Category: Android

Google has begun rolling out a significant update to Google Play Services for Android that has a significant number of fixes and improvements for users.  The updated build is version 8.7.03 for those keeping score at home and should be hitting your compatible device in the next few days.  So what exactly is Google Play Services?  Think of it as the glue that binds your phone to Google Play so you can authenticate and update apps and services on your phone.  It’s not sexy but it is important and when it doesn’t play nice in the sandbox, it can make things a bit challenging.

OnePlus this morning announced that the latest update to their OxygenOS platform for the OnePlus 2 has been released.  The update brings the Android based OS up to version 2.2.1 for those keeping score at home and will be pushed to devices via an OTA update.  For those who may not be familiar with it, OxygenOS is OnePlus’ homespun version of Android with several customized tweaks to suite their flagship device.  The company has been moving away from Cyanogen, which they originally released with the OnePlus One, as they want more control over the Android experience.

One of the challenges of today’s smartphones is… their camera. Yes, you heard me right.  The cameras in many of today’s phones are amazingly good, fast and because our phones are always with us, gives us the freedom to snap a photo whenever and wherever we want.  The challenge of course is that your phone doesn’t have unlimited storage and at some point you will have to clear off some photos from the device to get some space back for apps and other data.  If you are a user of Google Photos, there is a built in tool that makes this easy and worry free.

In this How To I’m going to go over the Free Up Space feature in Google Photos for Android and for iOS.  I’ll walk you through how to access it and what it does exactly with the photos on your phone.

In his second How To and troubleshooting video in as many weeks, Google Photos Top Contributor Scott Peachey has put together a great video outlining the various steps you can take when you can’t find photos in Google Photos.  The 8:30 video covers a wide range of things to investigate and research on your device if you can’t find some photos or if you can’t find any photos.  Even if you have not had the issue yourself, it is well worth watching this video so you can avoid some of the pitfalls that Scott and other contributors, me included, see often in the forums.

Google has begun a limited roll out of their new apps and service, Hands Free.  The testing area is limited to a select number of retailers and for those who live or work in the South Bay area, just south of San Francisco, California.  Generally it covers Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Jose and Palo Alto.  The idea, as the name suggests, is that you can complete a purchase completely hands free – no phone or smartwatch in your hand or on your wrist required.  The app utilizes Bluetooth to communicate between the point-of-sale terminal and your phone in your pocket.

For you Android users of Google Photos, there is a new update rolling out to the Google Play Store that brings a lot of nice UI tweaks.  The update you are looking for is version 1.15 for those keeping score at home and it should be coming to you via an OTA update (if you have it installed) over the course of the next day or two.  Once you get the update, you are going to see some of the changes immediately.  First, on the Assistant page, you will see a new Create New scroll bar at the top.  This puts things like creating an Album, Collage, Animation or Movie a tap away.  In previous builds these were off of the menu and a few taps away.