your laptop or tablet. There's also a USB A port if you have one of these cables lying around.
Samsung Health to go on a diet and lose weight and calorie management
You'll need to look for another app to judge when you reach your calorie deficit goal
People relying on Samsung Health as their one-stop solution for tracking their health may have to look elsewhere soon. As SamMobile found out, German Samsung Health users are currently receiving end-of-service notices, telling them that the app will lose support for caffeine intake tracking and weight and calorie management, starting with version 6.11 on Android and 4.1 on smartwatches. This update will almost certainly reach people in other territories soon enough, too. Note that you'll still be able to track calories and weight individually — you just won't be able to compare the stats against each other.
Verizon caught lying about its 5G coverage in ads
Forced to pull the offending commercials by the National Advertising Division
Verizon has agreed to pull advertisements that falsely imply its tiny 5G network is available nationwide. Two TV ads have been criticized by the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the BBB National Programs, the non-profit focused on industry-self regulation. The commercials in question were challenged by AT&T, which hasn't always been honest about 5G itself, advertising its "5Ge" network that's nothing but plain ol' 4G.
Someone at Google forgot to renew a blogspot domain, still offline a week later
Thousands of blogs are affected
A week ago, thousands of small blogs went offline in India. It appears that Google lost control over its blogspot.in domain, which is where many small blogs are available at. While you would think that a multi-billion dollar company like Google could fix a glaring issue like this within a short amount of time, blogspot.in remains unreachable to this day.
Google has fixed a bug that hindered many people from editing their Assistant reminders for some time yesterday. It was possible to create new reminders via voice, but manual editing via the reminder overview was broken, potentially globally. Luckily, there were workarounds if you absolutely had to change something about existing reminders during the period.
Xiaomi reveals three new budget phones — Redmi 9, 9A, and 9C starting at just €99
The quad-cam Redmi 9 offers the best specs in the lineup for €150
Xiaomi introduced a plethora of products in an online-only event today, including the much-leaked Mi TV Stick and a new pair of wireless earbuds, but the company also launched a new lineup of budget phones, the Redmi 9 series. It consists of three devices costing between €100 and €170, the Redmi 9, the Redmi 9A, and the Redmi 9C. They all come with 6.53-inch screens and are powered by MediaTek silicon.
Mozilla's Firefox VPN is now out of beta on Android
$4.99 a month to keep your connections secure and private
Mozilla has been working on a VPN for a long time, first experimenting with such a service in 2018. But lately, there's been more movement. The company has been beta-testing its latest take on virtual networks since last year, with an Android app available since early 2020. Today, Mozilla has announced that it's officially launching the paid service in a few countries.
Leaked Gmail redesign outs plans to integrate Docs, Chat, and Meet
It looks set to become a one-stop shop for G Suite's productivity and collaboration tools
Google has only recently announced that it was integrating its video-conferencing service Meet with the Gmail app, a move that was met with some criticism. As it turns out, the introduction of the Meet tab was only the beginning of a transformation. Developer Tahin Rahman found slides from Google's upcoming Cloud Next '20 event that show how the company is looking to turn the Gmail app and website into a one-stop productivity hub, with Meet, Chat, Docs, and Rooms built right into the service.
Sony's excellent WH-1000XM3 headphones are down to $220 on Woot today
Get 'em while they're still available
The unpronounceable Sony WH-1000XM3 active-noise canceling headphones may be getting a little long in the tooth with a successor landing soon, but that doesn't make one of the best Bluetooth headphones any worse — they're still a great choice. If you've been eyeing these to escape the noise surrounding you while you work from home, today might be your chance to grab them for cheap. They're available as Woot's deal of the day for just 0, which is the lowest we've ever seen (ignoring refurbs, that is).
The T-Mobile Galaxy S10 series is receiving the June security patch
The slow US rollout is continuing
Read update
The first Galaxy S20 units are already receiving the July security patch in Korea and Europe, but in the US, the slow carrier rollout of the June update continues to arrive on many people's phones. People using a Galaxy S10 device on T-Mobile can look forward to the patch, which is only now starting to roll out to them. Along with the security enhancements, the phones are getting smaller system and performance improvements.
Google Calendar web gets improved event creation and printout enhancements
Small improvements making a good web app even better
Even though many Google desktop web apps are already pretty capable and easy to use, there are always things that can be improved, and as such, Calendar on the web has received an update. It's now possible to add more details in the pop-up event creation dialog, and you can finally create fully colored printouts, in case you still like to see your agenda in a physical form.
Google's first Pixel Buds feature drop will arrive next month with fix for audio cut out problems
Drop it like it's hot
The Pixel Buds have only just launched in Canada, the UK, and many more international markets, but the good news don't stop there: Google promises a feature drop update to the true wireless earbuds, according to information the company relayed to Forbes. Along with unspecified new capabilities, the update is supposed to finally fix the notorious audio cut out problems the Buds are plagued with, which Google already promised a month ago.
Google Chrome 86 will get a LiteVideos mode that forces SD quality clips
Helping you save that precious data
Google Chrome has helped you save precious data for a long time with its data saver that eventually turned into the Lite mode we know today. As reported by TechDows, Google seems to be working on a Lite mode that extends to videos, making them play in SD quality.