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We all know how powerful Google search is on our devices.  Whether it is by voice or by typing in a search request in the Search bar or in Chrome, getting to information is quick and easy and makes finding out things on the go simple.  But did you know that you can also do a search via the camera built into your Android phone?  It is a feature that has been there since Marshmallow and for a while was limited to the Google Now launcher.  That has gone away and whether you are on a device using the Google camera app or not, it works.  In fact, I tested it out on three different launchers (Google Now, Nextbit Launcher, Action Launcher) and all three allow you to do this type of searching.  I’m assuming it works with any combination but if you find a launcher or camera app which it doesn’t work, let me know so I can update this post.

Google has announced that a major overhaul of their music streaming service, Google Play Music, is rolling out this week.  The update will bring a significant change to the user interface of the app but there are also a lot of changes happening behind the scenes to make a better overall experience.  What the company is doing is building in Google’s machine learning into the app.  The idea is for it to learn the music you like as well as when you listen to certain types of music so it can make better and more accurate suggestions.

Google Play Music uses machine learning to figure out what music you like and then mixes in signals like location, activity, and the weather along with hand-picked playlists to personalize music for wherever you are and whenever you want tunes. Starting this week on Android, iOS and the web, the new experience will roll out globally (62 countries, to be precise).

This should sound pretty familiar.  Google has been in the process of injecting their machine learning into all of their apps and services over the course of the past year with the aim to have their apps and devices understand you better.  While we tend to think of machine learning in big contextual things (like Google Home for example), having it in straight forward apps like Google Play Music will bring a much richer experience to users too.

For those of you who use Mint for managing your household budgets and finances, there is a nice update out for you this morning.  The update, version 4.14 for those keeping score at home, brings support for fingerprint authentication.  Mint joins an ever increasing number of apps that support fingerprint authentication as it for the most part will be safer than PINs or passwords.  The new feature is not enabled by default and, as expected, you won’t see it as an option if you have the app installed on a phone that doesn’t have a fingerprint scanner.  To enable it, go to Settings>Security and there is a new checkbox to enable it.  The next time you start up Mint, you will be prompted to scan your fingerprint to get into your financial information.

Today’s Deal is on your choice of external battery packs from RAVPower.  Over at Amazon, they have three different models ranging from $19.49 up to $37.49 but all are anywhere from 51 to 63% off the regular price.  The 12000 mAh model has dual USB ports and 2.4A of output for $19.49.  This is the new model of this pack which is 20% smaller and 15% lighter than the previous model.  It will give you 3 charges of a Galaxy S7, has a combined 3.4A output (2.4A max each) on its dual USB charging ports and has RAVPower’s iSmart technology for fast, safe and efficient charging of your devices.  This pack is also using the lates Li-Polymer technology for higher performance and better protection against short circuits and over-charging.  At $19.49, this is a solid deal.

Next up is the 16750mAh model that also has dual USB ports but higher total energy output.  This $23.99 model can charge a Galaxy S7 3.5 times and claimed to have the hight output of any external pack on the market in this capacity.  It features 4.5A of total output which makes it capable of charging 2 tablets at the same time.  It too features batteries that have over 500 charge cycles, have short-circuit and over-current protection to keep you and your device safe.  Normally this model is $41, so at $23.99 you are saving about 61%.