#Chrome
Chrome for Android gain new preload pages settings
Currently on Chrome 96 stable, you will see a toggle for preload pages in the browser, but in Chrome 98 it seems to be changing into a setting page.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security, you will now see Preload pages option instead of toggle, clicking on it bring you to a different page with three options to choose: No preloading, Standard preloading, Extended preloading. The default is set to standard, with Google explaining it preload pages that you might visit and sites that you allow cookies. The extended preloading option will use more data as it preloads more pages.
The changes come directly with Chrome 98. Preloading page helps load the site quicker as it load some part of the website before you enter, and if you want to save your data quota, it better that you choose the No preloading option.
Follow @PixelHubUpdates
Chrome for Android gain new preload pages settings
Currently on Chrome 96 stable, you will see a toggle for preload pages in the browser, but in Chrome 98 it seems to be changing into a setting page.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security, you will now see Preload pages option instead of toggle, clicking on it bring you to a different page with three options to choose: No preloading, Standard preloading, Extended preloading. The default is set to standard, with Google explaining it preload pages that you might visit and sites that you allow cookies. The extended preloading option will use more data as it preloads more pages.
The changes come directly with Chrome 98. Preloading page helps load the site quicker as it load some part of the website before you enter, and if you want to save your data quota, it better that you choose the No preloading option.
Follow @PixelHubUpdates
#Chrome
Chrome 97 let you delete all data stored by sites easily
Up: New settings, Down: Old settings
9To5Google
Google is making some changes to Chrome recently, letting users to delete data stored by sites easily.
In Chrome 97 and onwards, go to
With this change, Google is removing the ability to delete individual cookies from
Chrome 97 let you delete all data stored by sites easily
Up: New settings, Down: Old settings
9To5Google
Google is making some changes to Chrome recently, letting users to delete data stored by sites easily.
In Chrome 97 and onwards, go to
chrome://settings/content/all (Settings > Privacy and Security > Site Settings > View permissions and data stored across files), you can delete all data stored by an individual site.With this change, Google is removing the ability to delete individual cookies from
chrome://settings/siteData ( Settings > Privacy and Security > Cookies and other site data > See all cookies and site data). Web developers can still access it in DevTools. Google explained that it will reduce the chances of user breaking part of the site.#YouTube #AndroidTV
YouTube for Android TV testing autoplay video on home & subscription tab with sound on
9To5Google
Many people are using their TV to watch YouTube as you can get the large screen experience which is great for consuming video content. And YouTube seems to be testing out autoplay video in the home page and your subscription feed.
On the mobile app, video will autoplay when you scroll through the feed but doesn't play audio by default. On desktop, it also has the same behaviour but it isn't widely rolled out yet. On the TV app, the autoplay video will have audio enabled by default and you can't mute it and let the video continue to play.
Well, you can disable the autoplay video preview behaviour though. Go to settings and find "Preview with sound" section, and you can turn it off over there to restore the old behaviour.
YouTube for Android TV testing autoplay video on home & subscription tab with sound on
9To5Google
Many people are using their TV to watch YouTube as you can get the large screen experience which is great for consuming video content. And YouTube seems to be testing out autoplay video in the home page and your subscription feed.
On the mobile app, video will autoplay when you scroll through the feed but doesn't play audio by default. On desktop, it also has the same behaviour but it isn't widely rolled out yet. On the TV app, the autoplay video will have audio enabled by default and you can't mute it and let the video continue to play.
Well, you can disable the autoplay video preview behaviour though. Go to settings and find "Preview with sound" section, and you can turn it off over there to restore the old behaviour.
#Apps #Messages
Google Messages will soon support showing iMessage reactions as emoji
9To5Google
iMessage, being one of the most used text services in the US, is only available for Apple devices. There one feature in iMessage which is reaction, it only display correctly if the recipient is also using iMessage, but Google recently is integrating support for it.
When someone reacted to your message on iMessage, it will show as an emoji under the message, and there no fallback messages too in the message history. As iMessage has different set of reactions, some emoji has been remapped to match Google's offer, like the love reaction shown as hearts-eye emoji on Google Messages, laugh reaction transliterate into laughing face emoji.
Google is also preparing birthday reminders in the Messages app, it will show you the reminder when it is someone birthday, likely taking it from your Google Contacts listing.
These features are hidden in the app version 10.7.
Download (10.7 beta):
Play Store | APKMirror
Google Messages will soon support showing iMessage reactions as emoji
9To5Google
iMessage, being one of the most used text services in the US, is only available for Apple devices. There one feature in iMessage which is reaction, it only display correctly if the recipient is also using iMessage, but Google recently is integrating support for it.
When someone reacted to your message on iMessage, it will show as an emoji under the message, and there no fallback messages too in the message history. As iMessage has different set of reactions, some emoji has been remapped to match Google's offer, like the love reaction shown as hearts-eye emoji on Google Messages, laugh reaction transliterate into laughing face emoji.
Google is also preparing birthday reminders in the Messages app, it will show you the reminder when it is someone birthday, likely taking it from your Google Contacts listing.
These features are hidden in the app version 10.7.
Download (10.7 beta):
Play Store | APKMirror
#Pixel #Pixel6a
Google Pixel 6a first leak, show Pixel 6 alike design
91mobiles | YouTube Video
The Pixel 6 series is just released a month ago, and well, here your first look of the Pixel 6a!
As you can see from the render, the design is similar to the Pixel 6. It has a 6.2' flat OLED display with a centered punch hole design and in-screen fingerprint scanner. It is the first Pixel mid-range phone to have two rear cameras, and it might have the 50MP primary camera, same as the Pixel 6.
It is also rumored to have a glass back and dual-tone finish. The buttons of the phone are featured on the right side with power on top and volume below it. It will have a USB-C port with speaker and microphone grilles. The SIM card housing is on the left side.
The phone could have Snapdragon 778G chipset (or a Tensor lite processor but unlikely). Storage comes with 128GB with 6GB & 8GB option. The phone will get Android 12 out of the box with 3 years of software and up to 5 years for security updates, same as the Pixel 6.
Google Pixel 6a first leak, show Pixel 6 alike design
91mobiles | YouTube Video
The Pixel 6 series is just released a month ago, and well, here your first look of the Pixel 6a!
As you can see from the render, the design is similar to the Pixel 6. It has a 6.2' flat OLED display with a centered punch hole design and in-screen fingerprint scanner. It is the first Pixel mid-range phone to have two rear cameras, and it might have the 50MP primary camera, same as the Pixel 6.
It is also rumored to have a glass back and dual-tone finish. The buttons of the phone are featured on the right side with power on top and volume below it. It will have a USB-C port with speaker and microphone grilles. The SIM card housing is on the left side.
The phone could have Snapdragon 778G chipset (or a Tensor lite processor but unlikely). Storage comes with 128GB with 6GB & 8GB option. The phone will get Android 12 out of the box with 3 years of software and up to 5 years for security updates, same as the Pixel 6.
Google Pixel Hub
#YouTube YouTube co-founder, Jawed Karim, commented to protest the removal of public dislike count on YouTube 9To5Google UPDATE: Jawed updated its response again. If you are wondering what the first video ever uploaded to YouTube, it "Me at the zoo" by a…
#YouTube
Jawed updated its video description again to respond YouTube public dislike count removal
Previous post
YouTube is removing public dislike count from video. and Jawed, co-founder of YouTube responded to it earlier, and recently updated his response with more words.
In the first two paragraphs, he said Matt Koval, the guy in the announcement video, remind him of an interview Admiral Jeremiah Denton gave in 1966. Later, he told "not a single YouTube Creator who thinks removing dislikes is a good idea," also explaining there is a reason why YouTube is doing it, but it's not a good one.
In the 5th paragraph, he said "The ability to easily and quickly identify bad content is an essential feature of a user-generated content platform," Also he asked, is YouTube becoming a mediocre place, answering "nothing can be great if nothing is bad."
Lastly, here a quote:
Follow @PixelHubUpdates
Jawed updated its video description again to respond YouTube public dislike count removal
Previous post
YouTube is removing public dislike count from video. and Jawed, co-founder of YouTube responded to it earlier, and recently updated his response with more words.
In the first two paragraphs, he said Matt Koval, the guy in the announcement video, remind him of an interview Admiral Jeremiah Denton gave in 1966. Later, he told "not a single YouTube Creator who thinks removing dislikes is a good idea," also explaining there is a reason why YouTube is doing it, but it's not a good one.
In the 5th paragraph, he said "The ability to easily and quickly identify bad content is an essential feature of a user-generated content platform," Also he asked, is YouTube becoming a mediocre place, answering "nothing can be great if nothing is bad."
Lastly, here a quote:
In business, there's only one thing more important than "Make it better". And that's "Don't fuck it up". ~ Jawed KarimFollow @PixelHubUpdates
#GooglePlay #PlayStore
Google Play Store seems to be testing out adding "Offers" tab in the bottom bar
9To5Google
Play Store might be getting a new "Offer" tab in the bottom bar, making it much more cluttered with five tab options for more users.
Currently, most people are still having the similar "Offers & notifications in the app menu, but the latest testing changed into a tab option with a price tag icon. Play Pass might be placed somewhere else in the app as the maximum amount of bottom tab option is five.
The changes so far is limited to a very few people, when this get widely rollout to more users, we will report back, until then.
Google Play Store seems to be testing out adding "Offers" tab in the bottom bar
9To5Google
Play Store might be getting a new "Offer" tab in the bottom bar, making it much more cluttered with five tab options for more users.
Currently, most people are still having the similar "Offers & notifications in the app menu, but the latest testing changed into a tab option with a price tag icon. Play Pass might be placed somewhere else in the app as the maximum amount of bottom tab option is five.
The changes so far is limited to a very few people, when this get widely rollout to more users, we will report back, until then.
#Pixel #Pixel6
'At A Glance' upgrade might do much more things on the Pixel 6
9To5Google
Your Pixel 6 "At A Glance" might get much more useful in a future update.
Here are the new features it is gaining, which might let you toggle to whether enable this certain stuff to show in At A Glance or not:
• At a store: Shopping lists and Google Pay rewards cards when you’re in supported stores
• Bedtime: Your upcoming bedtime from the Clock app
• Connected devices: Connection status and battery info for your Bluetooth devices
• Doorbell: Show who’s at the door when your doorbell rings
• Fitness: Activity info from your fitness app
• Flashlight: Reminder when flashlight is on
• Safety check: Safety check countdown from the Personal Safety app
• Timer & stopwatch: Timer and stopwatch info from the Clock app
The changes is spotted on the S10 version of Android System Intelligence app for Pixel 6, and it might replaced the settings page spotted in Pixel Launcher today. These features are currently hidden and not rolled out yet, with possibility rolling out for older Pixels too in a later date but unclear.
'At A Glance' upgrade might do much more things on the Pixel 6
9To5Google
Your Pixel 6 "At A Glance" might get much more useful in a future update.
Here are the new features it is gaining, which might let you toggle to whether enable this certain stuff to show in At A Glance or not:
• At a store: Shopping lists and Google Pay rewards cards when you’re in supported stores
• Bedtime: Your upcoming bedtime from the Clock app
• Connected devices: Connection status and battery info for your Bluetooth devices
• Doorbell: Show who’s at the door when your doorbell rings
• Fitness: Activity info from your fitness app
• Flashlight: Reminder when flashlight is on
• Safety check: Safety check countdown from the Personal Safety app
• Timer & stopwatch: Timer and stopwatch info from the Clock app
The changes is spotted on the S10 version of Android System Intelligence app for Pixel 6, and it might replaced the settings page spotted in Pixel Launcher today. These features are currently hidden and not rolled out yet, with possibility rolling out for older Pixels too in a later date but unclear.
9to5Google
Pixel 6 preps big ‘At a Glance’ upgrade that shows BT device battery, doorbell & ‘flashlight is on’ alerts, more
With the Pixel 6, Google announced a big upgrade for At a Glance that it's been teasing. At a Glance is now set to get even more features...
Google Pixel Hub
#Android #A12 Android 12 could crash your games if you use automated wallpapers XDA Developers UPDATE: The issue will be resolved in Android 12L. Android 12 Material You can extract your wallpaper color and apply it to other apps as the accent color which…
#Android #A12L
You won't face game crashing anymore with automated wallpapers in Android 12L
Android Police | Previous post
Android 12 is Google's latest Android releases, and dynamic color theme engine can extract color from wallpapers and apply it in other places, but this cause a bug where your game can crash when the wallpaper switched automatically in the background. Apparently, Google could be fixing it in Android 12L.
As per Mishaal Rahman, he said that the bug will be addressed in Android 12L, which will ensure switching background automatically won't force the game activities to be close. Google explained that Android 12L is mainly focused on optimising content for large screen devices, but seems like it will also add several new features and address bugs that are in Android 12 for ordinary phones.
Android 12L stable release is scheduled to release for eligible Pixel phones in Q1 2022, with beta releasing in December 2021.
You won't face game crashing anymore with automated wallpapers in Android 12L
Android Police | Previous post
Android 12 is Google's latest Android releases, and dynamic color theme engine can extract color from wallpapers and apply it in other places, but this cause a bug where your game can crash when the wallpaper switched automatically in the background. Apparently, Google could be fixing it in Android 12L.
As per Mishaal Rahman, he said that the bug will be addressed in Android 12L, which will ensure switching background automatically won't force the game activities to be close. Google explained that Android 12L is mainly focused on optimising content for large screen devices, but seems like it will also add several new features and address bugs that are in Android 12 for ordinary phones.
Android 12L stable release is scheduled to release for eligible Pixel phones in Q1 2022, with beta releasing in December 2021.
Android Police
Android 12L will fix the annoying wallpaper bug that crashes games
Until then, just don’t change the wallpaper
#News
Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset to get new naming scheme
Qualcomm
Although Google may have released their own chipset Google Tensor on the Pixel 6, the upcoming Pixel 6a could be once again powered by a Snapdragon chip, and Qualcomm is set to giving its future flagship chipset a new naming scheme.
First, they said "Snapdragon" will be a standalone product brand, no more Qualcomm branding at the front. Next, they are switching to a single-digit series and generation number, starting with their Snapdragon 8-series.
And they also announced several other changes to their brand. Their premium-tier products will be using Gold as representative color, while other colors include Midnight, Gunmetal, Nickel and Snapdragon Red. They also said the “fireball” icon will “gain new prominence.” There also will no longer be a 5G naming at the back as all of their upcoming chipsets will be including it.
Not sure what Google is planning with their upcoming mid range A-series Pixel phones, but anyway time will tell.
Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset to get new naming scheme
Qualcomm
Although Google may have released their own chipset Google Tensor on the Pixel 6, the upcoming Pixel 6a could be once again powered by a Snapdragon chip, and Qualcomm is set to giving its future flagship chipset a new naming scheme.
First, they said "Snapdragon" will be a standalone product brand, no more Qualcomm branding at the front. Next, they are switching to a single-digit series and generation number, starting with their Snapdragon 8-series.
And they also announced several other changes to their brand. Their premium-tier products will be using Gold as representative color, while other colors include Midnight, Gunmetal, Nickel and Snapdragon Red. They also said the “fireball” icon will “gain new prominence.” There also will no longer be a 5G naming at the back as all of their upcoming chipsets will be including it.
Not sure what Google is planning with their upcoming mid range A-series Pixel phones, but anyway time will tell.
Qualcomm
Welcome to the new era of Snapdragon [video]
There's a new look and feel coming for Snapdragon...
#Pixel
Google added favourite songs feature in Now Playing
9To5Google
Now Playing on Pixel, which can identify what music is playing in the background without Internet, is set to gain favourite song feature.
Past record of the music list will now appear in the "History" tab, and you will see there a heart button at the right side, tapping on it reveal a sheet which also show the heart button too. Saving as favourite is also possible via “note next to the track name on your Lock Screen” and the “heart icon in a Now Playing notification.”
As the name suggested, the "Favourite" tab will store all of your songs that you have favourite. The changes is spotted in the Android System Intelligence S10 update for the Pixel 6, which also include the new At A Glance feature, but currently all these features aren't rollout yet.
Google added favourite songs feature in Now Playing
9To5Google
Now Playing on Pixel, which can identify what music is playing in the background without Internet, is set to gain favourite song feature.
Past record of the music list will now appear in the "History" tab, and you will see there a heart button at the right side, tapping on it reveal a sheet which also show the heart button too. Saving as favourite is also possible via “note next to the track name on your Lock Screen” and the “heart icon in a Now Playing notification.”
As the name suggested, the "Favourite" tab will store all of your songs that you have favourite. The changes is spotted in the Android System Intelligence S10 update for the Pixel 6, which also include the new At A Glance feature, but currently all these features aren't rollout yet.
#Pixel
The upgraded version of At A Glance is more powerful than you thought
Android Police
Earlier 9To5Google did an APK teardown of the Android System Intelligence app and found out that Google is preparing an upgraded "At A Glance" which will do much more thing, and Kieron Quinn manage to enable the feature and show how it works.
Google seems to renaming At A Glance to "Smartspace," and as we mentioned earlier, there will be toggle to whether enable certain stuff to show in Smartspace or not. By the way, Kieron Quinn get to enable it and show us an early preview of how the new Smartspace works.
Beside showing on your home screen after unlocked, you can also access it in your lock screen too (and guess what, Google kind of brought back the lock screen widget). You can swipe across to access different cards.
Kieron Quinn shares much more screenshots of how it work in his Twitter (3rd video link), and that just the tip of the iceberg. Excited to see how it works when it start to roll out.
The upgraded version of At A Glance is more powerful than you thought
Android Police
Earlier 9To5Google did an APK teardown of the Android System Intelligence app and found out that Google is preparing an upgraded "At A Glance" which will do much more thing, and Kieron Quinn manage to enable the feature and show how it works.
Google seems to renaming At A Glance to "Smartspace," and as we mentioned earlier, there will be toggle to whether enable certain stuff to show in Smartspace or not. By the way, Kieron Quinn get to enable it and show us an early preview of how the new Smartspace works.
Beside showing on your home screen after unlocked, you can also access it in your lock screen too (and guess what, Google kind of brought back the lock screen widget). You can swipe across to access different cards.
Kieron Quinn shares much more screenshots of how it work in his Twitter (3rd video link), and that just the tip of the iceberg. Excited to see how it works when it start to roll out.
#Android
Latest Android version distribution shows Android 10 still have more users than Android 11
Android Police
It just too bad to see Google discontinued updating public dashboard of the Android version distribution. Anyway, Google is still updating in the Android Studio and here how the numbers look like.
Recently, Google just updated the statistics and 9To5Google estimated the data is about 3 weeks old. The latest data shows that Android 11 has 24.3% of users, slightly less than Android 10, holding 26.5%. For now, Android 12 is not being included in the list yet.
Pie and Oreo still got over 10% of market share respectively. Less than 1% of active Android phones are still running Android Jelly Bean, and Google is planning to kill it off soon, starting with no Play Service update which is done in August.
Latest Android version distribution shows Android 10 still have more users than Android 11
Android Police
It just too bad to see Google discontinued updating public dashboard of the Android version distribution. Anyway, Google is still updating in the Android Studio and here how the numbers look like.
Recently, Google just updated the statistics and 9To5Google estimated the data is about 3 weeks old. The latest data shows that Android 11 has 24.3% of users, slightly less than Android 10, holding 26.5%. For now, Android 12 is not being included in the list yet.
Pie and Oreo still got over 10% of market share respectively. Less than 1% of active Android phones are still running Android Jelly Bean, and Google is planning to kill it off soon, starting with no Play Service update which is done in August.