Tag: Google

Good news this morning for Moto X4 owners who are on Project Fi.  Your Android Oreo 8.1 update is now ready to download.  The update follows up the Oreo update back in December for the device which is the first non-Google branded phone to work with Google’s MVNO service.

If you have a X4 on Fi, you should have the update available by checking for it in the device’s settings under the About phone section.  It is a small update given that it is incrementing the Oreo build on the device but it is always a good ideal to download these types of updates via WiFi.

Late last week a change happened with Google Now Launcher, Google’s first proper attempt at a launcher for Android.  It basically became incompatible with virtually every Android phone out there.  The change was unannounced and it is preventing anyone from going to the Play Store and downloading the launcher.

Up until last week, you could use Google Now Launcher as your launcher on any Android phone running Android Jelly Bean 4.1 or higher.  Now, when you go to the launcher’s page in the Play Store, you get a warning that the app isn’t compatible with your device.

An interesting rumor has surfaced just days before Google I/O 2018 about the future of Google News and Play Newsstand.  In a post on AdAge, It is reported that News will become the flagship news service for the Mountain View company, integrating video elements and digital magazines into a single app.  It will mean that Play Newsstand, where digital magazines are currently kept in the Google ecosystem, will be deprecated at some point.

The news is interesting as it reflects a broader effort by Google to streamline their app portfolio to be less congested and confusing for consumers.  Taking this news in balance along with the expected revamp of Google Play Music and YouTube, Google is moving more to the “Google” brand and away from the “Play” brand.  This has already happened with the company moving away from “Android” branding products too.

Some seven months after it was released, Android Oreo is now the required Android version for manufactures who want their new phones certified by Google.  The change means that if a manufacture wants to introduce a new phone to the market and wants that phone certified by Google to run Google Mobile Services and access the Play Store, it will have to be on Oreo 8.0 or later.  Phones running Android Nougat will no longer be certified.

While we can debate why it took the Mountain View company seven months to require this, it is good news on the whole.  Oreo is far more stable and secure than any previous version of Android and it arguably provides one of the best user experiences at the same time.

After being leaked a few weeks back, the new looking Gmail UI is now rolling out to everyone.  It will take a few weeks to get to everyone out there but when you do get it, there will be the option under Settings to try the new Gmail out and use it on the web and on the mobile apps.

The update brings a refresh to a product that has needed it for a long while.  Gmail’s UI fundamentally hasn’t changed in years and this update brings a more Material Design look to it as well as several advanced features like Smart Replies and the ability to snooze emails to handle them later.

Three years ago on Sunday, Google launched Project Fi.  The MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) solution combined T-Mobile and Sprint as carrier options for the Nexus 6 and allowed for seamless switching between the two carriers automatically.  Fast forward to today, you still have T-Mobile and Sprint in the mix but now you also have U.S. Cellular in there for additional coverage.

The idea was a unique one and remains so today.  Project Fi also brought low cost data usage at the time of its launch, particularly for those who traveled internationally.  That part of the service has improved too as you are not longer as severely throttled on your data speed as you were back three years ago.  As for the cost, it still remains mighty competitive in the market.