Category: Android

There is a new update that is rolling out to OnHub devices today that brings the first step in IoT and automation support.  The update is a firmware update on the device itself (although there is an update to the Android app too) that brings support for IFTTT.  IFTTT stands for If This, Then That and there is now a dedicated OnHub channel on the site so you can automate and control devices and events in your house.  It’s the first step for Google’s smart home functionality that the OnHub is built for and it is probably the first step of many in this process.

Google Photos for Android has an update rolling out in the Google Play Store right now that brings with it a lot of small but important design tweaks to improve the overall user experience.  The update you are looking for is build 1.19 for those keeping score at home and when you get it, you will notice the biggest change immediately.  Gone is the blue Search button at the bottom of the screen while a search bar, much like that in Google Play Music, is at the top of the page.

Google Calendar has an update rolling out today that will make finding common meeting times with your co-workers much easier and faster.  The update brings a new feature, Find a time, that will look at your calendar and the calendar of others you are inviting to a meeting to find an open time that works for everyone.  The feature will only be available for those who use Google Apps for Work and Education which makes sense given that everyone would be in the same domain and calendars would be readable by the app.

Readers will know that I don’t post a lot about rumors because they are, well, rumors.  But this one was just too good not share.  It looks like we are going to see not one but two new Nexus devices coming from HTC, possibly as soon as next month at I/O.  The rumor and support for it comes from Android Police and that team has a great track record for getting these types of rumors right.  They did it 2014 and 2015 with the Nexus 6, 6P and 5X.

For owners of the Blackberry Priv, today is a good day.  Starting today, the Android Marshmallow update for the device is rolling out with all of the goodness of the release itself along with improvements to Priv specific features and apps.  The update is just now rolling out so it will take some time to reach everyone.  For those who are on carrier locked devices like those on T-Mobile and AT&T, the roll out starts next Tuesday, May 3rd.

Google has finally rolled out an update to Gmail that brings support for Exchange to the masses.  The update is rolling out to the Google Play Store now and you should see the update come to you via OTA update over the course of the next few days.  Once you do, you will be able to add an Exchange server to the app, unifying your inbox with your Gmail and other mail services.  Gmail to this point has only offered Exchange support on Nexus devices which mean that corporate users had to use multiple apps to deal with their email.