Tag: Google

When it comes to video calls on any app, the question for many is just how much data is this app consuming?  In the case of Google Duo, it isn’t much for what you are getting.  Google’s Justin Uberti, a principle engineer with the company and the technical lead on Duo, Tweeted that in the case of the video calling app, it consumes about 8MB per minute.

Current usage for video calls when on cell data is about 8 MB/min, similar to Netflix ‘medium’ quality.

— Justin Uberti (@juberti) July 22, 2017

That means that a 5 minute call is going to consume roughly 40MB of your data plan while an hour long call would be roughly 480MB.  So is that a lot?  Well, not really for the quality of the calls that Duo produces.

Yesterday, Google Calendar had a nice update drop in the Play Store.  The problem is, if you only read the release notes, you would have had no idea that a great new feature in the app.  That feature, the ability to drag & drop appointments to new days and times, was not mentioned in the release notes.  At all.  In fact, the release notes are from some four months ago.

The problem is that users of apps on Android need those release notes to know what they are getting in the update.  Be it a new feature or even a little bit of detail around what was fixed if it is a maintenance release would go along way.  Instead, users are dependent on sites like ClintonFitch.com and others to dive into the updates as soon as they drop or do APK tear downs to find out what’s new.  Believe me, I appreciate you coming and finding out what is new in a release but really, should it be such a guessing game?  No, I don’t think so.

If you use the Pixel launcher or the Google app on your Android phone, you will have noted a few changes recently to the feed in apps.  The feed, which rolled out with the Google Now launcher, has slowly been improved to provide you more accurate or interesting information to you based on your habits.  Today, Google has pushed the big red button and with a server-side update, everyone’s feed is now showing these improvements.

Inside the Google app, you will see a much improved lists of articles and topics that are potentially of interest to you.  They did this by heavily leaning on Artificial Intelligence to bubble up things that you may find of interest based on other articles you have read or other interactions with Google along with local information on events happening around you.

There is a new update to Google Daydream that brings a wealth of updates and improvements.  The new build is version 1.7 for those keeping score at home and it is rolling out in the Play Store now.  If you have a Google Pixel device or a Huawei Mate 9, you’ll want to pick up this update once it comes to you via an OTA update.

Overall, Daydream Home in the app has been redesigned to give you quick access to content and experiences.  It doesn’t look much different than the previous build but there is much more content in the top carousel than in the previous release.

Project Fi has had a pretty solid week.  Earlier in the week it was announced that those with G Suite domains can now subscribe to the MVNO service from Google.  Then yesterday, on Twitter, Fi announced that lower cost, mid-range phones will be coming later this year that will support it.

We hear you loud and clear. Keep an eye out for a new Fi-compatible device at a mid-tier price from one of our partners later this year. https://t.co/74U3bq16pa

— Project Fi (@projectfi) June 29, 2017

This is fantastic news for those who are considering moving from their carrier to Fi as it means that you will have options beyond the Google Pixel and Pixel XL which are currently the only production phones that support it. The Nexus 6, Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X also support it if you can find one and all three are at a lower cost than a Pixel.

Google has released an update to Google WiFi that, along with the latest firmware for your WiFi or OnHub devices, will allow you to enable IPv6 to your ISP.  For those who are not familiar with IPv6, it is a more advanced version of IPv4 (which you are likely using now) that uses 128-bit addressing of devices.  The theory is you can get more devices on the Internet because there is significantly more IP addresses available with v6.  The lack of IPv6 has been a contention point for many who use Google WiFi or OnHub as it is more secure and is somewhat of a checkbox requirement for a contemporary network device.

The update to bring IPv6 is a combination of firmware for the physical device itself, which is build 9460.40, and the updated app which is in the Play Store.