New Commit Suggest Face Authentication to be a System Level Part of Android

A new commit in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) repository suggests that facial authentication is coming to Android as a system level API.  It could mean that from system point of view, Android P could well allow for facial authentication on devices, assuming of course that the hardware to do so is built into the device.

Currently, for manufactures to support facial authentication (like OnePlus for example), they have to build their own app and leverage existing APIs, mostly around the fingerprint authentication.  That works, obviously, but it isn’t as optimized as it could be and it is dependent upon OEMs to build the supporting software & hardware to make it happen.  This commit would more-or-less standardize things for Android.

Google Feed Now Has Improved Dedicated Topic Pages

Improved dedicated topic pages in the Google Feed in the Pixel Launcher and the Google app are now in the process of broadly rolling out to users.  The improved feature allows you to select a topic of interest in your feed and get a dedicated page to that topic along with multiple related articles.  The change is a cloud-side change and appears to be rolling out to a wide range of versions of the Google app, including the current 8.5 stable version as well as the beta build which is version 8.6.

You will know that you have received the new update when you look at your Google Feed either in the Pixel Launcher page or by opening the dedicated Google app.  Next to the topic header, if you see a > (right arrow or chevron), then you have the update.

Google Lens Standalone Shortcut App Released in The Play Store

If you like Google Lens but hate the fact that you have to open up Google Assistant on your phone to get to it, then today’s your lucky day.  Google has just dropped a Google Lens standalone app in the Play Store that you can download.

By all indications, this is a shortcut app.  That means it simply opens up Lens on your phone by pressing the icon for the app instead of having to long press your Home button the tap the Lens icon within Google Assistant.  There is nothing new or special that the app does itself.

Chrome 68 Will Bring New Add to Home Screen Behavior

The Chrome team at Google has announced that starting with Chrome 68, the banner to prompt users to add a site to their Home screen will be changing.  Today, when you visit a site and are prompted to add it to your Home screen, it is a rather large banner.  Starting with Chrome 68, this will be displayed in a mini bar at the bottom of the display.

The goal of all of this is to eventually have an install button option on the omni bar in Chrome and this is a stepping stone to that eventuality.

Samsung Galaxy Note8 Down to $749 on Amazon, $200 Off

If you have been wanting to get your hands on a Samsung Galaxy Note8, today is your day.  Amazon has dropped the price of the 6.3″ phablet by a whopping $200.  Now you can get it with 64GB of storage for $749 in either the Midnight Black or Orchid Gray colors.  This is by far the lowest price so far on the Note8.

For those that don’t recall, the Galaxy Note8 is a  6.3″ device that renders at 1440 x 2560 resolution with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio.  Physically it is 162.5 x 74.6 x 8.6mm and weighs 195g.  In old money, that’s 6.39 x 2.9 x .34 inches and a weight of 6.87 ounces.   It is powered by the Snapdragon 835 SocC and has an eye watering 6GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage.  That storage can be expanded up to 2TB thanks to the MicroSD slot.

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