Category: Android

Google Sheets, the spreadsheet app in the Google Apps for Work suite, has been updated with a long missing and much wanted feature:  Image support.  With this update, users will be able to view images and drawings with the Sheets app and not have to revert to the desktop version of the app to view them.  It is a nice addition for sure and closes the feature parity gap between the desktop and mobile versions of the app.  The update is rolling out now to the Google Play Store and given that this update also impacts the iOS version, the update is rolling out in the iTunes App Store too.

Microsoft’s latest improvement to their launcher app for Android, Arrow Launcher, brings more improvements and functionality to the app.  For those who have tried it,  Arrow Launcher gives a mult-page look to your phone that brings things like contacts, widgets, most used apps and reminders within easy reach and is designed for Android phones.  The latest update, version 1.3.0.22862 for those keeping score at home, brings a handful of new features to the app.  The biggest of those new features is integration with Wunderlist.  With this update, all of your lists are displayed and you can set reminders for the app within Arrow as well.

Whether you like the feature or not, the autoplay feature in YouTube has made its way to Android.  The video streaming site has had the autoplay feature – where the site plays the next video automatically as you are watching – for some time now and it has both friends and foes.  In the latest update to the Android app for phones and tablets, this feature has been enabled.  For those who like the feature, now you can get endless streaming of videos without having to touch your phone.  For those who don’t like the feature, good news!  You can disable it.

Android Marshmallow continues to grow in adoption as its install base has now reached 7.5% of devices coming to the Google Play Store over the course of the week ending May 2nd.  That figure represents a 2.9% increase over the same report last month or a growth of 72% over the course of the month.  With the number of devices that have received the Marshmallow update over the course of the last 4 weeks, the news is hardly a surprise but it is great to see nevertheless.  Perhaps equally as important, Marshmallow is the only flavor of Android that is gaining in install base.

Uber is sending out notifications to customers who use Google Wallet in their app that as of May 9th, it will no longer be available.  Instead, the app has been updated with the ability to for customers to add Android Pay for easy payment of your rides around town.  While we often think of Android Pay as a touch-to-pay solution, it can also be embedded into apps for payments.  OpenTable has the ability to use Android Pay and has for several months.  Uber is following suit as Google Wallet is set to go away as a payment option this summer.

Galaxy S6 users on AT&T, your day should be a little better now.  After months of delays and every carrier in the US other than AT&T releasing the update, you can now get the Android Marshmallow update for your device.  The update came from Samsung, not AT&T, as they updated their support page for the device.  The new build you are looking for on your device is G920AUCU3CPC2 and it is a healthy 1+GB download so you will need to get it while you are on Wi-Fi and expect a 20-30 minute update process once you do have it.  Once you get it installed, you will have Marshmallow 6.0.1 and the March security update on your device.