Tag: App Update

Microsoft has rolled out another update to OneDrive for Android, bringing the ability to mark folders available for offline use.  The updated build is version 4.12 for those keeping score and is out in the Play Store now.  Expect the update to hit your devices over the course of the new few days.  The new offline folder feature is available for Office 365 Personal, Home and Solo users currently with support for work and education accounts “will be rolled out soon!”.  When is soon?  That’s not clear but given Microsoft’s consistent updating of their Android apps, likely not very long.

But not all is lost in this update for work and education users of OneDrive.  This update brings an updated design to the Discovery view which now gives you access to a feed of the most relevant content across your company or campus.

Google Express, the shopping app with next day delivery for subscribers, has been updated with several changes.  The biggest new feature is the ability to invite friends and family to add items to your Shopping Lists.  Items can be added to these shared lists via your phone (the app), computer or by speaking to Google Home.  As you may recall, the Google Assistant shopping list feature of Home moved on Monday from Google Keep to Google Express.  That has irked more than a few Home users who didn’t want to have to install another app to manage shopping lists.  Deeper though, it makes sense as all shopping and shopping lists are now in Express and not in both Express (if you used it) and Keep.  Your mileage, of course, will vary.

Another big part of this update is the deprecation of support for Android Jelly Bean.  That version of Android was released nearly 5 years ago and continues to fall in usage based on the Android Distribution Report.  With regards to Express, the app won’t run on a device running Jelly Bean.

Google Photos version 2.13 is rolling out right now in the Google Play Store and with it comes a new video stabilization feature.  The new feature allows you to post-process videos you have shot and uploaded to the service to give your videos a more stable look.  This, my friends, is Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence at its best.  Using ML and AI, Photos is analyzing your video and essentially correcting the video at the pixel level.  It is astonish that it can sort it out and even more astonishing that you have this in the app.  A free app.

The new feature is located on the edit menu when you select a video from your Google Photos library.  Once you have the video open, you will see a new stabilize button.  Tap it and Photos will start processing the video and smoothing it out.

Google Text-to-speech is not an app you probably do a lot of tweaking on but it is an important foundational app for Android.  The app essentially serves as an engine for other apps so they can read text on the screen aloud to you.  For example, if you are in Google Play Books and want the app to read aloud a book, this is the app that makes the magic happen.  Or Google Translate to translate text.  So when an update comes out for it, it is important to get it.  The latest update to Google Text-to-speech is rolling out now and it is version 3.11.12 for those keeping score at home.  It comes with several new tweaks for users as well as new languages.

First, let’s cover the languages.  In this update, support for Bangla (India, Czech, Khmer, Napali, Sinhala and Ukrainian have been added to the engine.  Along with this, Google has added intonation control over several more voices that are in the engine and have made general improvements on many of the voices in the app.  Google did not specifically call out which languages were impacted by these latter two.

In the latest update to the Netflix app for Android, there is a new and simpler rating system for content.  Gone are the up to 5 star ratings that users could give a television show, movie or Netflix original content.  Instead, it has been replaced with a thumbs up or thumbs down rating.  That’s it.  No middle ground.  It has become a binary “Did you like it or not?”  rating.

As you can guess, I’m not a fan.

I understand what the streaming content provider wants to do.  They want to make it less complicated for you to potentially try a TV show or movie.  Think about it: How many 3-star shows have you skipped over only to go back and watch it because it was recommended to you by a friend?  I know I’ve done it probably dozens of times over the years as a Netflix customer.  Which is exactly why they are getting rid of it.

Microsoft OneNote for Android has a new update that is rolling out which brings a handful of new features to the note taking app.  Perhaps the biggest new feature in the app is the ability to share a page with others.  If you are running Android Marshmallow or later, you can use the Share a Page feature from the Share pane so you can share your notes with others more quickly.  There is also an improved web clipper for Android in this release.  While it is still considered a Preview (translation:  beta) feature, it will allow you to capture anything on your store it in OneNote.

Along with these updates, there is improved Cut/Copy/Paste support along with the ability to access formatting tools quickly through the improved commanding bar in the app.