Tag: Android

Google Play Music has a new update rolling out that significantly drops the size of the app as well as Adaptive icons.  The update is version 8.5 for those keeping score at home and the slimming down of the app comes primarily from the dropping of the Android Wear APK that was built-in the main app.

The requirement of the Android Wear APK was a holdover from pre-2.0 Android Wear when in order to control music on your watch, you had to have the app installed.  Google’s sorted that out with standalone app support in 2.0 and now in 1.x versions of Android Wear.  What this means is that the APK is simply no longer needed.

By stripping out the APK, Google was able to reduce the app size significantly, but nearly 2MB.

The November Android Distribution Report has been released by the Android team at Google and it reflect improvement in adoption of the latest two major versions of the platform.  Only Android Nougat (7.x) and Android Oreo (8.x) showed gains in this months reports, with all previous versions showing declines.

For those who may be new to Android, each month Google releases an Android Distribution Report that reflects the versions of Android that hit the Play Store over the course of a 7-day period.  This month’s report was for the seven days ending November 9, 2017.

The biggest loser in this month’s report was Marshmallow (6.x).  It saw a 1.1% drop in usage, down to 30.9% over the October report.  Marshmallow remains the most widely used version of Android at that 30.9% with Android Lollipop (5.x) a close second at 27.2%.  Lollipop, like Marshmallow, saw a drop but only by .5%.

The Google Pixel 2 lineup, particularly the XL, have had a raft of user complaints about the displays on the devices.  The two chief complaints have been around the color saturation and “burn-in” on the screen, particularly with the navigation keys on the screen.  For their part, Google has rightfully explained that some of the issues are related to the P-OLED display that is used on the Pixel 2 XL but committed to having updates out for the lineup to address those issues.

Those updates are a part of the November Android Security Update which was released yesterday.  In amongst those updates, there are two specific items for the phone that address these items.  First, there is now a new color saturation setting in the Display settings of the device.  Now you have the option to select “Saturated” to enhance the color vibrance.  This should help enhance the colors on the phone, particularly the XL model where the complaints have been the loudest.

The new “What song is this?” feature of Google Assistant, which made its debut on the Pixel 2 lineup, is now starting to roll out to everyone.  Assuming you have the latest version of the Google app installed, you can now upon up Assistant and ask, “What song is this?” or you will see a button to have Assistant do it for you in the carousel.

When you start the function, you will see an audio-like bar graph at the bottom of the Google Assistant card as the song is listened to and then identified.  Once the song is identified, you will get song information including the album and artist displayed.  There are also links to YouTube and Google Play Music to listen to the track or add it to your library.

Verizon customers who are using the Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge on the network have a new update rolling out to their phones.  The updates bring the October Android Security Update to the phones.  The Galaxy S6 will be getting updated firmware build NRD90M.G920VVRS4DQJ1 while the S6 Edge will be seeing build NRD90M.G925VVRS4DQJ1.

The updates are minor in that the only contain the Android Security Update patches for October.  There are no new features nor any other performance improvements mentioned in the respective release notes.  This isn’t surprising frankly as the S6 lineup is now well & truly in maintenance only mode.  Still, it is good to see Verizon keeping these popular mid-2015 phones going and secure.

Today’s Deal is on a great accessory for those who don’t like having your phone laying on your desk or nightstand.  The Lamicall S1 Phone Stand is made of aluminum, has cushioning to protect your phone and comes in grey or red colors for $8.99 today on Amazon.  The stand is designed to hold any Android device or iPhone as the padded cradle is 15mm in depth.  This means it will fit a Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy S6, S7 or S8 and an iPhone.  In fact, most of these devices will fit on the cradle in their cases.

The Lamicall stand is designed to give you a great viewing angle for your video calls or for watching streaming content.  It is also compact.  It stands only 3.35″ tall and has a base of 2.95″ x 3.94″ so it won’t take up a lot of space on your desk.  The bottom of the stand has four anti-skid pads on it to keep it from moving around and from scratching up your desk.