Tag: App Update

If there has been one criticism of the Essential Phone, it has been the camera and the camera app.  Frankly, it was a hot mess when the phone was released but the company has been making huge strides in updating both the firmware and software to improve photos from the phone.  Today, they are getting a little better.

There is an update to the Essential Camera app in the Play Store that brings a lot of fixes as well as Auto-HDR support.  The update is version 0.1.096.003 and a lot of work has gone into it around HDR in general.

There is a new update for the Android Messages app for Android rolling out in the Play Store today.  Frankly there isn’t anything very interesting about the update from a user perspective but what is in the code is quite interesting.  It appears that there is code now in the app that would allow for a Allo-like web experience for Messages.  This could allow for sending and receiving of text messages from your desktop.

The code was discovered by the team over at Android Police in a tear down of the new version of the app.  It appears that, like Allo, you will scan a QR code to sync your computer with your phone and be able to send and receive messages on both.  This feature isn’t something new.  Google Hangouts still has this feature if you are a Project Fi user and use Hangouts as your SMS app (SMS in Hangouts isn’t supported anymore outside of Fi).  Instead, it would be a return of a feature and that is a great thing.

Microsoft OneNote, the company’s note taking app, has a new update rolling out that brings a number of improvements for users.  The new build is version 16.0.9001.2134 for those keeping score at home and has been released to the Play Store.  This update likely brings something for everyone as it is pretty comprehensive.

First, there is a new lasso tool, which allows for you to select ink drawings and other content on your page in a much easier and more controllable way.  The lasso tool on the desktop version of Microsoft OneNote always worked well but it hasn’t been in the mobile version up to this point.  Now you have feature parity, on the lasso at least, across all devices.

A new update to the Google WiFi app is rolling out in the Play Store today, bringing a somewhat minor change:  App Shortcuts.  The update is build BV10144 for those keeping score at home and should land on everyones account over the course of the next few days.

Once updated, you can long press the app icon and access to features of the Google WiFi app.  First, you can test your Internet access to see your overall connection speed to your ISP.  Second, you can open up the Family WiFi feature of the app, allowing you to quickly pause devices without having to jump through the menus within the app itself to do so.

A new update to Outlook for Android is rolling out in the Play Store that brings a key new feature:  The ability to resize image attachments prior to sending your email.  The update is version 2.2.95 for those keeping score at home and should land on everyone’s Play Store account over the course of the next few days.

After you update, when you attach an image file to an email, you will have the option to keep the image its original size or to reduce its size for faster sending of that email.

Last month, Google announced that they were going to be releasing an update to Google Play Services to address a network issues caused by the service.  The issue would essentially flood your home network with packets as your phone would continually try to connect to Chromecast devices on it – your Chromecast and Google Home devices specifically.

The update, at the time, rolled out into the beta for Play Services but today is rolling out to everyone.  The new build is version 11.9.75 and should be coming to devices over the course of the next few days.