Category: Android

Just a month after hitting the 1 million download mark, Microsoft Launcher has now pushed passed 10 million downloads according to the Google Play Store.  It is an incredible download increase rate and while downloads don’t necessarily reflect day-to-day users, clearly there are people downloading it to at the very least try it out.

2017 has been an incredible year for Microsoft Launcher.  It was rebranded from Arrow Launcher in the summer and with that came a significant rebuild of the app that made it more customizable and user friendly.  Those tweaks continue as earlier this month the update to version 4.3 brought more customizing that users can do.

I have contended for quite some time, including in my review, that this launcher is likely the best out there for readers who are entrenched in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Last week I published a list of Android Wear watches that would be seeing the Android Oreo update.  At the time of that post, only a handful of watches had started to see the update being pushed down to them via an OTA.

What a difference a week makes.

Google has updated the list on their site and now 15 of the 30 watches slated to get the update how have it rolling out.  It is a very fast roll out for a big update like this.  Here are the Android Wear watches that now have Oreo coming to them via an OTA update:

• Fossil Q Venture
• LG Watch Sport
• Louis Vuitton Tambour
• Michael Kors Sofie
• Montblanc Summit
• Hugo BOSS BOSS Touch
• Movado Connect
• Tommy Hilfiger 24/7 You
• Guess Connect
• Gc Connect
• Fossil Q Founder 2.0
• Fossil Q Marshal
• Fossil Q Wander
• Michael Kors Access Bradshaw
• Michael Kors Access Dylan

As for those watches that are slated to get it but haven’t seen it yet, they are after the break.

Google Gboard, the keyboard app that is now native on a wide range of Android phones, has a big update rolling out this morning.  The update is version 6.8 for those keeping score but given the number of improvements and changes, this really feels like a major “dot oh” release.

The headline new feature for the app is Handwriting input support.  Now you can use a stylus or your finger to write instead of typing on the QWERTY keyboard.  Previously, to use handwriting input, you had to have a separate app.  If you are wanting to have this new input method in your install of Gboard, you will need to make sure you enable it.

To enable, open up the Gboard app settings and then tap on the Languages section.  At the bottom, tap the “Add Keyboard” button then tap on English (US).  The first option you see should be a Handwriting keyboard.  Select it then tap the Add button.  This will now make it an option on the keyboard.

Now to an app where you would type and you should see a globe icon on the keyboard next to the space button.  Tap that icon and you should alternate between your normal keyboard and the handwriting panel.

Blackberry has announced that the Blackberry PRIV, the first Android based device the company released two years ago, will no longer be seeing regular updates.  The news isn’t shocking and fits with what most manufactures, including Google, do when it comes to software updates.  Most only go out 24 months from release of the device.

For their part, Blackberry is doing their best to spin the news, indicating that they made the PRIV more secure out-of-the-box and it needed less patching anyway.  They also indicated that they will be providing updates should a critical security flaw be discovered and that warranty support is still provided.

One of the better kept secrets of services from Google is Google Flights.  The web app allows you to search for flights and find the lowest price for your travel.  Now Google has taken it a bit further by adding Machine Learning to the service.

Using Machine Learning, Google Flights will now give you trend information on flights you are searching in a new section, Flight Insights.  As the company stated in the release:

Using machine learning and statistical analysis of historical flights data, Flights displays tips under your search results, and you can scroll through them to figure out when it’s best to book flights

The new feature is great because you can see a graph that allows you to see what flight costs over a four day window.  This way, if your travel is flexible by a day or two, you could end up saving yourself hundreds of dollars on your airfare.  You will also see a notification on the Flights site if fares for the trip you are looking into are lower than normal – thus it might be the time to buy that flight.

It has taken a few weeks but the ability to elevate a call within Google Phone to Google Duo has now rolled out to everyone.  The feature allows you to switch a phone call from a voice only call to a video call with a touch of a button within the Phone app.  But, as you would suspect, there is a catch.

First, you and the person you are calling has to be using the latest Google Phone app and the latest Google Duo app.  The latter of these isn’t so tough as you can download it from the Play Store.  The former, however, isn’t so easy.  Many manufactures have their own phone apps and you can’t install the Google app.

Assuming you can get past the apps issue, the other gotcha is that both you and the calling party have to have Duo installed and registered with the mobile number you are calling.  It is only under these circumstances that you’ll see the video call option in the Phone app.