Tag: App Update

Chrome build 61 was widely released yesterday for the desktop browser as well as for Android.  The new build for Android is 61.0.3163.81 for those keeping score at home and brings a lot of fixes, improvements and a few new features.

On the new feature front, there are two noted in the release notes from Google.  First, the translated pages in Chrome has a more compact and intuitive toolbar.  This will give a bit more reading room on those translated pages.  Second, the image picker in Build 61 is improved.  This will make it easier to pick images that you want to post via the browser.

The latest update to Google Photos is rolling out and bringing a new local video caching feature so you don’t have to stream videos in your library.  The update, version 3.4 for those keeping score at home, will cache a video after you have played it and, when you replay it, will use that local cached version of the video so you are not eating up your data plan to stream it from your online account.

The feature is purely aimed at saving mobile data, something that Google is continually working on across their apps as they try to expand them into parts of the world here mobile data is expensive.

Microsoft’s personal assistant, Microsoft Cortana, has a new update rolling out in the beta channel this morning.  The new beta build is version 2.9.3 and while it doesn’t bring new features, it does bring a lot of performance improvements and stability to the app.

The update outlines three key areas of focus in the release notes:

• Improved app performance
• Stabilized the app
• Fixed several crash bugs

While that isn’t overly exciting, the fact is that Microsoft has been working pretty hard on getting Cortana solid for Android.  Having tested out this new beta build this morning, I can say it is much faster than the current stable channel build and seems to be far more reliable.

The Android apps team over at Microsoft has been busy and has rolled out another update to the popular Microsoft To-Do app.  This is the second update to this app this month and more-or-less is a package of refinements on the new features that were introduced earlier this month.

The updated build is version 1.12.32 for those keeping score at home.  If you have the app already installed on your Android phone or tablet, the update should come to you over the course of the next few days via an OTA update.  For those who haven’t installed it, you can download it free from the Play Store.

This update focuses on refinements.  In the last update, the ability to search notes came to the app but with this update, To-Do will now show you the titled of a To-Do title of a particular note.  In other words, it makes finding all of your notes in Microsoft To-Do a bit more reliable.

Google has begun rolling out an update to Google Contacts for Android that brings it to non-Google devices.  The update, version 2.1 for those keeping score at home, will allow users running Android Lollipop or later to install the app and use it as your contacts app on your phone.  Like many other Google apps, Contacts was limited to the Nexus and Pixel lineup to a large extent but Google has been relaxing this as of late.

If you have Google Contacts installed, the OTA update to this new version should be on your phone in the next few days.  For those who want to download it and have a compatible device, you can get it in the Play Store.

Along with the support for more devices, there are also some new features in this update.

Microsoft has released a significant update to the task management app, Microsoft To-Do, for Android.  The updated build is version 1.11.29 for those keeping score at home and brings some nice improvements and new features.

First, and for those who have managed accounts (like Office 365) you can now add those accounts to To-Do.  Previously, the app would only work with @Outlook.com or @Hotmail.com accounts which was fine, but if you want to have all of your information within your Office 365 account, you couldn’t do it.  In order for this feature to work, you must have To-Do enabled on your account which is something that your administrator will need to do if you can’t sign in with your managed account credentials.  Also keep in mind that if you are adding a managed account, permissions to your Contacts will be required for it to work properly.

The ability to integrate with Office 365 accounts was something that the company said would be coming when the announced the original preview of Microsoft To-Do back in April.