Tag: App Update

The Google WiFi app for Android has had an update rollout today that brings a great new feature for scheduling access time for certain devices.  Named Scheduled Pause, the new feature allows you to schedule times in which devices that you select are not able to gain WiFi access.  This is a great feature for parents who can block network access to their children’s phones or tablets while it is homework time or after bedtime.  While it won’t block things like 4G data use, it can at least give some control over the WiFi network in the house.

Once you have a schedule setup, you don’t have to do anything to enable it.  It runs and ends at the defined time you selected when setting it up and only impacts the devices you put on the list as being subject to that schedule.

Project Fi subscribers, there is a small update rolling out for the app that should be hitting your phones in the next few days.  The update is build N.3.3.19 for those keeping score and it brings with it some minor updates and improvements.  Perhaps the most noteworthy update according to the Fi User Forums moderators post is more flexibility to notify users from inside the app.  What this means exactly wasn’t explained but I can assume it means that there are improved notifications or different types of notifications coming from the Fi app than previously.  I’ve already received the update but I’ve not seen any noticable changes in notifications or how it functions.

Along with this, fixes for app crashes have been applied in this update as well as, “Minor polishes to the account management experience”.  Again, having looked at this, I’m not seeing a change.  If you are a subscriber to Google’s MVNO and see a change, let me know (I’ll update this post with proper credit).

Microsoft Cortana, the company’s digital assistant, has been updated for Android with the ability to interact with it from your lock screen.  Two weeks ago, Cortana was updated for Android adding the ability to have it on your lock screen.  From there, you could access your calendar, news and other information.  What you could not do, however, was interact with it by voice.  That has now changed.

With the version 2.6 update, which is rolling out now, you can ask Cortana questions just as you can when your device is unlocked and you tap the Cortana button.  You can ask the service a question, set a reminder for a task or event from your lock screen.

Chrome for Android has a small update rolling out for users of the browser.  The update remains in the Chrome 57 train, with the version number updated to 57.0.2987.126.  The update is a minor one and mainly focuses on addressing a crash issue that some users were experiencing.  If you have been experiencing stability issues with the browser on your Android device, this update hopefully will address those issues for you.

In addition, the Chrome team indicated in the release notes that some improvements around CSS and performance regressions are in this update with the crash fix.

Google Trips has seen its second update this week, bringing two new features that users will appreciate.  First, you now have the ability to manually add hotel and airline reservations to a trip.  Previously, there was no way to do this and the only way to get reservations into a trip was by having it automatically added via Gmail.  Now when you go into a trip within the app, you will see a FAB (Floating Action Button) which will now let you add flight and hotel information.

The other big change in this update is that Google Trips will now watch your Gmail for bus and train travel and add those automatically to your trips.  This expands the apps ability in searching Gmail as previously only hotel and airline information was automatically added.

Google has announced that a new backup feature is rolling out for Google Photos.  The update will be for both Android and iOS and will offer users the ability to backup low-resolution copies of their photos while they are on a slow mobile network.  The photos, which will look fine on smartphone screen, will be replaced by a High Quality version of the photo once a stable Wi-Fi connection is established on your phone.

The feature is aimed at users who do not have a high throughput mobile signal.  This gives users the option to have photos backed up so in case something happens to their phone, they will not have lost the photos.  To this point, backing up in Google Photos on mobile networks was done at full original or Google’s compressed High Quality.  Those can take a lot of time to backup on a slow connection.