Essential Has Already Released The July Android Security Update for The Essential Phone

While the future of the company may be in question, there is no question that Essential is on top of their game when it comes to updates.  The same day that Google released the July Android Security Update, yesterday, the California company has released their update with the security patches for the Essential Phone.

The new build is OPM1.180104.267 and it is already rolling out to PH-1 owners, bringing the security patch as well as stability improvements for Android Auto.  If you have an Essential Phone, you can manually check for the update in Settings as it should be ready to roll for everyone.

Google Keep Update Brings Grid Support for Drawings

Google Keep, Google’s note taking and checklist app, has a new update rolling out in the Play Store today.  Version 5.0.251.04.40 is the updated build for those keeping score at home and it brings support for grid and ruled lines for drawings.

Keep has always supported drawing but grid lines to help you keep lines straight and the like wasn’t there.  It was added a few weeks back to the online version of the note taking app and now has made it to the mobile version too.

Google Drive for Android Update Allows You to Open Microsoft Office Protected Files

The Google Drive for Android app has a new update rolling out this morning, bringing support for opening Microsoft Office password protected files with it.  The new build is version 2.18.252.01 for those keeping score at home and has been released to the Play Store.

While Google Drive online has been able to open and view password protected Microsoft Office files, the mobile versions of the app haven’t supported the feature.  If you tried to open a password protected file, you would get an error indicating the file couldn’t be opened.  Now Google Drive has feature parity across the desktop and mobile platforms.

Android P Developer Preview 4 (Beta 3) Released for Beta Testers

The fourth Developer Preview and 3rd beta of Android P has been released to those in the Android Beta Program today.  The update is a few days later than expected.  According to the timeline Google published when Android P was announced, Developer Preview 4 was slated for a late June release.

The update is just under 300 MB and is already rolling out to those who have devices registered in the Beta Program.  I currently have my Google Pixel XL in the program and the OTA update has already been received and installed.  As far as new things are concerned, you won’t find much.  There are a tweaks here and there throughout the build but no major feature changes.

Google Releases The July 2018 Android Security Update Patches

As expected, the July 2018 Android Security Update patches were released this morning by Google.  As a general rule, the Mountain View company releases the monthly updates on the first Monday of the first full week of each month.

This month’s update consists of two patches, one dated July 1, 2018 while the second is dated July 5, 2018.  The first patch consists of 11 patches, 3 of which are considered critical updates.  This July 1st patch is generally aimed at Android as a platform itself while the second patch is more device specific drivers and fixes.

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