11 new and notable Android apps from the last two weeks including Facebook Viewpoints, Milkshake — Website Builder, and Breaker—The social podcast app (11/16/19 - 11/30/19)

roundup_icon_largeWelcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous two weeks or so. Today I have a survey app from Facebook, a website builder from Envato, and a social podcast app from Breaker. So without further ado, here are the most notable Android apps released in the last two weeks.

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11 new and notable Android apps from the last two weeks including Facebook Viewpoints, Milkshake — Website Builder, and Breaker—The social podcast app (11/16/19 - 11/30/19) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

29 temporarily free and 153 on-sale apps and games for Black Friday

Welcome, one and all, to Android Police's Black Friday app sales roundup. If you were here for Wednesday's post, you'll remember that I said today's list would be, and I quote, a "humdinger." Well, I was right.

Free

Apps

  1. Manual Camera : DSLR Camera Professional (Procam) $4.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 9 hours
  2. Security Box Pro $1.49 -> Free; Sale ends in 1 day
  3. Visual Anatomy 2 $2.49 -> Free; Sale ends in 1 day
  4. Reverse Lookup PLUS - Caller ID and Spam Block $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 2 days
  5. Easy Accounting $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  6. Fraction Calculator "Fractal MK-12" $1.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  7. MyCal Pro - Percentage & General Calculator $1.49 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days

Games

  1. Battle Ships 1988 Revival Pro $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 1 day
  2. OVIVO - Black and White Platformer Game $1.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 1 day
  3. Super Brain Pro $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 1 day
  4. CATHERINE THE VAMPIRE $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 3 days
  5. Crisis of the Middle Ages $1.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 3 days
  6. MARK'S LIFE $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 3 days
  7. SOMEDAY $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 3 days
  8. iLinear Line Puzzle Draw Your Path $2.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 4 days
  9. Trigono - geometric brain boiling adventure $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 4 days
  10. Dementia: Book of the Dead $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 5 days
  11. Descent: Death Valley HD $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 5 days
  12. Dungeon Shooter V1.3 : The Forgotten Temple $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 5 days
  13. Everybody's RPG $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  14. Superhero Robot Premium: Hero Fight - Offline RPG $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  15. Cytus II $1.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 7 days
  16. Dragon Raid (Hardcore - idle rpg) $2.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 7 days
  17. Quaddro 2 - Intelligent game $1.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 7 days
  18. Tower of Farming - idle RPG (Ticket Event) $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 7 days

Icon packs & customization

  1. Quantum Dots - Icon Pack $1.49 -> Free; Sale ends in 9 hours
  2. Wave 3D $1.49 -> Free; Sale ends in 9 hours
  3. Wave $1.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 9 hours
  4. Merry Christmas 2019 Icon Pack $1.49 -> Free; Sale ends in 1 day

Sale

Apps

  1. Medical ID - In Case of Emergency (ICE) $6.99 -> $3.49; Sale ends in 9 hours
  2. TargetScan ISSF Pistol & Rifle $17.99 -> $12.59; Sale ends in 9 hours
  3. BackCountry Navigator TOPO GPS PRO $14.99 -> $9.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  4. Bubble Level, Ruler $1.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  5. Cell Coverage Map Pro: mobile operator check $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  6. Compass Pro $1.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  7. Draw Pixel Art Pro $3.49 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 1 day
  8. Maki Plus: Facebook and Messenger in a single app $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  9. Zephyrus Pro Anemometer $2.99 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 1 day
  10. Calligrapher Pro $2.99 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 2 days
  11. Cell Signal Monitor Pro: mobile networks monitor $2.99 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 2 days
  12. HTML/CSS Website Inspector Pro $5.49 -> $2.99; Sale ends in 2 days
  13. Maps Ruler Pro $2.99 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 2 days
  14. Solar Walk - Planetarium: Explore Planets System $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 2 days
  15. Wear Camera for Wear OS (Android Wear) $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 2 days
  16. WiFi Monitor Pro: analyzer of WiFi networks $2.99 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 2 days
  17. DecidApp - decision making $2.99 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 3 days
  18. Easy Voice Recorder Pro $3.99 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  19. Fenix 2 for Twitter $4.49 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  20. FK Kernel Manager - for all devices & Kernels $3.49 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  21. Hue Music $3.49 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  22. Alarm for Smart Things $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 4 days
  23. Human Japanese $9.99 -> $6.49; Sale ends in 4 days
  24. Human Japanese Intermediate $9.99 -> $6.49; Sale ends in 4 days
  25. Litchi for DJI Mavic / Phantom / Inspire / Spark $24.99 -> $15.99; Sale ends in 4 days
  26. MyScript Calculator 2 $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 4 days
  27. Plant Identifier $4.99 -> $2.49; Sale ends in 4 days
  28. Servers Ultimate Pro $8.49 -> $3.99; Sale ends in 4 days
  29. Sleep as Android Unlock Sleep cycle smart alarm $5.49 -> $2.99; Sale ends in 4 days
  30. Star Walk 2 - Night Sky View and Stargazing Guide $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 4 days
  31. unitMeasure: Offline Material Unit Converter $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 4 days
  32. Fibonacci For Stock PRO $5.99 -> $3.49; Sale ends in 5 days
  33. HamStudy.org $3.99 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 5 days
  34. My Tarot App - Card Reading Premium $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 5 days
  35. Multi-Screen Voice Calculator Pro $7.99 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 5 days
  36. ColEm Deluxe - Complete ColecoVision Emulator $4.99 -> $2.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  37. ConstruCalc Pro $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  38. DirectChat Pro (ChatHeads) $1.98 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  39. eRadar HD with Hurricanes, Lightning and Alerts $2.99 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  40. PingTools Pro $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  41. Bird Mail - Email App $3.99 -> $2.49; Sale ends in 7 days

Games

  1. Bus Simulator PRO 2 $3.99 -> $2.49; Sale ends in 9 hours
  2. Construction Simulator PRO $4.99 -> $2.99; Sale ends in 9 hours
  3. Traffix $4.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 9 hours
  4. Train Simulator PRO 2018 $4.99 -> $2.99; Sale ends in 9 hours
  5. Truck Simulator PRO Europe $3.99 -> $2.49; Sale ends in 9 hours
  6. Truck Simulator PRO 2 $4.99 -> $2.99; Sale ends in 9 hours
  7. AXIO octa $3.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  8. Gunslugs: Rogue Tactics $5.49 -> $3.49; Sale ends in 1 day
  9. Kosmos Jagdlexikon $9.99 -> $3.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  10. Magic in your face $1.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  11. Monkey Swag $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  12. Redshift - Astronomy $9.99 -> $4.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  13. SpecTrek $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  14. Swim Out $2.99 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  15. The Mind by Wolfgang Warsch $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 1 day
  16. Twice as clever $2.99 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 1 day
  17. Inverter Simulator: Funfair amusement park $3.89 -> $2.69; Sale ends in 2 days
  18. Kamikaze Simulator - Funfair Amusement Parks $2.49 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 2 days
  19. Love Express Simulator - Funfair Amusement Parks $2.49 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 2 days
  20. Tagada Simulator: Funfair amusement park $3.89 -> $2.69; Sale ends in 2 days
  21. Techno Jump - Best Ride Simulators $3.99 -> $2.69; Sale ends in 2 days
  22. To the Edge of the Sky - Premium $9.99 -> $4.99; Sale ends in 2 days
  23. Twister - Best Ride Simulators $3.89 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 2 days
  24. Viking Ship - Best Ride Simulators $2.49 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 2 days
  25. Wild Mouse: Roller Coaster simulator $3.89 -> $2.69; Sale ends in 2 days
  26. Alchemic Maze $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  27. Cat Lady - The Card Game $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  28. Farm Frenzy: Time management game $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  29. Fighting Fantasy Legends $3.49 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  30. Fighting Fantasy Legends Portal $3.49 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  31. Fiz : Brewery Management Game $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  32. FootLOL: Crazy Soccer!
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29 temporarily free and 153 on-sale apps and games for Black Friday was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Firefox Preview 3.0 comes with enhanced tracking protection, optional toolbar on top, and more

Mozilla has been working on a brand new version of Firefox for Android based on a revised rendering engine for some time and aims to publish it to the stable channel next year. For now though, Firefox Preview 3.0 has arrived, and it brings along enhanced tracking protection, an updated overflow menu, the ability to move the navigation bar to the top, and many other improvements.

Enhanced tracking protection is now fully available on Android.

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Firefox Preview 3.0 comes with enhanced tracking protection, optional toolbar on top, and more was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Opera Touch can now sync with Android 10's dark mode

Opera has a handful of different browsers for Android, each with a slightly different use case. Opera Touch is an experimental app, with a gesture interface reminiscent of Paranoid Android's "PIE' gestures from back in the day. If you're using the browser on Android 10, you might be happy to know it can now sync with the system theme.

Opera Touch already offered white and dark themes, but as of version 1.22, there's a new option to sync the browser with the system.

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Opera Touch can now sync with Android 10's dark mode was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Google Messages rolls out Verified SMS to protect you from spam and phishing (APK Download)

Earlier this year, our APK guru Cody discovered signs of Verified SMS coming to Google's Messages app. At the time, we didn't know what the feature was exactly or how it'd work. With it starting to go live now, we've discovered that it doesn't work for all numbers, just businesses, and specifically those registered with Google.

In the Messages app, you'll find a new toggle in Settings -> Verified SMS.

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Google Messages rolls out Verified SMS to protect you from spam and phishing (APK Download) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Some Stadia pre-orders were incorrectly canceled, but Google is starting to replace them (Updated)

Many of the Stadia Founder’s Edition preorders were canceled en masse days before the gaming service’s hyped debut on Tuesday. A fault in Google Store’s payment gateway initially put some orders with the limited-edition package on hold, but the issue was further aggravated when the troubleshooting steps also failed. In no time, Stadia’s subreddit was swarmed by affected buyers going on about the entire episode, which finally helped grab Google’s attention.

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Some Stadia pre-orders were incorrectly canceled, but Google is starting to replace them (Updated) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Stadia Pro adds Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, Farming Simulator 19 as free games on December 1 (Update: Refund for purchases)

Stadia Pro subscribers who pay $10 a month for expanded access and perks to Google's game streaming service currently have free passes for Destiny 2 and Samurai Shodown — as long as members keep paying for that subscription, they don't need to purchase the actual game to play it.

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Stadia Pro adds Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, Farming Simulator 19 as free games on December 1 (Update: Refund for purchases) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Jingle (Door)Bells: Winter ringtones are now available on Nest Hello (Update: Ringtone previews)

In time for the holiday season, Google today announced that it's flipping on the Nest Hello winter ringtones. Just like during Halloween, you have a number of options to choose from in the Nest app to bring the festive spirit to everyone visiting your home.

Since the holidays pan out a little differently depending on your religion, there are a four themes with a total of ten tunes to choose from: Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s, and "nondenominational winter sounds" are all available, though the latter includes a sleigh bells ring that does have a strong Christmas vibe to it.

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Jingle (Door)Bells: Winter ringtones are now available on Nest Hello (Update: Ringtone previews) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

18 temporarily free and 73 on-sale apps and games for the day before Thanksgiving

Hello, all, and welcome to the eve before Thanksgiving. I have quite a list of app sales for you, but be ready for a humdinger of a list on Black Friday. Anyway, have fun and I hope that you all have an excellent Thanksgiving with your families and friends.

Free

Apps

  1. Video Enhancer Pro $2.49 -> Free; Sale ends in 2 days
  2. Meeting Notes Taker - Recorder, memo and minutes $2.49 -> Free; Sale ends in 4 days
  3. STRONGMom $5.49 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days

Games

  1. Dark Tower $2.49 -> Free; Sale ends in 3 days
  2. Truck Rush 3D - Running car racing casual game $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 5 days
  3. Dream Valley $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  4. ExtremeJobs Knight’s Assistant VIP $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  5. Fit Tile $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  6. Fit Toon - Series 1 $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  7. Gold Miner Vegas: Nostalgic Arcade Game $1.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  8. IMAGEine Premium $1.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 6 days
  9. Lophis Roguelike:Card RPG game,Darkest Dungeon $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 7 days
  10. Message Quest — the amazing adventures of Feste $1.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 7 days
  11. The Edge Ball $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 7 days

Icon packs & customization

  1. Cavion - Icon Pack (SALE!) $1.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 5 days
  2. GION - Icon Pack (SALE!) $0.99 -> Free; Sale ends in 5 days
  3. Mation - Icon Pack (SALE!) $1.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 5 days
  4. NYON - Icon Pack (SALE!!!) $1.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 5 days

Sale

Apps

  1. Installment & Accounting Pro $20.99 -> $10.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  2. My Jump 2: Measure your jump $9.99 -> $4.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  3. My Lift: Measure your max strength $9.99 -> $4.99; Sale ends in 3 days
  4. tinyCam PRO - Swiss knife to monitor IP cam $3.99 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 4 days
  5. MP3 Cutter Ringtone Maker PRO $3.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 5 days
  6. GymACE Pro: Workout Tracker & Body Log $5.49 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  7. SuperGBC Pro (GBC Emulator) $3.99 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  8. Belly Fix - 12 days PRO $3.99 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 7 days
  9. Dragon Drum Machine - Synth drums for Android $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  10. Floating Apps (multitasking) $3.49 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 7 days

Games

  1. Bottom of the 9th $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  2. Dealer’s Life - Pawn Shop Tycoon $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  3. Eight-Minute Empire $4.99 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  4. Farming Simulator 18 $4.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  5. Fran Bow Chapter 1 $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  6. Fran Bow Chapter 2 $1.96 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  7. Fran Bow Chapter 3 $1.96 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  8. Fran Bow Chapter 4 $1.96 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  9. Fran Bow Chapter 5 $1.96 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  10. Hack, Slash, Loot $4.18 -> $1.49; Sale ends in 6 days
  11. Lara Croft GO $5.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  12. Machinarium $4.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  13. NBA 2K20 $5.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  14. One Deck Dungeon $6.99 -> $3.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  15. Rusty Lake: Roots $3.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  16. Rusty Lake Hotel $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  17. Rusty Lake Paradise $3.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  18. Samorost 3 $4.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  19. Sentinels of the Multiverse $6.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  20. Witcheye $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  21. A Normal Lost Phone $3.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  22. Agatha Knife $4.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  23. Alt-Frequencies $4.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  24. Another Lost Phone: Laura's Story $3.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  25. BlastZone 2: Arcade Shooter $4.99 -> $1.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  26. Bury me, my Love $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  27. Dead In Bermuda $4.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  28. Healer's Quest: Pocket Wand $4.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  29. Magibot $4.49 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 7 days
  30. Monster RPG 2 $1.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  31. Monster RPG 3 $2.99 -> $0.99; Sale ends in 6 days
  32. Peace, Death!
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18 temporarily free and 73 on-sale apps and games for the day before Thanksgiving was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

3 things to know about Jetpack from Android Dev Summit 2019

Posted by Jisha Abubaker, Product Manager

Last month’s #AndroidDevSummit was jam-packed with announcements and technical news...so much that we wouldn’t be surprised if you missed something. So all this month, we’ll be diving into key areas from throughout the summit so you don’t miss anything. We previously spotlighted Jetpack Compose, Kotlin and Android Studio, and today, we’re highlighting the rest of Android Jetpack, with the top three things you should know:

#1: A number of new & updated Jetpack libraries ready to use:

WorkManager 2.2 (Stable) has landed significant updates in the last releases with features like on-demand initialization improving app startup time when using WorkManager and improved testing support. Hear more of the new features and best practices.

Room 2.2 (Stable) is packed with features you asked for too : pre-packaged databases, improved relationship support and now better support for Kotlin Flow as well. Check out the What’s new in Room session to catch up.

Benchmarking (Stable) helps you measure the performance of tasks in your app with confidence. Here’s a deep dive on how you can exercise the library in fighting performance regressions in CI, like we do ourselves for Jetpack libraries and Compose.

LiveData w/ support for Kotlin coroutines & Flow (RC) : Kotlin coroutines and Flows has been the Android developer community’s interest in simplify async patterns in your apps. Learn how best to take advantage of the liveData builder in your app:

View binding (Beta) is type-safe solution bundled with Android Studio 3.6 Beta with minimal build-time impact, no more findViewById(), no more annotation processors. Check out What’s new in Studio for a demo !

#2: We’re busy baking more libraries

CameraX (Alpha) simplifies the development experience and lets you focus on your app instead by addressing the differences between the many devices in the Android ecosystem, like Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Motorola, LG who are already unifying behind CameraX. Expected in Beta soon, learn what the Camera team has been up to since I/O 2019.

Security (Alpha) helps you simplify data at rest encryption for your app needs. Hear of best practices with encryption on Android from the Security library team.

#3:It’s time to migrate to androidx!

With all the new and updated Jetpack libraries and upcoming release of Jetpack Compose, it is time to get your app updated and ready. Nick and Tiem share a great step by step plan and best practices from the community in migrating to androidx namespace.

...and we also heard from you!

But Android Dev Summit isn’t just about what we’ve got to say; it’s also about you telling us what you’d like to see worked on to make your life easier. And this year, one thing that we heard strongly from our community was the need to provide a simplified Dependency injection developer experience for Jetpack libraries and expand improved Kotlin support to other Jetpack libraries! We’re on it!

You can find the entire playlist of Jetpack sessions at the Android Dev Summit sessions and videos here. We’ll continue to spotlight other areas later this month, so keep an eye out and follow AndroidDevelopers on Twitter. Thanks so much for letting us be a part of this experience with you!


Android Match

Google Photos rolls out manual face tagging: Tutorial, benefits, and a big asterisk

A few months ago, Google Photos product lead, David Lieb, told us that manually tagging faces was on the app's update roadmap. We didn't hear anything about the feature until last week, when XDA developers managed to find it hidden inside Photos v4.32 and enable it. Now, it's going live for some users, though there's an important asterisk to keep in mind.

Still relies on Google's face detection algorithm

If you were hoping that the feature would allow you to point at any area in an image and add a tag to it, you will be disappointed.

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Google Photos rolls out manual face tagging: Tutorial, benefits, and a big asterisk was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Bug in Google Photos removes tap-and-drag gesture for multiple selection

A recent update to Google Photos is annoying a lot of users by removing the super handy tap-and-drag for selecting multiple images. Not all users are affected and it's not clear if this is a server-side bug or a sign of things to come, but if the latter's the case, then it sure is not a wise decision, Google.

Users have started noticing the absence of the gesture with version 4.32.0 of Photos, though others were unaffected until they updated to 4.32.1.

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Bug in Google Photos removes tap-and-drag gesture for multiple selection was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Stadia Buddy Pass is rolling out, giving a friend of yours 3 months of free Pro service

Google's Stadia release seems rushed, as many advertised features like family sharing, a UI for achievements, and the ability to use existing Chromecast Ultras for game streaming are still missing. At least the company is keeping one promise it had made to appease customers during the hectic launch: Buddy Passes are currently rolling out to people who purchased the Stadia Founder's Edition.

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Stadia Buddy Pass is rolling out, giving a friend of yours 3 months of free Pro service was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Jingle (Door)Bells: Winter ringtones are now available on Nest Hello

In time for the holiday season, Google today announced that it's flipping on the Nest Hello winter ringtones. Just like during Halloween, you have a number of options to choose from in the Nest app to bring the festive spirit to everyone visiting your home.

Since the holidays pan out a little differently depending on your religion, there are a few themes with a total of ten tunes to choose from: Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s, and "nondenominational winter sounds" are all available, though the latter includes a sleigh bells ring that does have a strong Christmas vibe to it.

Read More

Jingle (Door)Bells: Winter ringtones are now available on Nest Hello was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

'Flip to Shhh' comes to the Pixel 2 with latest Digital Wellbeing beta [APK Download]

"Flip to Shhh" launched with the Pixel 3 as a way to quickly enable Do Not Disturb on your phone by simply turning it so the display was face down. Even though the feature shouldn't have required any special hardware or capabilities, Google chose to keep it exclusive to the Pixel 3 and didn't bring it to its older devices. That's changing with the latest Digital Wellbeing beta, which enables the feature on the Pixel 2.

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'Flip to Shhh' comes to the Pixel 2 with latest Digital Wellbeing beta [APK Download] was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

(Update: Stable) Wikipedia beta now follows system dark theme settings on Android 10

Dark theme and night mode are a boon for those who like to stare at their smartphone screens in a pitch-dark room while regretting staying up late. What further adds to this convenience is an in-app option to automatically match the default system theme settings. Wikipedia is bringing exactly that to its beta app for Android.

Under the App theme section of the Settings menu, you’ll find a new toggle switch with Match system theme mentioned against it.

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(Update: Stable) Wikipedia beta now follows system dark theme settings on Android 10 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

(Update: Support for more phones) Samsung's PlayGalaxy Link game streaming app is now available on Android and Windows

When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note10, it also introduced a new game streaming platform called PlayGalaxy Link albeit with very little by way of concrete information. We learned soon after that it would be launching in September, and so it's come to pass.

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(Update: Support for more phones) Samsung's PlayGalaxy Link game streaming app is now available on Android and Windows was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Attention holiday shoppers: Black Friday help from Google

Midnight turkey sandwiches, leftover pie for breakfast, a leisurely walk around the block—these are the ideal moments in my day after Thanksgiving. But if you’re like me and the millions of Americans who participate in Black Friday and Cyber Monday every year, chances are you’re also looking out for deals ahead of the holiday season. In fact, I hear that online shopping sales are expected to growup to 18 percent this year, and smartphone use for holiday shopping is rising—increasing by 11 percent since 2017.

Good news: Google has you covered across your holiday shopping needs, from making your list, checking it twice, finding out the best deals, and keeping an eye on each package arrivals. 

Enable_price_tracking_Google_Shopping_.gif

Find the best prices and places to buy

With the recently redesigned Google Shopping, you can track prices for that espresso machine you’ve been keeping your eye on (and much more). Simply find the product you want, toggle “track price,” and you’ll receive a notification by phone or email when the price of that item drops. Plus, when you buy directly on Google we’ll offset the carbon emissions created from shipping your order.

If you’re committed to shopping local or worried about the shipping deadline, Google Shopping also lets you filter for nearby products, so you can find local stores that carry what you need and see whether they have it in stock. 

MBG19.png

Some of our Made by Google products have Black Friday deals this year

Check out the deals on the latest tech from Google

How about some shiny new tech for your Secret Santa? Check out the Google Store for these deals (also at select U.S. retailers):

  • Say it with a (very) smart phone: From November 24th through December 2nd, get $200 off an unlocked Pixel 4 and 4XL on the Google Store.
  • Give the gift of better Wi-Fi: From November 28th through December 4th, save $40 on Nest Wifi, our newest Wi-Fi router and point which comes in three chic colors ($229).
  • Help the new homeowner, parent, or caretaker in your life: From November 28th through December 4th, get $40 off Nest Cam Indoor, Nest Cam Outdoor, and $80 off Nest Hello.
  • Bring the party with whole-home audio: From November 28th through December 4th, save $20 on Nest Mini.
  • Stay organized, connected, and inspired in the kitchen: Save $30 on Nest Hub Max—and enjoy this exclusive bread pudding recipe from Ayesha Curry on Google Assistant displays.
  • Stuff all of the stockings: From November 28th through December 4th, get $10 off Chromecast and $20 off Chromecast Ultra.

Keep track of your deliveries (and spread cheer!)

When you’re expecting more packages than usual, keeping track of each delivery can prove to be stressful. Should you stay and wait for it? What happens if you miss it? With a Nest Aware subscription Nest Hello can alert you when a package arrives, so if it’s an important item you can enlist some help from a neighbor (or, for parents, intercept it before your child discovers an early gift from Santa). 

And starting today you can get a festive Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s, or wintry ringtone for your Nest Hello. Whenever someone's at your door, they’ll hear some holiday cheer—including the person delivering your packages.

Stay zen through the shopping frenzy

Remain calm, cool and collected throughout the midnight madness on Black Friday with help from the Digital Wellbeing features on your Pixel devices. 

  • Set a time limit on specific apps and sites so your day isn’t consumed by online shopping. When the timer runs out, the app or website is paused for the rest of the day. 

  • Snooze alerts that are distracting and focus on the important ones. If you use an app to track discounts and sales, you can prioritize those notifications so you don’t spend extra time wading through notifications and hunting for the deals you want. 

  • A nighttime shopping habit can interfere with your sleep. Set Wind Down mode to silence notifications from shopping apps or social media, put your screen into grayscale to signal it’s time for bed, and avoid a night of insomnia.

  • And when it is time to wake up for those midnight deals or early morning lines, try the Sunrise Alarm feature on Pixel and Pixel Stand so even in the dead of winter, you can wake up more easily with “sunshine.” 

We wish you great deals, easy shopping, and minimal stress this holiday season.


Android Match

(Update: Spitlings) All the games on Google Stadia

(Update: 37 more) Here are 274 apps and games available on Google Play Pass right now (Updated continuously)

People have been wondering about the full roster of launch titles featured in Google Play Pass — supposedly, we've got over 350 of them to go through. Here's the thing: Google doesn't make it easy to suss out all of the apps participating in the program, whether through the Play Store or external documentation on associated Google sites. Great. Well, guess what? We're gonna give it a try and list as many apps on Play Pass as possible.

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(Update: 37 more) Here are 274 apps and games available on Google Play Pass right now (Updated continuously) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Disney+ makes it easier to continue watching your shows and movies

Disney+ is the hottest video streaming service around, but being new, it lacks a lot of features. One of these is the ability to resume where you left off in a movie or TV show. Thankfully though, the option has started showing up for some users.

On the Disney+'s app homescreen, you should start seeing a new Continue Watching section with your ongoing movies and episodes, as well as next episodes to be played from the TV series you're following.

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Disney+ makes it easier to continue watching your shows and movies was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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Wikipedia beta now follows system dark theme settings on Android 10

Dark theme and night mode are a boon for those who like to stare at their smartphone screens in a pitch-dark room while regretting staying up late. What further adds to this convenience is an in-app option to automatically match the default system theme settings. Wikipedia is bringing exactly that to its beta app for Android.

Under the App theme section of the Settings menu, you’ll find a new toggle switch with Match system theme mentioned against it.

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Wikipedia beta now follows system dark theme settings on Android 10 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Malicious third-party SDKs obtained personal data from millions of Twitter and Facebook users on Android

Twitter and Facebook have both been targeted by malicious mobile SDKs on Android that accessed personal data, such as email addresses and user names. The companies have since informed Google about the issue, and Facebook sent cease and desist letters to the data collection firms behind the SDKs, oneAudience and MobiBurn.

Affected applications include Giant Square and Photofy, but neither Facebook nor Twitter shared a complete list of infected services.

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Malicious third-party SDKs obtained personal data from millions of Twitter and Facebook users on Android was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

(Update: Out now) Ubisoft reveals Might & Magic Heroes: Era of Chaos, a new strategy RPG, available for pre-registration

It's been a while since there have been any rumblings about Ubisoft's Might and Magic series, with Might and Magic: Elemental Guardians existing as the last entry on mobile that was released in 2017. Today a new contender has entered the ring, and it goes by the name Might & Magic Heroes: Era of Chaos.

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(Update: Out now) Ubisoft reveals Might & Magic Heroes: Era of Chaos, a new strategy RPG, available for pre-registration was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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GRID Autosport finally arrives on Android, and you can pick it up today for $10

Last week we learned that Feral Interactive's port of GRID Autosport would arrive on Android on November 26th, and the studio has indeed kept its word since the racer is finally available on the Google Play Store as of this morning. The title has existed on mobile since 2017 thanks to an iOS release, but today marks the first day that Android users can get in on the fun. As expected, GRID Autosport is a premium racing game, which means you can grab the entirety of the title today for $9.99.

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GRID Autosport finally arrives on Android, and you can pick it up today for $10 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Google Duo testing a bottom bar UI during calls

With phones getting taller and taller, Google has grown fonder of bottom bars in its apps. The latest app to get a new interface centered around moving essential shortcuts to the bottom is Google Duo.

In a server-side change, Duo has relocated action buttons during a video or audio call from the left side of the screen to the bottom. The camera off, mute, and switch cam buttons now flank the red call button on each side, with an additional overflow menu on the right.

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Google Duo testing a bottom bar UI during calls was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Google explains why your Opinion Rewards credits disappeared, will add expiration date notice (Updated)

Last week, Google went on a cleanup spree and deducted large chunks of Play Store credits that people had raked over time in Opinion Rewards. Our tips mailbox quickly filled up with reports of balances unexpectedly shrinking by tens of dollars, while Google stayed mum on what appeared to be a widespread concern. The company just broke its silence on this issue with a short explanation appearing for many within the Rewards app.

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Google explains why your Opinion Rewards credits disappeared, will add expiration date notice (Updated) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


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