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Play Store lays out new rules to curb intrusive full screen ads
Also modernizes several policies about misinformation, impersonation, and monetization
Google Play regularly revises its policies in response to both new and old problems that can be found among apps in the marketplace. Many of the changes may only impact developers, with some will also having indirect effects that show up for users; but there are a few that many people will benefit from right away.
The democratizing power of the internet cannot be understated. When paired with the recent strides in affordable computing and internet connectivity, learning something new is a matter of curiosity and initiative. There's been increasing interest in coding over the past few yearss. Lucky for you, the tool you always have by your side—your phone—can help you learn the basics. We've rounded up a list of the best coding apps to get you started.
Microsoft lets you try out Edge's newest features in the Canary build
Don't complain, write a bug report
If you love to live on the bleeding edge of software releases, and also prefer Microsoft's flavor of Chromium browsers to Google's, then I have good news for you. The Canary build of Edge is now available on the Play Store, the better for the big M to test out its newest features on a wider subset of users. Go grab it now if you're so inclined.
Chrome 90 will get a performance overlay, helping developers create faster websites
Available on both mobile and desktop
Google introduced a new benchmark named Core Web Vitals for judging website speed last year. It has already had a role in search rankings since May 2020, so it's vital for developers to know how their websites are performing. They've been able to use the Web Vitals extension to judge speed and frame rates on the desktop for a while now, but starting with Chrome 90, Google wants to integrate these live stats right in the desktop and mobile versions of the browser. They're coming in the form of a new Performance HUD overlay.
Early last year, Google rolled out a new monetization method for developers to take advantage of in their apps. The woefully non-descriptive "rewarded products" allowed for things like watching videos to get in-game currency or extra lives — you get the idea. For simplicity, it was built right into the Google Play Billing Library, but Google has just announced that it will be deprecating the feature on April 21st, 2020, about two months from now.
Excellent writing app JotterPad switches to subscriptions for cloud sync, ignores users who paid for one-time unlock
No communication, no warning — stop me if you've heard this one before
I love writing anything and everything, and since I get tons of ideas when I only have my phone with me, I need an excellent writing app on my phone. For more than 6 years, I've used JotterPad, Android's best writing app, to do so. I've sung the app's praises in 2014, was still enamored with it in 2018, and still can't find a decent replacement to it in 2020. So yes, this article is personal, and I'm fuming because JotterPad switched to a subscription model for cloud sync without a single warning or any clear communication to its existing users who paid for a one-time unlock.
Google has been silently working on a new operating system called "Fuchsia" for years, with details, rumors, and wild speculation swirling through the blogosphere every time some new tidbit trickles out. Yesterday Google pushed up an official documentation site at fuchsia.dev, with instructions and details that can help developers play with the early operating system and its software. It appears to be the same info that was previously available at the Fuchsia Git, but with better formatting, and at a verifiably Google-owned domain (according to ICANN's WHOIS).
Google has quietly added more countries to its supported locations for developer and merchant registration. First up, developers in Palau and the U.S. Virgin Islands, two countries that were previously completely off the list, can now register on Google Play as well as create merchant accounts. Their payments will be made in USD, which is the official currency of both nations.
Most of you probably aren't aware of this, but only developers in select countries can sell apps and in-app purchases on the Play Store. Support is slowly spreading, with Tunisia and Zimbabwe having been the most recent additions in April, but the list has just grown by another six countries.
Google's been teasing Flutter—its cross-platform iOS and Android app-development framework—since 2015. Earlier this year it hit beta at MWC, with a final third production-ready beta landing at this year's I/O developer conference. As of yesterday, Flutter has hit Release Preview 1, marking further increased confidence in the quality and stability of the framework.
It might surprise you to know that developers in many countries can't sell paid apps on the Play Store. Last month, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania added support for merchant registration (a prerequisite to sell paid apps and IAPs on the Play Store), and now Tunisia and Zimbabwe have joined in on the fun.
Not all countries are equal when it comes to making and selling apps on the Play Store. Some don't even support developer registration, others let developers register but only let them distribute free apps. That was the case of devs in Ecuador until now: the ability to register as a merchant is available to them so they can finally sell paid apps and IAPs on the Play Store.
Late last week, we got confirmation that dark mode would be available in an upcoming Android release... and then it was revealed that wasn't actually true. But what if Chrome OS beats Android to the punch? The folks over at Chrome Unboxed have spotted a "dark mode" (well, a dark system tray) that can be enabled in the Developer and Canary Chrome OS channels.
If you're not familiar with Android Things OS, it's a lightweight version of Android designed to run on Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The first Developer Preview was released last year, and there have been a few updates since then. Now Google has released the first preview of Android Things Console, which makes managing a fleet of Android Things devices significantly easier.
More of this year's schedule for Google's I/O developer conference is finally up. At least, more than the last time we talked about it. Not all of the events are on it, as some would likely give away announcements made during the keynote at I/O by their presence on the calendar, but it looks like most of the talks should be there now. If you are planning on attending, as some of us are, then you might want to start figuring out how best to divide up your time.
Sony has added yet another handset to its Open Device Program. This time it's the Xperia XZs. With older brothers, the Xperia XZ and the X Performance, already on the list, it was only a matter of time before the newer flagship made its way to the program. Sony's support for the open source community is commendable, and this is more great news for developers hoping to play with custom builds of Nougat on their Xperia devices.
It's been a big day from the mystical Google land. In addition to all of the Wear stuff, the team behind Android Things has released the second Developer Preview for supported Internet-of-Things platforms. It brings some new features and a few bug fixes, as well as support for the Intel Joule.
Paid apps are quite obviously a huge part of the Android ecosystem and in particular, the Google Play Store. Today, Google's doing a bit of reorganising to ensure that, on the developer end, paid orders and settings are the easiest and simplest they can be.
Google Calendar covers most of the basics for synced calendar users, but anyone who wants something more robust needs to go on a bit of a hunt. Titanium Track, the indie developer team behind the power user favorite Titanium Backup, is on the job. Their latest project is EvGenie, an advanced calendar designed for seamless backup across multiple devices and sharing with family members or coworkers. It's currently on the Play Store in an open preview. It's free to download.