Android is Google’s open-source mobile operating system; think of it like a public park compared to Apple’s walled garden. It dates back to 2007, and though its dessert-inspired version names were retired in 2019 for a straightforward numbering system, there will always be a special place in our hearts for an OS called “Oreo” and “Ice Cream Sandwich.
Vivo is teasing OriginOS 6, its latest take on Android, and I can’t help but notice that it’s looking very... wet. And glassy. Funny that. It arrives along with the X300 phones next week, and for the first time it’s rolling out globally, killing off Vivo’s cursed international offering, Funtouch OS.
Google’s plans to verify the identity of developers releasing apps even outside the Play Store sparked fears Android was about to get a whole lot less open. Not so, says Google, insisting in a new blog post that sideloading apps “is fundamental to Android and it is not going away.”
[Android Developers Blog]
Two of the best Pixel features are hitting more countries. Google phone owners in Australia, Canada, and Ireland now get Call Screen, with a Hindi beta coming to India soon. They’re all getting Scam Detection too, as are UK users, who got Call Screen last year.
This year’s Material 3 Expressive aesthetic looks great, but only if the heavy background blur doesn’t make things hard for you to read. If it does, a new Android test build includes a toggle to disable blur everywhere. No word yet on when it’s getting a stable release though.
[Android Authority]
Android users can finally (it only took them 17 years!!!) mark emails as read directly from the Gmail notification, clearing the alert at the same time. Meanwhile iPhone notifications now include the sender’s picture, another bafflingly basic feature Gmail hasn’t offered until now.
The company just dropped a teaser for its upcoming series 17 Pro and Pro Max models with a second display on the back. The flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phones are launching this month in China.
Google has been testing Live Updates for its Android mapping app for a while now, but some beta users are seeing a new look. Android Authority reports sightings of a new persistent notification that shows journey progress, ETA, the next turn, and flags any spots of traffic ahead.
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Verge Score
Thin is in, but the big battery is the V5’s real magic trick.
Magic Cue mostly lives up to its name.
Google is announcing the change so that developers can get their apps ready for “upcoming 64-bit Google TV and Android TV devices.” There are no changes to 32-bit support.
[Android Developers Blog]
Android Authority reports that’s Google’s internal codename for Android 17, continuing its sweet treat theme. And if you’re confused why we’re back at “c” after all the alphabetical releases, the site explains that too.
[Android Authority]
If you also use 1Password and have an Android device, you may have also been dealing with autofill problems lately. However, updating to version 8.11.4 or higher and following the instructions to make sure Chrome is set to use third-party autofill seems to have worked on my phone to make the app more reliable again.
According to 1Password, the need to update its app and an uneven update rollout from Google caused a gap as Chrome switched from the old compatibility mode approach to the new native autofill experience.
[1password.community]
