Tag: Google

Google+ has a new update rolling out for the community network on both Android and iOS.  The update brings a new advanced search function to the apps, much like the search functionality of Google Search itself.  In this new update, you will be able to use search operators to do specific searches within Google+

Google has already built a guide for these new search functions on the support site which will outline in detail how they can be used.  Some of these new functions include:

• From:  To identify a post from a G+ users
• Has:  Has an attachment such as an image or Google Doc file
• Before:  Before a specific date
• After:  After a specific date
• Commenter:  Search for a specific commenter on a specific post

As you can see, you can get quite specific in your searching to pinpoint a specific post or person.

Google Lens began a general rollout less than a month ago and at the time I said it felt futuristic and had a huge amount of potential.  Indeed, looking back on 2017, I thing that Lens could be one of the most significant product releases by Google for the year – or will prove to be in the coming 12 months.

Google’s Rajan Patel, the lead engineer for Google Lens, took to Twitter yesterday and highlighted some of the areas in which we are going to see Lens improve and grow in the coming months.

Shopping (apparel, home goods, etc) in the works. Natural world (flora and fauna) improvements coming. Team just sent me an amazing new OCR model. Experimental AR experiences coming as well…

— Rajan Patel (@rajanpatel) December 9, 2017

Before readers get too excited, it should be noted that Mr. Patel gave no indication on when we will see these new features and functionalities within Lens.  That said, it is exciting to read that Google is thinking about where to take the app & service next.  Truly exciting stuff!

Google has made a small but significant change to the way that Google Pixel devices measure estimated battery life.  The update replaces a simple model that was on the devices that could produce some wildly inaccurate measurements and results.

The news of the update came via the Pixel Product Help Site and essentially, the new model now looks at how you actually use your phone rather than making estimates based on your previous hour of usage.  Before this change, if you used 10% of your battery in an hour, the model would assume that you would continue to use your batter at a 10% per hour clip.  This resulted in some discrepancies if you went above or below that 10% rate.  The change to the model gives more personalized results.

To fix this, we built an on-device model that evaluates how you use your phone’s battery over time. Your phone looks at your battery usage on similar days and times, and uses that to predict your battery life in a personalized way.

The cool thing is, this is all a cloud-side change that Google pushed out so if you have a Pixel device, you likely already have this change in place.

Another great Black Friday deal that is going on at Amazon is on the Google WiFi mesh network access points.  Right now you can pick up the single unit for $99, a savings a $30.  If you need the 3-Pack, you save $50.  It is down to $249 today.

The question for most is which one do you need?  If you have a home or apartment that is 1500 square feet or less, the single should do the job for you.  No need to overbuy but if you have a multi-story home or an older home, it may not give you the coverage you need.  That is my case in my mid-70’s home.  Over that and up to 4500 square feet, the 3-Pack is what you need for your home.  That is also on sale at $269.  The nice thing is, if you get a single and add more later, it is easy to add the new ones to the network via the Google WiFi app on your Android phone or iPhone.

With it being the Monday of the first full week of the month, Google’s Android team has released the November Android Security Update today.  The full version for those who want to manually flash their devices as well as the OTA incremental updates are now both available.  Users of eligible Pixel devices and Nexus devices can expect the update to hit their devices in the coming days.

Normally the Android Security Update patches consist of two patches but for November, there are three.  The first patch, dated November 1st, contains 11 fixes as does the second, November 5th patch.  Like previous months, the patch for the 1st contains system level fixes while the one for the 5th contains driver and device specific fixes for the Pixel and Nexus devices.

The third patch, dated November 6th, contains nine fixes which are aimed at fixing WiFi vulnerabilities.

Google Pixel devices will be getting the November 5th update as they have already received the WiFi fixes.

You can read all of the details in the Security Bulletin for this month’s releases.

Google has begun rolling out an improved look to the overflow menus in the Google app for Android.  The update is a server-side change, meaning that as long as you have the latest version of the app on your phone, it will be pushed down behind the scenes to your phone.

That latest version is 7.13.28.21 for those keeping score at home.

Previously, when you were looking at cards in the Google app or in the Google Pixel or Now Launcher page, you would get a pop-up card on the display when you wanted to dismiss a card.  Now, when you tap the three vertical dots in the right-hand corner of any card, you get a bottom-up card.  It looks much cleaner and refined over the pop-up card.