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Google's unstoppable march continues: the company just won't rest until every financial institution on the planet can use the Google Pay mobile payment system. Over the last few weeks we've been cataloging additional banks added to Google's various support pages, and there's been a notable uptick in new entries. That's especially true for Switzerland, where more than eighty banks added Google Pay compatibility last week.
Android Auto rolls out to 6 more European countries
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden, since you asked
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Although a bunch of cars now come with advanced navigation systems, these can rarely beat the simplicity and expansibility of Android Auto. Sadly, though, Google's in-car service isn't globally available, leaving many users unable to properly use their favorite services from their ride's dashboard. Thankfully, Android Auto is expanding to 36 more countries, making it seamless to get directions, play music, and interact with Assistant, thanks to native integration with your car's infotainment system.
Samsung's watches now support ECG monitoring in 32 more countries
It still requires a paired Samsung phone
Samsung's Galaxy Watch3 and Watch Active2 both have hardware support for ECG monitoring, but it is taking a long time to show up for everyone, since the feature has to be approved by each country's health agencies. It was exclusive to South Korea until September of last year, when it was enabled for use in the United States, and now it's coming to 32 more countries.
Google Pay is rolling out more widely across Europe
Coming to Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, and Romania
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Google Pay’s tight integration with the Android OS makes it one of the most widely available and widely accepted mobile payment solutions. However, many international regions still don’t have access to this nifty tool, keeping people from the convenience of tap-and-pay on almost any Android phone. That’s changing today, at least for ten European countries where Google Pay is finally debuting.
Little by little, Google's been making YouTube Premium and YouTube Music available to more and more users. Sometimes that means making the services available on new devices, or offering discounts to lower the barrier to entry. But a lot of the time, it's just about rolling them out to new countries. So far this year we've seen expansion into India, South Africa, and Latin America, and today that trend continues with a push further into Europe.
Google is more and more integrated into our daily lives: Many of us use the company's email, calendar, and Assistant services, which work seamlessly with each other. They can be particularly handy when you receive an email for an event, which is then automatically recognized as a calendar appointment and added to your schedule. The day of the event, Assistant can remind you of this meeting and even tell you how long you'll need to get there. However, in order for all of this to work, Google's services need to be available where you need them, which is unfortunately not always the case. The company is taking a step toward making life easier for people living or visiting Bulgaria by adding support for public transportation into Maps.
When it comes to watching YouTube Kids you'll need to be in one of the countries officially supported by the app. That's because if you download while in an unsupported nation, the app will disable itself and keep you from watching. Today there's good news for six new countries in Europe who don't have to worry about that anymore, as YouTube Kids has expanded again, bringing the total number of countries covered up to 53.
There are many digital ways to consume our photos and memories these days — browsing on our phones, casting to a large TV, showcasing on a Smart Display like the Google Home Hub — but if you want physical copies of your pics to flip through and enjoy, you will need to print them. Google Photos offers a photo book service in several countries, and now it's expanding to 14 more in Europe.
Any maps app thrives on accuracy. Incorrect data should be removed, fixed quickly, or at least it should be marked as such. The Google Maps team keeps a list of its coverage details with markers for availability and data quality, and updates it every now and then to reflect the current state of affairs. Since the last change in July, some improvements have been made, but also some countries have had their data markers downgraded.
There are so many thing to buy in the Play Store! I mean, that pack of 1,000 gems for $99.99 is really tempting, but maybe you can't justify the ridiculousness of that expense until payday. No problem—there's carrier billing. Simply bill it to your carrier and pay at the end of the month. Of course, your carrier needs to support it. Google has updated its support docs to indicate several more carriers around the world are now on board with carrier billing.
It's been a while since we've seen any progress on the carrier billing front. Admittedly it's something of a niche feature - if you're using a smartphone there's a good chance that you also have a credit or debit card handy. But if for some reason you'd like to send your Play Store purchases to your wireless provider and pay them along with your bill at the end of the month, it's a handy option. Now it's available on a smattering of new carriers in Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, and Qatar.
Google has announced that Google News will soon be available in seven new languages - Romanian, Bahasa Indonesia, Bengali, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, and Thai.
You know those orange headphones that come pre-installed on stock Android devices? They pump tracks through a service called Play Music. It's a downright dandy offering, but it's only available in certain countries. As of now, that list has just expanded to include thirteen more.
Back in December, we noticed that a bunch of countries had been added to the list of supported areas for Google Maps Navigation. That list was promptly updated to remove most of them, but now it looks like they're (almost) all back and available for use right now, including Bulgaria, Lithuania, Slovakia and more.
Jelly Bean Updates Roll Out To Unbranded UK, Switzerland, Luxemburg Galaxy S IIIs And Branded Ones In 8 Other Countries
The pace at which Samsung is pushing out Galaxy S III Jelly Bean updates is picking up steam in Europe
The pace at which Samsung is pushing out Galaxy S III Jelly Bean updates is picking up steam in Europe with the much anticipated arrival of Android 4.1.1 for unbranded UK handsets. The Brits aren't the only ones getting it today - in fact, the list is quite sizeable. Here, check it out: