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Tag: Google Play

  • Google Play Store’s Major Overhaul: New Personalized Hub With Game-changing Features For Gamers

    Google Play Store’s Major Overhaul: New Personalized Hub With Game-changing Features For Gamers

    Google Play Store is undergoing a significant update that will reimagine the platform not just as a place for app downloads, but as a personalized hub for all your content. The update will feature a new “You” tab and a “Sidekick” for gamers.

    What’s New?

    The revamp of Google Play Store features several key updates focusing on personalization and gaming. The update aims to present content without users having to seek it out.

    The primary “Apps” tab is becoming more intelligent. It will feature new sections curated for seasonal topics, visually spotlighting events such as the WNBA playoffs or Halloween, with content aggregated from various apps. The new “Guided Search” will allow users to type in a goal like “find a home,” and AI will categorize relevant apps into useful groups.

    Game-Changing Features for Gamers

    The most substantial transformations are intended for gamers. Google is creating a unified gaming platform embedded within the Play Store. The gaming platform will feature a new gamer profile that tracks stats and achievements across all your games, both mobile and PC. Users can customize these profiles with a Gen-created avatar. A new feature called “Play Games Leagues” will allow users to compete against others in games like Subway Surfers for Play Points rewards.

    The most noticeable addition is the “Play Games Sidekick.” This in-game overlay gives users access to Gemini Live using screen sharing. The feature offers verbal tips and walkthroughs without the need to exit the app.

    The “You” Tab

    All these features culminate in a brand new “You” tab. This personalized home base combines your gaming profile, rewards, and subscriptions with custom recommendations for things like audiobooks and podcasts. It allows users to quickly resume previous activities.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the new “You” tab on Google Play Store?
    The “You” tab is a personalized home base that integrates your gaming profile, rewards, and subscriptions with tailored recommendations, allowing users to resume their previous activities quickly.

    What is the “Play Games Sidekick” feature?
    The “Play Games Sidekick” is an in-game overlay that gives users access to Gemini Live using screen sharing. It provides verbal tips and walkthroughs without the need to exit the app.

    What is the purpose of the Google Play Store update?
    The update aims to transform the Google Play Store into a personalized hub for all user content, with a particular focus on enhancing the gaming experience.

  • It’s now easier to update your apps in the Google Play Store

    It’s now easier to update your apps in the Google Play Store

    The guys over at Mountain View are tinkerers by nature. How else can you explain why there are so many small changes made to the Android UI or the UI on Android apps? These changes are usually made to improve the user experience. And Google has done it again, this time making a small but subtle change to the Google Play Store via a server-side update.
    Such updates are done without the user being involved and typically, a user might spot something different and say to himsel,f “this button didn’t look like this the other day, did it? Or am I seeing things?” The latest such change took place, as we said, in the Google Play Store where the “Update” and the “Update all” buttons have been made larger. The pill-shaped buttons are “plumper” which makes it easier to press when there is a long list of apps to update and there is one specific one you want to have updated first.
    The bigger “Update” and “Update all” buttons can be found on this writer’s Pixel 6 Pro running Android 13 QPR1 Beta 3. If you are still dealing with the “skinnier” buttons, there isn’t much you can do except wait for Google to tap the button that sets off the server-side update for your Android phone.
    To update the apps on your Android phone open the Google Play Store. Tap the round button with your initials or photo on the right side of the search field at the top of the screen. Press on Manage apps & device and you’ll be taken to a page that shows the number of app updates you have ready. Tap on details and you’ll see all of the updates that are ready in a queue. You can tap on each app’s individual (and hopefully plumper) “Update” button or press on the “Update all” button to take care of business with a single press.
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  • Crypto Pi app disappears from Google Play Store

    Crypto Pi app disappears from Google Play Store

    Cryptocurrency mining app Pi Network has disappeared from Google Play Store for Android devices, making investors concerned about the future of the project.

    “I cannot download the app. I am worried all my mining efforts up until now would be thrown away,” said Le Tu in the southern province of Dong Nai.

    The Pi Network app, the main tool for users to “mine” the cryptocurrency by checking in every day, “is currently going through a regular review cycle and is unavailable to download through Google Play Store,” the developers of the coin said on their website.

    “We expect to be back up on the Play Store soon,” they noted, adding users could manually download the app via a link.

    There seems to be no issue with the app on App Store for Apple devices.

    Bang, admin of a group of Pi users, also known as Pioneers, speculated that the project is set to transition to the main phase and was therefore temporarily removed from Google Play.

    The app ranked seventh among downloads in Vietnam on Google Play Store last month.

    Pi has become a controversial cryptocurrency as the developers allow anyone to own it by tapping on their smartphone once every day without any investment or much details about the development phase.

    Some experts have said the project lack transparency and called on people to be careful to avoid being scammed.

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  • Google Play Music’s last update helps users get rid of the Android app

    Google Play Music’s last update helps users get rid of the Android app

    Google’s Play Music service is officially dead, but it seems that the Android app needed one last update that will allow users to completely get rid of it. Even those who have already migrated to YouTube Music are required to download the update since this is the only way to permanently hide the app.

    Most likely the last update for the Play Music app enables users to hide the app and all data associated with it. Many Android smartphones come preinstalled with the Play Music app and Google still hasn’t found a way to let people uninstall it, even though the service has been discontinued.

    If you don’t own a smartphone that doesn’t allow you to uninstall the Play Music, then this update is of no use since you probably already removed the app after switching to YouTube Music. The rest of you who can’t do that though should update the Play Music app and then tap the “Hide app” and/or “Delete all local data” options.

    Once both options are selected, the Play Music app should no longer appear in the app drawer. On top of that, you will no longer be able to run the app on your Android phone.

  • Google Play Store now tells you which apps are trending higher or lower

    Google Play Store now tells you which apps are trending higher or lower

    It’s human nature to want to know which apps are trending up and which are trending down. And now this information is available on the Google Play Store via a new icon that shows whether an app is trending up or down. The icon shows an arrow moving up or moving down in the top app lists. An arrow pointing up tells you that a particular app is trending higher while an arrow pointing down tells you the opposite.

    Unfortunately, the icons don’t tell us how many slots an app has moved up or has moved down. Nor do we get to know how much time has elapsed while the app in question started trending in one direction or the other.

    To check out which apps are trending up or trending down, open the Google Play Store app. On the top row of tabs, tap on Top charts. From there you can navigate to different charts showing the top apps in certain categories. Looking at the Top free chart you can see that the top three apps are Signal Private Messenger, Telegram, and Zoom Cloud Meetings. MeWe is number four and underneath the number four on the chart, you can see an arrow pointing downward. That means that the app is trending lower.

    TikTok is number five and is trending higher. At number six is DuckDuck Go Privacy Browser with an arrow pointing down indicating that the app is trending lower. Trending higher is Disney+ (#7), Google Pay (#8), discovery+ (#9) and Cash App (#10). This list goes all the way to number 597.

    Most likely your decision whether or not to install an app is not going to come down to how it is trending. Still, those of you who are into such things can now easily get this information from the Google Play Store.

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  • Google shuts down Play Music Store, users advised to transition to YouTube Music

    Google shuts down Play Music Store, users advised to transition to YouTube Music

    Despite repeatedly announcing the upcoming closure of Google Play Music, there are probably a lot of people who are still using the music streaming service. Google has been adamant that regardless of whether or not YouTube Music will reach the parity of Play Music feature-wise, those using the latter will eventually have to switch to the former.

    Today, Google took one important step toward the deprecation of Play Music. The search giant announced that the Music store on Google Play is no longer available. If you’re one of the many music lovers who are still using Google Play Music, you have three choices as of today.

    First off, if you wish to continue listening to your Play Music library, discover new music with personalized recommendations, you must transfer your library to YouTube Music. Secondly, if you don’t want to transition to YouTube Music, you can keep your purchased music via Google Takeout. This option allows you to download previously purchased music from Google Play Uploaded tracks, your music wishlist and reviews, a list of the tracks, playlists, and radio stations in your library.

    Finally, there’s also the option to delete your Play Music library and recommendations history from the Google Play Music account settings. No matter which of the three options you choose, you must act by the end of the year, since that’s when the Google Play Music app will no longer be accessible and all data will be lost.

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  • Telegram has now been downloaded over 500 million times on Google Play

    Telegram has now been downloaded over 500 million times on Google Play

    Messaging app Telegram now boasts over 500 million downloads on the Google Play store. Sure, this pales in comparison to alternatives like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, which have racked billions of installs, but the important distinction here is that Telegram doesn’t come pre-installed on any device.

    Moreover, the app had around 300 million users until last year, so the growth is pretty impressive. If you also count the other client called Telegram X, the tally reaches around 510 million. This version of Telegram has a slightly different interface and features smoother animations.

    Last month, Telegram reached 400 million users. The developers of the app also revealed that 1.5 million new customers sign up every day. Telegram developers say that the services offered by the app facilitate remote work and study, and this has helped with popularity during the quarantine.

    Cross-platform support is also available, allowing users to seamlessly switch between different devices. Telegram is also free and does not contain any ads.

    The messaging app is also joining the likes of Facebook and Google to give some competition to Zoom. It has revealed plans to roll out secure group video calls this year.

    The developers also threw shade at Zoom, which has come under fire for its lax security measures, by saying that video calls today are either secure or usable and it would like to fix that.

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  • Apps with 440 million installs eluded Google Play Protect

    Apps with 440 million installs eluded Google Play Protect

    According to Ars Technica, adware named BeiTaAd was hidden in 238 apps found in the Google PlayStore. The apps, which had more than 440 million installs, played ads to help the hackers collect revenue. And with the hundreds of millions of screens at their disposal, the scheme certainly paid off handsomely for those behind it.

    Part of the problem is that Android users installing one of the infected apps might not have noticed anything untoward in their behavior for a period of 24 hours to as long as two weeks. Once the adware kicked in, the BeiTaAd plugin started to deliver what is known as out-of-app-ads. These appear on lock screens, not inside an app (hence the name) and run audio and video at haphazard times.

    A post in the Android Forum from November was written by someone with a friend using the Samsung Galaxy S8 on AT&T. The post noted that this person had the BeiTaAd plugin on her phone and couldn’t remove it. Another post was made by a gentleman whose wife also had the BeiTaAd plugin installed on her handset, running ads at random times. The malware, said the husband, made his wife’s phone “unusable.”

    “My wife is having the exact same issue. This will bring up random adds in the middle of phone calls when her alarm clock goes off or anytime she uses any other function o(n) her phone. We are unable to find any other information on this. It is extremely annoying and almost making her phone unusable.”-DazDilinger45, Android Forum.

    Mobile security firm Lookout noted that those behind the 238 malicious apps went to great lengths to hide the presence of the plugin. All of the apps involved were published by a Chinese-based company called CooTek and all CooTek apps contained the plugin. The lookout reported the names of the 238 apps to Google, and the latter removed all of them from the Google Play Store. Since this scheme had been running for months, we wonder how these malware filled apps managed to elude detection from Google’s Play Protect system.

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  • Twitter tests new labels that help users

    Twitter tests new labels that help users

    Twitter is reportedly looking at different ways to allow users to edit their tweets after they have been posted. It also appears that there are some other features being tested. A tweet disseminated by Twitter today reads, “We want it to be easy to follow and join conversations on Twitter. We’re testing out labels on replies: author mentioned and following. If you see them, let us know what you think!”

    The “author” label will be applied to replies tweeted by the person who kicked off a particular thread. This will allow users to see if a particular response in a thread came from the person who wrote the original tweet. The “mentioned” label will be attached to a reply from a Twitter user whose “handle” was mentioned in a thread’s original tweet. The “following” label will appear on a reply tweeted by a Twitter member who follows the original author in a thread.

    Only a limited number of Twitter users have seen these labels employed. Since the new features aren’t found in the latest version of Twitter in the Google Play Store (v7.79), they might be rolling out via a server-side update.

    While the Labels being tested by Twitter might help users understand what is going on in a particular thread, we would imagine that most Twitter subscribers would prefer to have the ability to edit their own tweets instead.

  • Google Play Indonesia Games Contest announces winners

    Google Play Indonesia Games Contest announces winners

    Google on April 26 announces the winners of the Google Play Indonesia Games Contest in Jakarta. Hundreds of entries from local Indonesian developers were submitted to this competition which celebrates the spirit and great potential of local game developers.

    The 15 finalists were invited to showcase their submissions at this offline gaming expo for industry experts, Google executives and gaming enthusiasts from across Indonesia, giving them a chance to get their games noticed by the right audience.

    Before announcing the winners, the audience heard from the panel of expert judges about just how important this type of event is when it comes to nurturing developers. The audience then participated in interactive live voting to choose the winners.

    The top three winners are Warung Chain: Go Food Express followed by Tahu Bulat and Vimala: Defense Warlords.

    All three winners were given an Android TV set with 4K resolution.

    Warung Chain: Go Food Express will also be featured in an Android Developer Story video produced by Google Play and promoted on Android Developer / Play Developer channels.

    The goal of the first Indonesia Games Contest was to help nurture the local gaming ecosystem. Google Play believes that with the right support, Indonesia’s talented game developers have the potential to build even more successful businesses and enter the top ranks of game developers globally.

    Google Play Indonesia head of Business Development David Yin says, “We believe that more Indonesian developers have the talent and the drive to break into the global market and make it to the top ranks.

    “I see first-hand how much promising talent there is in Indonesia and we are committed to helping developers of all sizes get discovered and reaching gaming enthusiasts locally and globally.”

    Google Play provides developers with access to more than one billion users worldwide. The Google Play Games Contest is an initiative by Google to help Indonesian developers develop, grow, and earn in the global market.

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  • Idea introducing carrier billing for Google Play

    Idea introducing carrier billing for Google Play

    India’s Idea Cellular is preparing to launch carrier billing for the Google Play store, bringing the capability to India for the first time for Android devices.

    A Google representative confirmed to India’s NDTV that the company is in the process of implementing carrier billing to Google Play for Idea Cellular customers.

    The capability will be progressively expanded to other Indian operators in the future, the report states.

    Carrier billing makes a lot of sense for Google in the Indian market, where only around 645 million debit cards have been issued but there are around 1 billion mobile users.

    Idea Cellular was the first Indian operator to offer carrier billing on the Windows Phone store back in 2014.

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  • Viettel launches carrier billing for Google Play

    Viettel launches carrier billing for Google Play

    Viettel has become Vietnam’s first operator to offer to offer direct carrier billing for the Google Play store.

    The operator has teamed up with carrier billing company Fortumo to offer carrier billing to its 55 million subscribers.

    Both postpaid and prepaid customers will be able to take advantage of the new function.

    Announcing the move, the companies said that smartphone penetration in Vietnam has reached 36.2% of all mobile users, but only 1.9% of the population have a credit card and 26.5% have a debit card. This makes the market well-suited to carrier billing services.

    “The key reason for Viettel selecting Fortumo was our industry-leading technical platform that is capable of simultaneously handling large app stores as well as leading OTTs,” Fortumo chief business officer Gerri Kodres said.

    “Additionally, Fortumo has been preferred choice for carriers in Asia because of our strong focus on the region and local presence.”

    In Asia, the operator’s platform is also used by music and streaming providers such as Sony, Alibaba’s UCWeb, Tencent and Huawei.

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  • Google Play Korea faces telco challenge

    Google Play Korea faces telco challenge

    Korea’s three largest mobile network operators – SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus – are to merge their individual app stores to create a new destination One Store.

    The combining of the offers of T Store, Olleh Market and U Plus Store will represent a significant challenge to the Google Play Korea app store.

    The three mobile operators invited 350 app developers and mobile business representatives to the introduction of the unified platform, which is scheduled to be launched in May, at SK Planet’s Supex Hall in Pangyo on March 20.

    Korean developers have had a difficult time registering their apps to the carriers’ three stores, as each had different policies and procedures. These issues should be mitigated with the launch of One Store, and app operators will also benefit from an integrated data management system that will provide information related to customers, downloads and sales.

    App users will also benefit from One Store, as they’ll be able to preserve their purchase history even if they change carriers, and access unified customer app reviews.

    Lee Jae-hwan, the head of SK Planet’s Digital Content department, said the One Store project has been initiated to create an app store that can compete with Google Play. Representatives of the three mobile operators also mentioned that cost savings resulting from the operation of the unified system would be used to invest in Korean developers’ IT projects.

    It was also announced that T Store’s most recent software development kit (SDK) will be fully compatible with the new One Store SDK.