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Google Assistant adds native support for TVs, set-top boxes, and media remotes
Many have already implemented it, but it's now available for all device makers
Google Assistant already supports more than 60 device types, from smart lights and thermostats to more eccentric ones like dehydrators, pergolas, or fireplaces. Now it's officially adding three new ones: TVs, media remotes, and set-top boxes.
WhatsApp has rolled out the restriction of single chat forwards for viral messages
Only frequently forwarded messages are affected
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Misinformation spreads faster than facts these days. The juicier and the more outrageous a story is, the more likely it is to run around social networks and messaging apps like wildfire, so even uncle Gerard whom you haven't heard from in two years ends up sending it to you so you "know better." Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and every app with a large number of users suffers from this and has been taking measures to combat this. WhatsApp is now taking a more drastic measure to stop the spread of viral messages by prohibiting you from forwarding them in bulk.
6 years after launch, Android TV still lacks multiple user profiles
It remains inadequate for many households
A basic requirement of the living room TV experience is making sure the interface and content are tailored for multiple users and people of all ages and tastes. Nearly six years after its launch, Android TV is still trudging along and lacking that essential feature even though a few of its competitors, like Apple TV, have already implemented it. Without it, the platform remains ill-suited for families and multi-user households.
6 months with Face Unlock on the Pixel 4: Anecdotes, surprises, and disappointments
Face masks, sunglasses, app adoption, and more
Although some form of face unlocking has been available on Android for years now, the secure method that relies on IR only started popping up on devices in the last year or two. Adoption of the feature has skyrocketed in recent times, and Google finally added face authentication to the biometrics API in Android 10. Since most flagships are now launching with no fingerprint scanner and just face unlock as a security method — to the joy and dismay of many — I decided to step back and take a look at my personal experience with the feature.
Google completely ruined shared folders in Drive (Update: Workaround, Google shares longterm plan)
The switch to 'shortcuts' makes everything more complicated than it needs to be
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Several weeks ago, Google rolled out a change to Drive that lets you create shortcuts to files and folders. The feature had been in testing since August 2019, and its goal is to help you better organize shared files and folders without duplicating them, thus saving you storage and reducing the redundancy and confusion when you move things around. However, this seemingly benign improvement has completely ruined shared folders for anyone who syncs Drive locally to their PC or Mac.
YouTube adapts its website to large touchscreens like iPads and Chromebooks
Gestures, bigger icons, better accessibility
If you have an Android tablet or an iPad, you've likely installed the native YouTube app on them to enjoy your videos. But for those of you who haven't, and for anyone who's browsing YouTube on a touch-enabled Chromebook or PC, you'll be glad to know the website is now better suited for touch interaction.
Google now lets you install Zoom and a few other extensions on your child's Chromebook
All it took was a near-worldwide quarantine
With millions of children currently studying from home, and most likely using cheap computers like Chromebooks, glaring omissions in Chrome OS have come under the spotlight. For example, those who were using Family Link to manage their kids' Google accounts and Chromebooks noticed that they can't install any extensions on them. Maybe that was designed as a security measure, but it hindered the use of video conferencing tools like Zoom and Hangouts. Now that's changing.
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For years we've dreamed of the smart home, but when we anticipated it, we didn't really picture a dozen hubs littered all over our house that do nothing but control only one type of device. Sadly, that's the truth we've come to. But Google seems to be taking the first steps to remedy this situation, starting with opening local control of smart devices to all developers and smart home manufacturers.
Firewalla review: A powerful solution to monitor and protect your home network (Update: 4 months later)
Parental controls, security monitor, ad blocker, and more
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Security and privacy are at the heart of our concerns with technology now. With every breach, hack, and vulnerability, we discover how frail this digital footprint we've created is. To protect ourselves, we make sure our devices are always updated with the latest security patches, we try to avoid suspicious sites and apps, we keep our eyes open for phishing attempts in our inbox, but that still isn't enough. If you have smart home gadgets or if you don't control every device in your household, you need network-level protection. Some Wi-Fi routers offer this, but the feature is usually tied in a monthly subscription.Firewalla aims to provide that network-level protection for a one-time fee ($109 or $179). You buy the tiny device, plug it in, and it monitors all traffic, whether it's coming from wireless or Ethernet devices, and warns you when something seems out of order. It also adds a bunch of smart features to your network: parental protections, per-device rules, ad blocking, VPN server, among others. I've been using it for a month and it has become a valuable tool in my house.
Spotify finally starts showing proper, complete song lyrics synced with music (Update: New UI)
To help you realize that Queens weren't kicking cats all over the place
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One of the joys of listening to music is singing along, but if you don't want to make a fool of yourself or if you really want to understand what the artist is saying (or mumbling, humming, growling), you need to have quick access to lyrics. Spotify, one of the world's largest music streaming services, was still behind on this feature until now. The service is now slowly catching up and rolling out proper lyrics support to users.
Spotify rolls out a better way to surface new music by artists you follow (Updated)
The new 'Follow Feed' isn't live yet
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With over 50 million tracks available on its service and even more being released every day, Spotify surely has a problem in how good it is at helping you discover new music. The Discover Weekly and Release Radar playlists are sure nice, but the streaming giant is working on more. Social discovery and notifications from artists you're interested in could come soon, and so is a new Follow Feed for releases by artists you follow.
After using a Netgear Orbi mesh router for a year, I can wholeheartedly recommend it
It optimized my slow and congested network for all of my devices
Frequent readers of Android Police may have noticed me mention a few times how slow and limited my home internet connection is. In ideal circumstances, it maxes out at 16Mbps; on regular days, it's half of that, and that's considered good for Lebanon. There are places where you can barely get 2Mbps. One single gadget has made that speed tolerable in 2020: the Netgear Orbi mesh router.Let's back up a bit. My husband and I moved into our apartment mid-2017. Knowing my love for all things connected and smart, and given that he's an IT product manager, we quickly concluded that a robust internet connection was a must in our house. Fiber wasn't an option (it won't reach our area until 2021) and ADSL was the only choice, so we got our internet setup and started looking for a capable replacement to our provider's no-name modem+router. We landed on the TP-Link Archer VR2600, one of the most powerful ADSL-compatible modem-and-router in one.For a while at first, everything worked more or less fine. Our 1600 sqft (150 sqm) apartment has a long rectangular layout, and even though we placed the Archer in the middle, it failed to reach the extremities reliably. The biggest issue was a dead spot in our master bedroom's bathroom — I think we can all agree that's a major inconvenience. I tested the AmpliFi Mesh Point HD as a repeater and it did the trick of extending the connection's range. However, other issues slowly started arising with the main Archer router.
Microsoft OneDrive adds face unlock support on the Pixel 4
Keep your files protected without sacrificing ease of access
More and more apps are adopting Android 10's official biometrics API, which means they now support both fingerprint authentication and face unlock, and will adapt to your phone. The latest one to join the fray is Microsoft's One Drive.
Google Podcasts web improves with subscriptions, sorting, and more
Still not a fully-featured podcast client, but making progress
Last week, Google Podcasts received a revamp on Android along with a new iPhone app, but one of the changes that we didn't explore affected the web interface. It's still not on par with the mobile client, but at least it now offers subscriptions and sorting.
Public webcams show just how empty coronavirus has made our world
We're living in a dystopian future where no humans can be seen anywhere
With quarantines being imposed in many countries across the world, I've been wondering what our planet must look like right now. Empty streets, empty squares, empty towns, everything just... empty. If you surveyed from above, would it seem like humans have deserted Earth or are there still signs of our lives, if you looked closely? Then it occurred to me that I can easily snoop in on the world from the safety of my couch and discover its new, unprecedented facet with all the signs of civilization but no people. I started looking at live public CCTV camera apps and feeds and, after spending hours lost in the desolate streets, I ended up liking three apps, each for a different reason. If you're intrigued by this dystopian, macabre future present, start playing some eerie music and follow me on my grim journey.
It's been almost seven months since Google announced at I/O that it was rolling out a new account switcher to its apps, which lets you quickly and easily manage all your Google settings. The design, which relies on your avatar showing up in the top right of the search bar, has already rolled out to plenty of apps. Among the most important holdouts are the Play Store and Google Photos, but some users have started seeing it in the former.
Nest outages prove that the smart home needs a local fallback
Relying solely on remote servers is not wise, especially for security
Google's Nest service has been down once, twice, thrice, four times, no, scratch that, at least five times in five months, four of which were in the last few weeks. A similar thing happened toward the end of 2018. After each failure, a fix, an apology, more disgruntled users, and hours lost without any security recording for owners of the brand's cameras. Seeing the same headline with the same story every day proves that we can't solely rely on remote servers for the smart home, and local fallbacks need to be the first feature baked in, not an afterthought or a bonus.
Take a world tour from your couch with these apps
Walk along streets, enjoy 360 views, and discover new places
With all of us stuck at home because of the Coronavirus pandemic, a supermarket run is starting to feel like the biggest excursion and adventure we can go on for the foreseeable future. Travel is out of the question, local trips are restricted in many countries, and even the simple idea of stepping out of your house is as daunting as an alcohol and paranoia party. I've been yearning for a vacation for a while — I even had a trip planned for May before all of this went down — but since that's been canceled now, I've found myself thumbing through old pics and 360 photos I've taken during my trips, reminiscing about better times and nicer places, then it occurred to me that I could do something similar but also discover new countries and cities I've never visited, all through the magic of Google Maps, Earth, and Street View. Let me to explain how you too can do that.
MX Player launches its free movie and TV streaming service in the US, UK, and 5 more countries
It offers slightly older content with ads
Most of us know MX Player as the best video player on Android, able to handle any file format, codec, bitrate, or subtitle extension. What you may have missed though is that MX also has an on-demand movie and TV show streaming service in India. It's now expanding availability to seven countries, including the US and UK.
YouTube Music tests new Now Playing UI with simpler access to lyrics (Updated)
Shuffle and repeat too
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More than a year after launch, Google is still bringing slow, but tangible improvements to YouTube Music. While the ability to upload your own tracks to the service isn't yet live, we now have confirmation that it's coming. A little less exciting piece of news is that the app is testing a new, improved Now Playing interface.