Google News | En

Google may unveil a new "Minty Fresh" colorway for the Pixel 8 Pro next week.

Made by Google X account published a post with the binary-coded message "Fresh year, fresh drop." The post is accompanied by a blue Pixel 8 Pro, which is painted graffiti-style with a minty solid color, followed by the date 1.25.24.

There's also a page on the Google Store with a countdown to that date and the title "Minty Fresh". At the same time, users are invited to an event where they can see street artist itsaliving create a special mural in downtown New York City.

😎 Google News | En

Google Pixel 8 and Samsung Galaxy S24 get new "Circle to Search" feature.

The fresh flagships of the two tech giants are getting a new "Circle to Search" gesture triggered by holding down the home button or gesture navigation bar. The info on your screen will then open up in Google Lens.

From here, you'll be able to circle or scribble an object of interest to "focus" your search query on it or, if you're looking for text, tap and highlight the info you want. When you’re done, simply swipe away and you’re right back where you started.

The "Circle to Search" feature launches on January 31 on the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro and the new Samsung Galaxy S24 series - in all languages and in all regions where they're available.

🔗 Google Blog

😎 Google News | En

❗️If a telegram account "Google News | En" writes to you — That's scam.

For the last few days I've been getting reports that a certain person with a name similar to my channel writing to people and offering them crypto bullshit. This person has hidden all the data about himself, including the tag, and in the bio column he put a link to my channel, to confuse you. Don't fall for it.

❗️Telegram channels can't write private messages.

Pixel Launcher will soon allow you to choose the default web 'Search engine'.

The app build that comes with Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3 contains a hidden search settings item called "Search Engine". Apparently, this feature will allow you to choose an app to search for info on the Internet, the results from which will be displayed when searching from the home screen or app box.

Right now, the application used for web search is Google Search. It will be interesting to see if changing the Search Engine will change the design of the search bar on the home screen.

The "Learn More" support page is dead at the moment: support.google.com/android?p=choice_screen_error_messages

😎 Google News | En

The January 2024 update has been released for both generations of Pixel Watch.

All supported Pixel Watch devices running Wear OS 4 will receive the January update starting today. The update will roll out in phases over the next week, depending on carrier and device. Changes:

• The January 2024 software update includes the latest security patches for Pixel Watch users.

Build number: TWD9.240105.004.A1

🔗 Pixel Watch Security Bulletins

Google News | En

Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3: The "Convert to eSIM" option appeared in SIM card settings.

This feature was first reported a year ago in Android14 Developer Preview 1. Then this item could be found in the settings search. Now in Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3 this option appears at the very bottom of the SIM card settings. However, tapping on it does nothing.

Google News | En

Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3: The lock screen clock with a vertical date layout received Do Not Disturb and Alarm clock icons.

Since this clock option is special in its own way, it lacked info about the alarm clock and Do Not Disturb mode. Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3 fixes this issue and adds appropriate icons.

Google News | En

Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3: The new Software Updates page is back again.

Android 14 QPR1 Beta 2 added a new updates page that combined Pixel System updates, Google Play system updates, and a shortcut to go to the app updates page. In subsequent betas, it would disappear, then reappear, then disappear again.

In Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3, they've added that page again (now hopefully permanently), but it's missing the shortcut for Google Play system updates (but you can still find them on the security & privacy page).

Google News | En

Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3: Bluetooth quick settings tile dialog is now available by default.

In the second beta, Mishaal Rahman discovered that Google is preparing to bring back the functionality that was cut back in Android 9. This change is now available by default and tapping on the Bluetooth tile opens a submenu with paired devices.

Yes, you will no longer be able to turn off Bluetooth with a single tap.

Google News | En

Android 14 QPR2 (March) Beta 3 is out!

List of fixes:
• Fixed an issue where SPIR-V sequences of OpShiftLeft followed by OpShiftRight didn't produce the expected results for ARM Vulkan driver versions 43.0 and 44.0.
• Fixed issues that sometimes caused Bluetooth connections to be interrupted for some devices.
• Fixed issues that sometimes caused a device to crash or become unresponsive after restarting.
• Fixed issues that in some rare cases caused devices to reboot while in idle mode.
• Fixed an issue that caused live wallpapers to stop animating.
• Fixed an issue that prevented Google Assistant from activating in some cases.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused multi-finger gestures to stop working.
• Fixed an issue where the device's screen didn't initially turn on when the screen was double-tapped or the power button was pressed.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused higher than usual CPU usage during video playback.
• Fixed a system issue that sometimes caused poor audio quality or higher power consumption when making calls.
• Fixed an issue where the keyboard was always shown even if the "Swipe up to start search" setting was disabled in system settings.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes when a user unlocked the device using their fingerprint, there was no haptic feedback.
• Fixed an issue for Pixel Fold devices where sometimes after a user unlocked the device while it was folded, the inner display didn't turn on after unfolding the device.
Fixed various issues that were impacting system stability, performance, connectivity, camera, and accessibility.

Build number: AP11.231117.006 → AP11.231215.007
Security Patch: January 2024

🔗 Android Beta

• OTA images

• Factory Images

Google News | En

Google’s new “cast to devices nearby” feature lets you seamlessly transfer media playback from your Pixel Pro phone to your Pixel Tablet when it’s docked. All you have to do is bring your phone close to the docked tablet to transfer media from phone to tablet or vice versa. This feature works with Spotify and YouTube Music, but Google says it should work with other media apps that integrate Output Switcher support.

Note: You’ll need a Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro, or Pixel 8 Pro as only those models support ultra wideband (UWB), which is the radio technology this feature uses to determine when your phone is close to your tablet and pointed directly at it. The Pixel Tablet has a UWB radio, but it wasn’t really used for anything before this feature’s arrival.

Some of you might remember my posts about an Android 13 feature called “media tap-to-transfer”. To recap, Android 13 introduced UI elements (such as the indicator chips shown in the embedded video) that tell you when your phone is too close/far or you’ve successfully transferred media. The actual media handoff here is handled by Google Play Services.

Android’s media output switcher has gotten an upgrade in Android 14. The new Output Switcher 2.0 adds improved volume controls (such as the ability to tap the volume icon to quickly mute the media), device categories (“suggested devices” followed by “speakers & displays”), and support for picking up devices with custom protocols.

The last tidbit is the most interesting, since last CES, Google said Spotify Connect devices would soon show up in the output switcher; meanwhile Android 13 devices with GMS picked up support for showing Google Cast devices in the output switcher.

Developers interested in enabling Output Switcher support and features like background casting and remote-to-local playback should check out the Google Cast developer guide and Media router docs.

Google Cast is getting better support for short form content, fixing a common problem, and expanding to new devices.

A new “auto-play” button can appear when you’re casting a short form video, giving you the option to cast just that specific video or automatically continue playing the next video after the current one ends. Speaking of short form video, you can now cast TikTok content from your phone! In the near future, you’ll also be able to cast live videos from TikTok.

A new “Persistent Cast icon” ensures the Cast icon will appear whenever users need it, even when no nearby Cast devices are detected. This is because users have complained that the Cast icon is missing, so now the Cast icon will persist to help explain why a specific device might not be visible. Developers are generally recommended to place the Cast icon prominently on every screen with playable content in the top right corner.

New devices with Google Cast support include LG’s 2024 TV series, and later this year, LG Hospitality and Healthcare products such as those in hotel rooms. Google says there are now over 220 million monthly active Google TV and Android TV OS devices (which all ship with Chromecast built-in).

Lastly, for Web Receiver apps streaming HLS content, Google is asking developers to migrate to Shaka Player for playback, since the current player (MPL) won’t get any feature updates. The Cast Web Receiver SDK has gained increased support for HLS playback using Shaka Player on cast device targets and has added an opt-in flag to enable it.

LG TVs and select Google TV/Android TV OS devices will soon be able to act as Thread border routers for Google Home. This will let them act as a hub for your Matter-enabled smart home ecosystem, making it easier to add new Matter devices to your home network and control them from within the Google Home app.

Google didn’t share any details on which Google TV/Android TV OS devices will support this, but I previously discovered code in AOSP that suggests that a Thread network stack will be added in Android 15 but is being specifically backported to Android 14 as well for TV devices. So, it’s possible only some TVs running Android TV 14 will support this.