Category: App Update

The sleep monitoring app, Sleep as Android, has a new update rolling out that brings a huge number of improvements and new features.  The most exciting new feature is a new Dashboard view, allowing you to look at all of your sleep related data on one page in the app.

The Dashboard is customizable, allowing you to pin different cards to it to give you information that is personalized to you.  By default, it will show you when your next alarm is, your sleep score, your last sleep recording, your sleep Deficit chart and any advise to help improve your sleep.

If there has been one criticism of the Essential Phone, it has been the camera and the camera app.  Frankly, it was a hot mess when the phone was released but the company has been making huge strides in updating both the firmware and software to improve photos from the phone.  Today, they are getting a little better.

There is an update to the Essential Camera app in the Play Store that brings a lot of fixes as well as Auto-HDR support.  The update is version 0.1.096.003 and a lot of work has gone into it around HDR in general.

Microsoft Skype has a new update rolling out in the Play Store today that brings improved audio controls to the messaging and communications apps.  The new build is version 8.15.04 for those keeping score at home.

In this new update, you can now switch between your audio sources while in a call.  You can switch between your phone’s build-in speaker/microphone, a wired or Bluetooth device without having to drop the call.  As you switch, you will lose a couple of seconds of audio, especially when moving to a Bluetooth connected device.  This new flexibility should make it easier to start a call while at your office, then move it to your car’s Bluetooth speakers so you can continue the call on your way home.

Microsoft OneNote, the company’s note taking app, has a new update rolling out that brings a number of improvements for users.  The new build is version 16.0.9001.2134 for those keeping score at home and has been released to the Play Store.  This update likely brings something for everyone as it is pretty comprehensive.

First, there is a new lasso tool, which allows for you to select ink drawings and other content on your page in a much easier and more controllable way.  The lasso tool on the desktop version of Microsoft OneNote always worked well but it hasn’t been in the mobile version up to this point.  Now you have feature parity, on the lasso at least, across all devices.

A new update to the Google Backup & Sync app for MacOS and Windows 10 is rolling out that brings a lot of fixes and a few new features.  The updated build is version 3.39 for those keeping score at home.  This new build was released on February 1st so it is likely that you already have it installed as Google pushes updates to Backup & Sync behind the scenes.

For those who use Network-Attached Storage (NAS), this update is an important one for you as it is finally supported.  You can now backup files and folders stored on a NAS to your Google Drive.  The folder has to be mounted and you will be able to add a NAS folder from the My Computer section of Google Backup & Sync.

A new update to Outlook for Android is rolling out in the Play Store that brings a key new feature:  The ability to resize image attachments prior to sending your email.  The update is version 2.2.95 for those keeping score at home and should land on everyone’s Play Store account over the course of the next few days.

After you update, when you attach an image file to an email, you will have the option to keep the image its original size or to reduce its size for faster sending of that email.