Tag: App Update

Google has pushed an update to Google Drive for Android that has several small but nice updates.  The most notable change is the ability to pin files or folders to your phone or tablet’s home screen.  This gives you quick access to that file without actually having to open up the Drive app itself.  To use this new feature is pretty simple.  Once you have open up the app, next to the file or folder in the list will be an overflow menu (3 vertical dots).  Tap that and you will see an option “Add to Home screen”.  Tap that and it will be added.  To remove it, just tap-and-hold then drag it to Remove.

A couple of weeks ago, a new feature rolled out in Google Plus (G+) that allowed you to leave images in comments on posts.  This was very well received by users on the social platform as it gave a bit more of a personalized response to something (with an image or a GIF) instead of just text.  Now the Google Plus team has expanded that a bit further.  In the latest update, version 8.7 for those keeping score at home, you can now view those images in the replies in full screen and yes, you can save them to your phone to add to that awesome meme or GIF library.

In other words, the images in comments are treated and act like images in an original post on the site.

There is another new update to Skype for Android, the second such update in as many weeks.  The latest build, version 7.16 for those keeping score at home, brings some fixes and improvements to the messaging app but more importantly, brings Accessibility support to Bot cards.  As you might remember from the last update, Microsoft and their partners added a new Bots feature where you could get automated information and even place orders with some companies.  Now the company has enabled those Bots to work with the accessibility features of your phone.  If you have those features enabled, Skype will now support it and allow you to interact with the Bot properly.

For fans and players of Angry Birds 2, there is a big update rolling out in the Play Store for you.  The update brings a lot of new features to the game and, of course, new chapters to play.  When you get this update, which should come to you as an OTA update over the next day or so, you will have two new chapters to play with a total of 40 new levels within those chapters.  That brings the total for the game well over 200 total levels so you have plenty of things to keep you interested.  But that isn’t all for this update as you also have two new pig enemies to contend with in the game.

A new version of the Chrome browser for Android is making its way into the Play Store.  The updated build, version 53.0.2785.97 for those keeping score at home, has a lot of security updates and improvements that we’ve come to expect from these types of updates.  However, there is also support for Payment Request API which means that this build of Chrome supports Android Pay.  The Payment Request API is somewhat self explanatory but here is the W3C definition:

This specification describes a web API to allow merchants (i.e. web sites selling physical or digital goods) to easily accept payments from different payment methods with minimal integration. User agents (e.g., browsers) will facilitate the payment flow between merchant and user.

This means that you will be able to use Android Pay to pay for goods and services through the Chrome browser on your phone without having to type in a credit card number.  It should make buying goods online faster and more secure.

The Google Contacts app for Android has been updated and with it comes a new duplicate contact finder.  The updated app, version 1.5.16 for those keeping score at home, will give users the ability to search the contacts on their phone, identify any duplicate contacts, then merge them into one.  If this sounds familiar, it should.  Google Contacts online has had a duplicate contact finding feature for some time now and essentially it works the same as as it does on the Android app.  Now, like so many things we do today, you don’t necessarily have to go to the web to sort this part of your life out.  You can do it on your phone, which is likely always with you.