Author: Clinton

A new comment in Chrome OS Gerrit suggests that some older Chromebooks will not be getting updated to the Android P framework, including the 2015 Google Chromebook Pixel.  It isn’t entirely surprising, and not entirely confirmed for that matter, that Google would begin to pear back updates for the framework.

For those who aren’t familiar, the Android Framework is more-or-less the underpinnings that allows Chrome OS to install and run Android apps.  Right now that framework is based on Android Oreo but testing has long been in progress with Android P.  But, like some phones, there comes a point where the devices themselves can’t support the new framework or it causes performance issues.  While not confirmed, that’s likely the case for some older Chromebooks that can run Android apps.

One of the best things about Android Messages for Android is Smart Replies.  If you aren’t familiar, Smart Replies allows for one-tap replies to text messages received, relying on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to give you the appropriate answer options.  Now it seems that Google is building this same AI/ML into Google Gboard to enable it to work across a wide range of messaging apps.

The feature is still very much in development so don’t look for it in the stable release of the keyboard app just yet.  Instead, the team over at XDA has done a tear down of the latest beta of the Gboard app and has discovered the code to support Smart Replies across multiple different messaging apps.

The new Moto G6 Play, one of the newest phones in Amazon’s Play lineup, is now available and already discounted.  Normally the 5.7″ phone is $199 but right now Amazon has it down to $189.  Hey, ten bucks is ten bucks, right?

The G6 Play is the entry level of the G6 lineup and is powered by the Snapdragon 430 SoC, has 3GB of RAM and comes with 32GB of storage.  That storage can be expanded up to an additional 256GB thanks to the MicroSD slot built into the phone.  All-in-all, not bad for a sub-$200 phone.

Google Pay has once again been working hard with banks and financial institutions, adding another 63 of them to the roster today.  With the additions, Pay now is supported by some 1,427 institutions in the United States alone, well ahead of their nearest competition.

In addition to the these financial institutions being added, which I’ll list out after the break, Google Pay also picked up support for the PayPal Mastercard.  Support for PayPal was added back in May of last year but the Synchrony-backed Mastercard was not supported.  Now it is and you can add it to Pay to use as a purchasing option when you tap-to-pay at a retailer or online.

The third Chrome 68-based build in as many weeks has landed in the Chrome OS Beta Channel.  Build 68.0.3440.40 (Platform version: 10718.34.0) is the updated version for those keeping score at home and should be available to the majority of devices that are in the channel.

As always, for those who have a device registered in the Beta Channel, you can just type chrome://help in the browser ominbar which will bring you to the build information on your Chromebook.  There you will see a Check for Update button which will download the latest build to your device.

Earlier this year, Google began rolling out a Quick Access panel in Google Docs to a limited scope of G Suite customers.  Functioning similar to the Quick Access panel in Google Drive, except being located in the Explorer button, Docs uses artificial intelligence to to show relevant files in the Explorer button of Docs based on your Google Drive activity and information in your document.  Now Google is rolling it out to all G Suite customers.

While the feature is still rolling out, once you have it, you will have a richer experience on the Explorer button in Google Docs with this new relevant information.  This will allow you to reference other files more quickly but also get information from those files to put into your current Docs.