latest
Stadia launched in what what most would consider a very unfinished state, missing many plenty of the announced features like family sharing and broadcasting, or with very rushed and incomplete features like screenshots or a game store. Shopping for games initially required the smartphone app, but the store launched on the web last week, opening the door to a more convenient shopping experience. It also reveals a bit more about some of the marketing and categorization we'll see as the Stadia catalog fills out.
Google has been promising proper list and note integration in Assistant for months now, and we've seen hints of it even before that, but today brings us just a little bit closer to that promise being fulfilled. Both note and list support is rolling out to Assistant (on phones and Google Homes) now, but you can't pick a third-party app to manage them just yet. So if you're itching for the Google Keep integration, you may need to be a bit more patient.
The latest Google app update is rolling out to the beta channel, but as usual, you're probably not going to see much in the way of changes after installing it. The version number lept from 8.27 to 8.33, which looks odd, but I assure you, it makes total sense if you think about it. Today we'll be talking about a new page for home screen settings, more about linking services to notes and lists, personalized news settings, and more.
An update to the Google app is rolling out a bit earlier than usual for the week. Besides small tweaks, there's not much to see, but a teardown is turning up some interesting additions to the APK. Google has resumed work on allowing services to stand in for Notes and Lists functionality with Assistant. There are also a few more settings making the jump to a central 'General' screen.
Welcome a fresh update of Google Maps to the world. Version 9.78 began rolling out to the beta channel last night, and with it come a few visual tweaks and a cool new feature for custom lists that shows the places you've visited. Turning to the teardown, it looks like Google will be giving contributors a little more visibility and control over their public profiles. Drivers in São Paulo, Brazil will also be getting a useful tool for navigating through or around the rodízio.
Google began rolling out a more-beta-than-usual update to its search app a couple days ago. Despite following the rush of I/O announcements, it doesn't look like this version brings any new features to users. However, like almost every update, it comes with an assortment of clues about upcoming changes.
Google has been rolling out updates to its flagship app at a record pace, with significant updates landing only a few days apart. The latest may be a sign that the developers are nearly done, as the additions appear to be slowing down. In this update, we can see small visual tweaks, but nothing else too major. As usual, it's in the teardown where the changes are racking up, including signs that users will get to choose their own services for lists and notes taken by Assistant, an ability to trim the silence from podcasts, and a small follow-up regarding Google Doodles.
A new version of Google Maps landed late last night and brought with it an assortment of visual tweaks. You'll find an all new and improved look for your saved lists, plus some interesting tweaks to other small spots around the interface. There is also a pretty clear hint that we'll be able to send requests for other people to turn on location sharing so they don't have to take the initiative to share with us. There are a couple of smaller teardown topics as well.
It has been nearly two weeks since the first beta of v7.26 began rolling out with several hints about what we can look forward to, but a minor update just started rolling out that appears to contain something else of some interest. It seems like something called "Collections" is coming to Google that looks mighty similar to the Saved pages feature, but with a few improvements already emerging.
A new version of Google Maps hit the beta channel late Friday evening. At the same time, Google announced improvements to the step-by-step navigation features for moving through public transit. That announcement applies to v9.68 and above, but after poking around in 9.69, there are also a couple of new things to check out. You can now see your reviews on locations in your custom lists, and add comments to those places to add hints or recommendations. A teardown also provides some hints about upcoming features like a new option to share a location without having it track your movements.
Read update
Google's Keep had humble and simple beginnings, but it's become one of my go-to tools for organizing my life (such as it is). Today the web and desktop extension version of the service gets a revamp, with a new interface that takes more than a few hints from the Inbox layout. There's a brand new left pane to the UI that includes quick links to Notes, Reminders, user-set labels, the archive, and trashed items. It's dynamic, too: resize the window and it will hide in a pop-out dock, mobile app style.
With the sheer number of to-do list applications available for Android, there should be a stroke available for all the different folks out there. Todoist is one of the premium choices on the market, a subscription-based web platform that supports syncing tasks and projects across any number of devices. A major update to the Android app is rolling out today, offering a revisited interface that still manages to marry Todoist's web interface with Holo quite well. This shiny new appearance also comes with a bevy of hands-on features that improve the experience.
In the never-ending move to digitize and mobilize your entire world, some areas (like banking) are slower than others (like email). When the old guard does update, though, usually we get something pretty cool. Rite Aid is the latest entry to join in the mobile world and it's bringing with it yet another piece of the future: scanning pill bottles to refill your prescriptions.