Category: Google

Google has released an update to the Google Play Music app for Android that brings several key bug fixes that many users struggled with in the app.  Chief amongst those issues and now resolved is a bug which would prevent all of your music library appearing on your devices.  I personally ran into this one and am certainly glad to see it resolved.  The update is build 6.0.1950S for those keeping score at home and is available now in the Google Play Store.  If you use Google Play Music for your streaming music or music library playing & syncing, I highly recommend you get this update.

Google Play Music – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now

The Google News & Weather app is one of those apps that doesn’t get a huge amount of airtime but it is actually a pretty good little app.  Curating news from over 65,000 sources, it gives you one touch access to headlines, sports, financial and world news quick and easy.  It is also pretty customizable to the content you are interested in seeing and this latest update, version 2.3 for those keeping score at home, brings one new feature that has been missing for a long time from the app:  Push Notifications for important news events.  As one who uses the app, it is a great new feature and for those who haven’t given it a go, it is certainly worth a look for your Android phone or tablet.

Google News & Weather app – Free – Download Now

Google Fit, the activity tracking app that uses the GPS and accelerators in your Android Phone, has been updated with a raft of new features and functionality.  Chief amongst those updates is a new Home Screen Widget where you can quickly see your progress towards your daily fitness goals. The latest update is build 1.52.44-000 for those keeping score at home and it is certainly worth the update for those who use or are considering using the app.  If you aren’t familiar with it, Google Fit allows you to easily and accurately (especially with this update) track your steps, miles you have walked or run along with other activities which you can select to keep track of your activity levels.  While it isn’t going to give you the granular detail of say a Fitbit or Up!, it is certainly a great and free way to track your activity levels for a healthier lifestyle.

Google Fit for Android – Free – Download Now

Google has released an update to the Google Keyboard app for Android, the keyboard replacement app for phones and tablets.  Keyboard, like Google Messenger and Google Camera, are apps that Google has been harvesting out of Lollipop and releasing as stand alone apps.  As I posted a few weeks ago, this is great for the platform and apps like Keyboard gives everyone the opportunity to try it out without having to worry about Lollipop on their devices.  Personally I’m a big fan of Google Keyboard and highly recommend it.  This latest update, build 4.1.22123.2053724 for those keeping score at home, brings a lot of improvements on typing accuracy as well as significantly improved auto completion of words if you use the gesture typing the keyboard offers.

Google Keyboard – Free – Download Now

Google has issued an update to the Google Maps app for Android, bringing with it the ability to send Google Maps search results on your PC to your mobile.  It gives you the best of both worlds: Search on your larger display PC then have that result show up on your mobile device.  The best part is you don’t really have to do anything to make all this work.  This new version, build 9.11.0 for those keeping score at home, is for both Android Phone and Android Tablet powered devices.

Google Maps – Free – Download Now

The Google Drive for Android app has been updated with several new features and improvements, mostly aimed at making file sharing and downloading of files easier and quicker.  The update is free and available now in the Google Play Store and users will immediately notice the changes in the app.  For those keeping score at home, this new version of Google Drive is build (wait for it) 2.2.233.30.35.  Because, easy build number convention. 🙂

Google Drive for Android – Free – Download Now