Category: App Update

The premium movie service Showtime has released an update for their Android app that gives users the ability to view movies and shows offline.  The new feature allows you to download content to your Android phone or tablet so you can view that content offline.  By default, the app will continue to stream content when you view it but now you have the option to download it and take it with you for situations like car trips or plane trips where you don’t have access to the Internet for streaming.

The new feature is simple to use.  Just find the title you want to view then tap the download button.  This will download that movie to your phone so you can view it later.  There is also a new downloads section in the Showtime app that shows you all of the content you have downloaded to your phone or tablet.  Keep in mind that downloading on your phone will give you a maximum resolution of 720p while on a tablet you can download in 1080p.  This is due to screen sizes and to save a bit on storage space on your phone.

In the latest update to the Netflix app for Android, there is a new and simpler rating system for content.  Gone are the up to 5 star ratings that users could give a television show, movie or Netflix original content.  Instead, it has been replaced with a thumbs up or thumbs down rating.  That’s it.  No middle ground.  It has become a binary “Did you like it or not?”  rating.

As you can guess, I’m not a fan.

I understand what the streaming content provider wants to do.  They want to make it less complicated for you to potentially try a TV show or movie.  Think about it: How many 3-star shows have you skipped over only to go back and watch it because it was recommended to you by a friend?  I know I’ve done it probably dozens of times over the years as a Netflix customer.  Which is exactly why they are getting rid of it.

The Google WiFi app for Android has had an update rollout today that brings a great new feature for scheduling access time for certain devices.  Named Scheduled Pause, the new feature allows you to schedule times in which devices that you select are not able to gain WiFi access.  This is a great feature for parents who can block network access to their children’s phones or tablets while it is homework time or after bedtime.  While it won’t block things like 4G data use, it can at least give some control over the WiFi network in the house.

Once you have a schedule setup, you don’t have to do anything to enable it.  It runs and ends at the defined time you selected when setting it up and only impacts the devices you put on the list as being subject to that schedule.

Project Fi subscribers, there is a small update rolling out for the app that should be hitting your phones in the next few days.  The update is build N.3.3.19 for those keeping score and it brings with it some minor updates and improvements.  Perhaps the most noteworthy update according to the Fi User Forums moderators post is more flexibility to notify users from inside the app.  What this means exactly wasn’t explained but I can assume it means that there are improved notifications or different types of notifications coming from the Fi app than previously.  I’ve already received the update but I’ve not seen any noticable changes in notifications or how it functions.

Along with this, fixes for app crashes have been applied in this update as well as, “Minor polishes to the account management experience”.  Again, having looked at this, I’m not seeing a change.  If you are a subscriber to Google’s MVNO and see a change, let me know (I’ll update this post with proper credit).

Microsoft Cortana, the company’s digital assistant, has been updated for Android with the ability to interact with it from your lock screen.  Two weeks ago, Cortana was updated for Android adding the ability to have it on your lock screen.  From there, you could access your calendar, news and other information.  What you could not do, however, was interact with it by voice.  That has now changed.

With the version 2.6 update, which is rolling out now, you can ask Cortana questions just as you can when your device is unlocked and you tap the Cortana button.  You can ask the service a question, set a reminder for a task or event from your lock screen.

Chrome for Android has a small update rolling out for users of the browser.  The update remains in the Chrome 57 train, with the version number updated to 57.0.2987.126.  The update is a minor one and mainly focuses on addressing a crash issue that some users were experiencing.  If you have been experiencing stability issues with the browser on your Android device, this update hopefully will address those issues for you.

In addition, the Chrome team indicated in the release notes that some improvements around CSS and performance regressions are in this update with the crash fix.