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QR codes allow for a paper-free life. Papers are everywhere, from restaurant tables to business cards and posted placards. They have been around since 1994 and were designed to replace barcodes. QR codes have evolved from their initial purpose of only being placed on boarding passes, loyalty cards, and shipping labels. They now contain extra data such as contact data, Wi-Fi credentials, links, and more.
Quick Response (QR) codes have existed for several years, and their popularity sky-rocketed during COVID-19. QR codes bring significant advantages. However, cybercriminals and scammers have exploited several ways to hack QR codes to access your personal and financial information illegally. These malicious and tampered QR codes can steal money and spread malware on your iPhone or top budget Android phone.
Google's making it easier to scan distant QR codes
Automatic zoom is coming to a barcode scanner near you
It's no secret that scanning a QR code can be pretty annoying on mobile devices. Android tries to make the feature accessible with Quick Settings shortcuts and scanning built into the camera, but the codes themselves are often too small and require either zooming in or getting closer. Luckily, Google has been working on some updates to make scanning QR codes much faster.
Android 13 DP1 introduces Quick Toggle tiles for QR code reader, one-handed mode
The notification shade gets busier
Lots of people like pulling down the notification shade in Android and tapping on Quick Toggles turn certain features on and off in quick succession — think flashlight, for example. In Android 13 Developer Preview 1, we've got two new toggles: one for a QR scanner and the other for the new one-handed mode introduced in Android 12.
QR code scanning on Android turns out to be even more broken than we thought
OnePlus devices found to be affected, too
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Over the weekend, Google fixed up issues with its QR code-reading capabilities in the Google Camera and Google Lens apps where URLs were misread for Android 12 users. But some of those errors exist and persist in Android 11 devices, too, and not just from Google.
Android 13 prepares to streamline QR-code scanning
With a lock screen QR reader and a Quick Settings tile
If we can crown a single winner for the last two years, it’s the QR code. Once an inconvenience, the obnoxious little black and white squares have become indispensable and hygienic ways to access menus in these becovid times. With how much more we’re using them, it’s unsurprising that Google would be looking for ways to make that experience even simpler and more convenient, and it looks like that will happen with Android 13.
When Spencer Buell of Boston Magazine came out earlier this month with a full-throated roar against the QR code, my knee-jerk reaction was to bang my head against the wall. I don't like hurting myself, though, so I stopped, read his piece in full, and began to feel out where he was coming from. After all, these weirdo pixels aren't really human-readable, require an expensive, sometimes unwieldy phone to be understood, can be exploited for deception or malware, and might not even make sense as a replacement for good ol' plaintext... at least at first blush.
Telegram Beta gets widgets and QR codes for joining groups
Joining groups is about to get easier than ever
Telegram only recently gained huge momentum thanks to people switching from WhatsApp due to the upcoming new terms of service, but the company isn't resting on its laurels. TestingCatalog took an extensive look at the latest Telegram Beta, version 7.5, and found quite a few forthcoming changes: The update introduces widgets, QR codes for joining groups, and options for reporting content.
Chrome 88 rolls out dino-themed QR codes on Android and desktop
They popped up in stable starting in version 84, but you had to enable them in a flag
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We've known about Google Chrome's quick page-sharing through dino-themed QR codes since 2019. After an initial release in Canary and more development, the feature first became available in Chrome 84. It's been working properly on both Android and desktops since then, but you had to manually enable the flag to get it going. With Chrome 88, QR codes are starting to roll out widely as part of a server-side change, as reported by SmartDroid.
Vivaldi Browser 3.6 lets you tweak websites to your liking with Page Actions
A QR code reader and external download manager support is also on board
Vivaldi may "just" be another Chromium fork, but the browser packs some unique features. Its interface is customizable to the bone, offering desktop-like tabs, a bottom bar, and a forced dark mode. Now the Android browser is expanding these capabilities to websites with version 3.6, giving you the option to modify their appearance. Vivaldi also gains a QR code reader, new Speed Dial features, and support for external download managers with this update.
Here's how Google might simplify Wi-Fi password sharing in Android 12
Nearby Share will make the process easier than ever
Asking for the Wi-Fi password always feels a little awkward, but Google has been working on ways to make the process easier. Android 10 allowed users to share network details via QR codes, and now it looks like Nearby Share could simplify things even further in an upcoming version of Android — possibly even this year's Android 12 release.
Microsoft is building a voice assistant into Outlook
And more new features as part of an effort to drive mobile growth
Gmail might be the de facto choice for personal email, but Outlook is still one of the top options for workplaces. Microsoft has been working on ways to drive mobile adoption higher, and today the company announced several new features intended to get more users trying Outlook on their phones.
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It has been about a month since Chrome 85 appeared in the Beta Channel, and now Google is starting to roll it out to the stable branch. There aren't many easily-visible changes, but as the old Transformers theme says, there's more than meets the eye.
QR codes have almost infinite uses. Be it simply sharing a URL, a Wi-Fi password, acting as a web authenticator, or helping your pay for goods and services, these little black-and-white jumble squares have evolved into a truly ubiquitous part of our lives. But when you're not using an app or phone feature that specifically knows you want to scan a QR code, you may find yourself a bit puzzled, and that's led many people to just rush to the Play Store and download one of a million ad-filled scanner apps. The fact is, there are far better ways to scan QR codes on Android that don't involve installing a sketchy app, using everything from Google Lens, to your smartphone's own camera app, to a lightweight website that does the job without trackers and ads. Some Android browsers even come with built-in scanners.
WhatsApp beta lets you share your profile with others via QR code (APK download)
Faster than sharing phone numbers
WhatsApp's reliance on phone numbers for authentication is part of the reason the app took off so fast — no username, no email, no password, no fuss. But that requirement has become a hindrance over the last few years, be it in the lack of multi-device support or the inability to quickly start chatting with someone without adding them to your phone's contacts first. There are workarounds for the latter, but nothing too straightforward. Now WhatsApp is starting to address this by adding QR codes for profiles in the latest beta.
Chrome QR-code sharing feature goes live in Canary (with a little dino help)
Tested and mostly working
Late last year, a new QR-based feature for sharing URLs was spotted in development for Google Chrome. Previously, the button it added to the omnibar did precisely nothing, but as of today, the Canary Channel version of Chrome actually spits the QR code graphics —adorable Chrome dino and all.
Once upon a time, you could view and edit Google Docs files from a single Drive app, but Google later split them up into multiple editing applications. Microsoft is now doing the reverse: it's combining the Android versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into one app to rule them all.
Android's story with the share menu is long, messy, and complicated. Things have gotten relatively better in Android 10, but that hasn't stopped some app developers from implementing a non-native share sheet. This is especially true for Google's own apps, like Photos, YouTube, Maps, and News. Chrome might soon join the fray with its own sharing hub.
QR codes are pretty ubiquitous these days, used for everything from setting up two-factor authentication via key-generating apps to promoting folks to follow your Snapchat. Chrome might be next up to use the feature to share content, with a new (but currently non-functional) QR code page-sharing feature spotted in Chrome Canary. Best of all, the QR codes generated may feature a Chrome dino.
Every week, I examine somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred app updates while looking for changes. The most interesting things turn into APK Teardowns or Download posts. Many of the remaining updates are unremarkable, amounting to a few bug fixes, routine updates to libraries, or even just pixel-level adjustments to layouts and images. However, there are usually a few updates that land somewhere in between. I don't want to spam readers with dozens of short posts, but I hate to ignore things that people might want to know about, so I'm going to wrap up the leftovers for a little weekend reading and call it Update Notes.