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Version 3.0 of Android Messages, Google’s SMS app, has started rolling out in the Google Play Store today.  While it doesn’t sport a lot of changes, mostly bug fixes and performance improvements, it does drop support for Android KitKat.

KitKat was released back in October 2013 so dropping support for the now 4 year and a bit year old version is not entirely shocking and it fits with Google upping the minimum supported API level in other apps.  Frankly, at this point nobody should be using KitKat purely from a security perspective.

After being announced late last month that they would be coming soon, Google has finally rolled out Routines for Google Assistant.  The six routines allow you to perform certain tasks and get information all with one “Hey, Google” command on your Google Home device or your Android phone.  They are designed to make the experience more personal but also more helpful by not having to give Assistant multiple commands to get information.

In all there are six Routines that rolled out today:

• Good Morning
• Bedtime
• Leaving home
• I’m home
• Commuting to work
• Commuting home

It should be noted that both of the Commuting routines are only for your smartphone and won’t work on your Google Home.

After several weeks of beta testing, the Android Oreo 8.1 update for the Essential Phone has been released.  The update, some 1.7GB in size, is available to everyone so you should be able to check for the update and download it.

The update comes after the announcement early this year that the company would be abandoning the 8.0 build of Oreo due to stability issues and would focus on 8.1.  That process, fortunately, did not take long.  In fact, the first beta of Oreo 8.1 for the Essential PH-1 was released just last month.

A new update to the Google Movies & TV app for Android is rolling out that brings some UI changes as well as improved integration with Rotten Tomatoes ratings on movies.  The new build is version 4.2 for those keeping score at home and should be rolling out to everyone over the course of the next few days.

The most noticeable change to the Movies & TV app after this update is the new bottom navigation in the app.  This falls in line with other Google apps and is the overall trend they have going on for Android.  That navigation has also been slimmed down with tabs for Home, Library and Watchlist only.