For the past few years, Google has aggressively encouraged adoption of two-factor authentication (2FA) — or 2-Step Verification (2SV) as the company refers to it. This includes physical security keys that plug in over USB, while it also offers phone security keys. The latest effort turns Chrome for Android into a security key for Google Account sign-in.
After entering username and password…
Leaked Galaxy Watch photos show Samsung and Google’s new smartwatch OS on an actual device
August 1, 2021
We’re a little over a week away from Samsung’s next Unpacked event, but new photos from 91mobiles may have revealed our first in-person look at two things we could see at the show: the rumored Galaxy Watch 4 Classic and the new smartwatch OS from Samsung and Google.
The…
In this week’s top stories: Apple releases iOS 14.7.1 and watchOS 7.6.1 with important fixes, beta testing for iOS 15 continues, AAPL reports Q3 2021 earnings, and more.. Read on for all of this week’s top stories and more.
iOS 14.7.1
Apple this week released iOS…
Google renaming ‘Device Personalization Services’ to ‘Android System Intelligence’ on Pixel
August 1, 2021
“Device Personalization Services” is the method through which Google delivers and updates features like Now Playing (on Pixel), Live Caption, and smart actions in notifications to Android devices. This app updated via the Play Store is now being renamed to “Android System Intelligence,” at least on Google Pixel phones.
Functionality offered by DPS differs from device-to-device with the…
Coming with Android 12 on Pixel devices, “Material You” is the next evolution of Google’s design language, and it brings with it the neat ability to customize colors to match your wallpaper. This primarily affects system elements, but app developers can also tap into…
Back in June, YouTube Music for Android got a redesigned Now Playing UI that did a great deal to help modernize the streaming service, and it’s now finally coming to iPhones.
Update 7/31: In March, the Now Playing redesign appeared for very few YouTube Music users with…
While most Pixel fans are eagerly anticipating the upcoming Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 XL — which are set to overhaul the Made by Google phone series — the Android 12 Beta includes clues to what Google phones will come after that. These possibly include a foldable Pixel and the presumed Pixel 6a.
Digging into the various apps included in the most recent Android 12 Beta, we were able to uncover a…
Google has operated a “community” of the Pixel’s “biggest fans” since at least 2019 — if not earlier. Earlier this week, Made by Google launched a new round of invites to join “Pixel Superfans.”
According to an email we’ve seen, the invite to join…
Apple’s Reminders app is leveling up in iOS 15 with tags. Let’s look at how to organize iPhone Reminders with tags, search, quickly create new reminders in a tag group, with Smart Lists, and more.
The Reminders app has continually evolved over the years with more…
Gmail for Android rolls out tweaked colors for automatic labels, including updates, promotions
July 31, 2021
Google has very quietly rolled out a minor update to its Gmail app on Android that tweaks some of the colors within.
Showing up in what appears to be a wide server-side rollout, the colors of the “Smart Labels” have all slightly changed. We’re seeing the change in Gmail v2021.07.11, but it doesn’t appear to be dependant on a Play Store update. The change is present, at least for us, on…
