Tag: Google

Google has launched an all new personal security app, Google Trusted Contacts.  As the name suggests, Trusted Contacts allows you to designate friends or family contacts as trusted where you can send them your location information or they can request it in case of an emergency.  The app allows your friends or family to see your activity, including your location and online activity, and determine if you are okay.  If they have not heard from you for a while, they can request your location information.  If you reply or deny the request, your contacts are notified that you are okay.  If you don’t respond within 5 minutes however, your location is automatically sent to your designated contacts so they can reach out to you or contact emergency services.

As expected, Google has gone through a rebranding exercise on the Google On app.  With the introduction of Google Wi-Fi in October, and now with that product shipping, the question wasn’t if the Google On app would change but rather would that change be a completely new app or, worse, a separate app.  Thankfully no.  Google Wifi is the name of the Google On app now, allowing you to control your entire Wi-Fi network, including your Google OnHub and Google Wi-Fi products.  The update is rolling out into the Play Store now and if you have Google On installed, you should see the update hit your devices over the course of the next 2-3 days.

At first glance, the UI for Google Wifi doesn’t look all that different than the previous one from Google On.  However, there are a lot of changes including the three tab navigation at the top of the app which gives you information, your network information and shortcuts to quick tidbits of information respectively.

The Google Chrome team has posted on Google blog some improvements that are available in the browser today with other new features that are in the pipeline.  Starting now, with a behind-the-scenes change, the browsers Data Saver feature works on videos.  Previously, Data Saver worked on text and images and when you had the feature enabled, Google would compress everything before sending it to your phone.  Essentially it acted like a proxy and the data savings were huge.  Initially the company rolled this out in India given the bandwidth constraints and costs in that country but the feature has now rolled out globally.  Back to this update, if you enabled Data Saver and view a site with a MP4 video, that video is now compressed before it hits your phone, saving you that extra bandwidth.

If you haven’t tried Data Saver, you can enable it on Chrome by going to Settings>Data Saver and enabling it.  I have been using it for months and I’ve had no ill effects on sites plus I’m saving on average 55% of the bandwidth the sites I visit would have required.  It’s pretty impressive.

Thanks to a leak from Vodafone Australia, it looks like owners of the Nexus 6P and Google Pixel lineup will be seeing the Android Nougat 7.1.1 update starting next Monday, December 5th.  For the Nexus 6P, the updated build will be NMF26F and will bring app shortcuts to the phone as well as the December Android Security Update.  As readers will remember, the 7.1.1 update has been in beta for a few months now and the second and expected to be final Developer Preview dropped last week.  Google has said very early on that the 7.1.1 update would be coming in early December so the December 5th date lines up well with what has been publicly stated from the company.

The Android team at Google has released what is slated to be the last Developer Preview of Android Nougat 7.1.1.  The update is already pushing out to devices that are enrolled in the beta program which now includes the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9 and Pixel C.  The builds you are looking for are NPF26F (Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9), NPF26H (Pixel C). For developers, Google has outlined that this is a near complete version of what will ship in early December to consumers and are urged to get their apps ready.

Developer Preview 2 is a release candidate for Android 7.1.1 that you can use to complete your app development and testing in preparation for the upcoming final release. In includes near-final system behaviors and UI, along with the latest bug fixes and optimizations across the system and Google apps.

To help developers, API Level 25 Platform updates have been rolled out to Android Studio 2.2.2 as part of the announcement today so final preparations and updates can be made to apps.

Google Home, in many ways, is the physical realization of the machine learning that Google has been doing for years.  Equipped with Google Assistant, this small, unassuming device that sits in your home is a gateway to Google and all of your personal information at a voice command away.  It is powerful and handy… but not perfect.  Like many first generation products, Google Home has room for growth in what it can do, the apps it can interact with and, of course, how it interacts with you.  I’ll borrow a phrase from my Google OnHub review earlier this year:  If you are an early adopter, Google Home is a great product for you to consider.  If not, you may want to give it a few months and software updates to improve.  And it will improve.  Unlike OnHub, which Google hasn’t fully abandoned but equally isn’t doing much more investing in thanks to Google Wi-Fi, Home is a central and key part of what Google considers the next technical transition we are to see.  That transition is from mobile to machines and Google Home will be at the center of this transition.

I’ve had my Google Home for about a week now and I have to say that it is very much a part of my daily routine and work flow.  It saves me from having to pick up my Nexus 6P or Nexus 9 to use the “OK Google” voice commands (if my phone is locked, I have to unlock it to get the results) and gives me a wealth of information all a voice command away.  But I can already see things I’d like to improve, particularly around app integration and more natural language discussions.  But that will come in time.  One thing is for sure:  The speakers in Google Home are impressive and have excellent sound.  For this, you won’t be disappointed.