Mishaal's Android News Feed
13.3K subscribers
2.19K photos
99 videos
8 files
1.93K links
Android news from an Android nerd
Download Telegram
We're finally getting a Google Home widget that'll let you control your favorite smart home devices right from your home screen!

Version 3.18.1.4 of the Google Home app has added support for this new "Favorites" widget, but the widget isn't actually available yet. The widget will give you "quick control of your actions, automations, and devices."

Here are screenshots courtesy of Nail Sadykov from the (unofficial) Google News Telegram group.
๐Ÿ‘82โค19๐Ÿคก10๐Ÿ”ฅ5๐Ÿณ2
The Galaxy Watch will be getting a One UI 6 Watch beta next month! One UI Watch 6 will be based on Wear OS 5 which itself is based on Android 14.

Samsung will make this beta available to users with a Galaxy Watch 4 or later in the U.S. and Korea via the Samsung Members app.

The One UI Watch 6 beta will also bring several new Galaxy AI features to Samsung Health, such as Energy Score and Wellness Tips, as well as improvements to the sleep AI algorithm, new sleep indicators for Sleep Insights, new Aerobic Threshold/Anaerobic Threshold Heart Rate Zone metrics, Functional Threshold Power metrics, a new Workout Routine, and comparative measurements with Race.
๐Ÿ‘59โค11๐Ÿคก8๐Ÿ‘6๐Ÿ”ฅ5๐Ÿ“3
Google's Live Captions feature will soon add a grab bar that you can drag to quickly resize the window. This will let you increase the number of caption lines that are shown.

More details can be found in this article.
๐Ÿ‘69๐Ÿ‘11๐ŸŽ‰3๐Ÿ’ฏ2
Gemini Nano is about to roll out to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a, as promised!

One Pixel 8 user informed me today that they now have an "enable on-device GenAI Features" toggle under Settings > System > Developer options > AICore Settings. This toggle "enable[s] GenAI features that will run through AICore, using Gemini." This toggle was NOT enabled by default.

The user has version 0.release.pixel8.636144055 of AICore installed, which seems to be specific to the Pixel 8 (and possibly 8a as well).

Google previously said that Gemini Nano support is coming to the Pixel 8 and 8a with the June update, which will likely roll out next week.
๐Ÿ‘70๐Ÿคฏ12โค1๐Ÿคฎ1๐Ÿคก1
If you use Android and rely on hearing aids, I have some good news: Android 15 will significantly improve hearing aid support. Not only will LE Audio-enabled hearing aids be supported but the OS will also bring better management features.

More details can be found in this article.
โค51๐Ÿ‘23
Google's latest Android feature drop is here, and it's one of the most exciting in recent memory!

Not only does this drop finally bring message editing in Google Messages, it also brings the new Google Home widget we just saw the other day. Also, the long-awaited cross-device features like instant hotspot and the ability to transfer calls between devices (starting with Meet).

More details on everything new can be found in this article.
๐Ÿ‘83๐Ÿฅฑ38๐Ÿ”ฅ22โค8๐Ÿคก8๐Ÿ‘Ž5๐Ÿ˜1
Gmail's new Quick Reply UI is official! Google announced today that they're rolling out a new UI in Gmail for Android that makes it easier to quickly reply to emails.

More details plus screenshots can be found in this article.
๐Ÿ‘75โค3๐Ÿ”ฅ1๐Ÿ‘1
This was too cool not to share: You can now play The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (as well as Ocarina of Time) natively on your Android phone, thanks to an unofficial port.

This might be the best way to experience these games. To learn how, read this article.
โค65๐Ÿ‘15๐Ÿ”ฅ15๐Ÿ‘Ž5โœ2
Google finally talked about Android's new note-taking features at last month's I/O. You'll be able to set a default note-taking app from a lock screen shortcut or stylus button press.

More details on these new features can be found in this article on Android Authority.
๐Ÿ‘63โค1
Google is enabling support for dynamic spatial audio over Bluetooth LE Audio in Android 15. LE Audio provides lower head-tracking latency and better bandwidth utilization, providing a more immersive audio experience.

More details on what this means can be found in this article on Android Authority.
๐Ÿ‘66๐Ÿ”ฅ20๐Ÿ‘8โค7
Apple no longer offers the best security support timeline in the smartphone world. Both Google and Samsung beat them, as Apple has FINALLY committed to a minimum support window for the iPhone (hint: it's less than 7 years).

More details can be found in my latest article for Android Authority.
๐Ÿ”ฅ99๐Ÿ‘25๐Ÿคก7โค6๐Ÿ‘5๐Ÿคฏ1
Fun fact: Millions of iPhone users have already been texting over RCS, they just haven't been aware of it.

In Japan, the +Message app, available on iOS and Android, uses RCS.

More details can be found in this article on Android Authority.
๐Ÿค”63๐Ÿคก23๐Ÿ‘12๐Ÿ”ฅ10๐Ÿ˜8โค3๐ŸŒญ3
Starting this winter, you'll be able to text 911 over RCS using the Google Messages app on Android!

Here's why that's a big deal.
๐Ÿคฏ86๐Ÿ”ฅ35๐Ÿ‘17๐Ÿฅฑ5๐Ÿค”4โค3๐Ÿ“1
Ahead of WWDC today, I found out what version of the RCS Universal Profile Apple will implement in the iOS Messages app.

It's also heavily implied that Apple will support RBM, but not confirmed. Hopefully they share more details at WWDC!

You can find more details in this article.
๐Ÿ‘51๐Ÿ”ฅ9โค4
First look at RCS in the Apple Messages app!

Sadly, you'll still be seen as a green bubble.
๐Ÿคฃ222๐Ÿคก58๐Ÿ‘42๐Ÿ–•21๐Ÿ˜ข11๐Ÿฅด8โค5๐Ÿ˜3๐Ÿ˜ญ2๐Ÿ‘Ž1๐Ÿ”ฅ1
Android 14 QPR3, the third and final quarterly build of Android 14, is here! It's been in beta testing since early February, giving Google lots of time to fix bugs.

There aren't many new user-facing features, but here's a rundown of the few there are, over on Android Faithful.
๐Ÿ‘65๐Ÿ”ฅ12๐Ÿคก9
The Pixel Feature Drop for June 2024 is here, bringing Gemini Nano to the Pixel 8/8a, car crash detection for the Pixel Watch 2, DISPLAY OUTPUT SUPPORT (on the Pixel 8 series) FINALLY, and a lot more!

You can read more about this update over on Android Faithful.
๐Ÿ‘64๐Ÿ”ฅ16๐Ÿคก13๐ŸŽ‰9๐ŸŒญ1
Mishaal's Android News Feed
The Pixel Feature Drop for June 2024 is here, bringing Gemini Nano to the Pixel 8/8a, car crash detection for the Pixel Watch 2, DISPLAY OUTPUT SUPPORT (on the Pixel 8 series) FINALLY, and a lot more! You can read more about this update over on Android Faithful.
If you're wondering, the Pixel 8, 8 Pro, and 8a are the ONLY devices in the Pixel lineup that are capable of receiving display output support via an OTA update.

Don't expect this to happen for any other Pixel, ever, because it's disabled at the hardware level on them.
๐Ÿ˜ข82๐Ÿคก29๐Ÿ‘27๐Ÿ˜ญ9๐Ÿ‘Ž3๐Ÿ˜2๐Ÿ’”2
Many have already pointed out that Android 15's Easter egg is unchanged from 14, but there's actually one subtle change: You can now plant flags on planets you land on!

However, the ability to plant flags is itself gated behind a feature flag. Yes, there's a flag for flags.

For more details + a screenshot of this new Easter egg change in Android 15, check out this article.
๐Ÿ˜38๐Ÿคฎ34๐Ÿ‘18๐Ÿคก15๐Ÿ’ฉ8๐Ÿคฃ8๐Ÿคทโ€โ™‚4๐Ÿค“3๐Ÿฅฐ2๐Ÿ˜2๐Ÿ†’1