Tag: App Update

Microsoft has begun rolling out an update to Next Lock Screen for Android phones that brings a lot of new improvements and features.  Probably the biggest new feature in the version 2.7 release is the ability to swipe down and search (via Bing or Google) right from the lock screen.  This makes searching for things faster and easier as you don’t necessarily have to unlock your phone every time to search for something.

This update also brings customization to the layout of apps page in the app.  Now you can select 4×5 or 4×6 for your app layout to give you the number of apps you want to see and quickly access.

Microsoft has begun rolling out a nice update to OneNote, bringing several fixes along with some key updates for those with accessibilities needs.  In the update, users can now have alternative text on images and embedded files in a page.  That means for those who cannot see images, they can have alternative text which can be read to them by recognition software.  This has been a common practice in web design for many years (in fact, every image on ClintonFitch.com has alternative text) and it is good to see it come to a productivity app like OneNote for those who need it.

That’s not the only change of course.  There is now the ability to view images outside of OneNote itself.  Now when you tap on an image in a note, you can choose to open that in another app to view that image.  To this point, once you embedded an image, you had to view it within OneNote.  Also, related to this, you can view embedded files outside of OneNote too.

Google Maps has long had the ability for users to attach photos to locations like hotels and restaurants.  The idea is to give your fellow Maps user an idea of what that particular place looks like before they book it.  Now there is an improvement to this around hotels that users will find quite handy.  The latest update brings a dedicated photos gallery of rooms at a particular hotel.  Now you don’t have to go through all of the photos for a particular property.  You can just select the Rooms tab and it will show you pictures of the rooms.

The updated build is version 9.41.1 for those keeping score at home and the OTA update is rolling out now.  You should see it hit your device over the course of the next few days.

There is a nice behind-the-scenes update coming to Google Allo that brings a smart emoji feature and stickers for the new movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them stickers that you can share with friends.  The updates are rolling out now and it could take a day or two before everyone sees them.  The first update, smart emoji, is pretty slick.  As you start typing, you can tap the Smart Smiley in the keyboard and it will give you suggested emoji for your message.  Even if you haven’t started typing, it will suggest emoji based on the context of your conversation (thank you Google Assistant and Machine Learning!).  The idea, of course, is to save time by using emoji but also to get you the right emoji for the conversation.

Joining the ranks of Facebook Messenger, Microsoft Skype and Google Hangouts, WhatsApp has finally added video calling to the popular messaging app.  The update comes after several weeks in beta testing and the service will be using parent company Facebook’s data centers for the video calling functionality.  The updated version of the Android and iOS app will be rolling out over the course of the next few days.

In order for video calls to work, both parties in the call will have to be running the latest version of the app so it make take a few days for all of your contacts to get the update – thus being able to make video calls.

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.