Category: Android

The latest update to Gmail for Android is making its way out to the Play Store and it brings a new Tip setting for users.  The new build is version 8.6 for those keeping score at home and when you get the update, you will have a new Inbox Tip inside settings for your Gmail account.

The setting is enabled by default and when you tap it, you see the Unsubscribe tips.  With this turned on, you will get occasional tips to unsubscribe to bulk email that you rarely read.

One of the most frequently updated apps from Microsoft is their Android launcher, Microsoft Launcher.  A new build, version 4.10 for those keeping score at home, has been released to the Play Store today and it brings some new features and fixes.

The biggest news is the support of a new family safety feature that is part of the Family Account support.  If you remember, last week Microsoft Edge, the Redmond company’s browser, gained support for Family Accounts as a way to regulate sites your children can or cannot visit.  This addition to Launcher allows you to keep track of your child’s whereabouts and their app activities from the family card on the feed within the launcher.

The new Google Tasks app & service will become a core service of G Suite later this month.  Tasks, as you may recall, is a replacement for setting up tasks in Google Calendar and has a stand alone app for both Android and iOS.  Google has announced that starting June 28th that Tasks will be an on-by-default service in G Suite.

The change makes sense in that Google is trying to get everyone to move over to Tasks instead of using the task settings in Google Calendar, despite the fact that Google Tasks is still limited when you compare it to the old reminders feature in Calendar.  Tasks, for example, won’t let you setup recurring tasks while you can do that in reminders in Calendar.

The Google My Account page found in Settings on your Android phone has a new look and feel today.  A Material Design makeover is rolling out to everyone that brings a far cleaner and easier-to-navigate design to the page.  This is a cloud-side update so there really isn’t anything you need to do to get it – just wait for it to arrive.

With the new look, the Google Account page is brighter and easier to navigate.  It is also setup it a top-tab design to get to various parts of your account so you can review specific elements, not just get one big overview.

The second Chrome 68 build has arrived for the Chrome for Android Beta app.  Build 68.0.3440.23 is now the updated version number and it has been released into the Play Store.  If you have the Chrome Beta app, which is free and anyone can install, you likely already have the update installed.

As with most of these incremental updates to the beta app, this one is mostly focused on bug fixes and stability improvements as the Chromium team within Google, along with feedback from testers, continue to tweak the the build before it goes live for everyone in the Stable channel.

The shopping app Google Express continues it growth with the addition of four new retailers as shopping options.  Epic Sports, Murad, Nothing Like This, and RWGC are now all live in the app and on the Express website and with the promotion code DAD20, you can save on your first order from these and any of the other retailers (up to $20 off).

For those who aren’t familiar with Google Express, it is a shopping app that allows you to order from a wide range of retailers and have your purchases delivered to your door.  There are 56 different retailers as part of Express with everything from sporting goods to cosmetics to home furnishings.