MobileNews

Samsung SmartThings is now available on Android Auto [Update]

January 18, 2021
After announcing that a partnership with Google would bring Nest devices to SmartThings this year, Samsung is about to integrate with one of Google’s platforms. Alongside the reveal of the Galaxy S21 series, Samsung has revealed that SmartThings is coming to Android Auto. Soon, the SmartThings app for Android will feature support for Android Auto. Samsung hasn’t confirmed exactly when this…
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MobileNews

Ongoing Android 11 issue seems to ignore game controller input

January 18, 2021
Android updates nowadays are usually pretty stable, but issues can still crop up and go some time without a patch. With Android 11, some users have noticed problems with game controller input being ignored by the system, and it’s still happening. A support thread on…
MobileNews

Google rolling out Winter Seasonal Savings to Nest Thermostats

January 18, 2021
Back in June, Google made its energy saving tuning program available to all Nest Thermostat owners after previously restricting to certain partner public utilities. The wider availability of Seasonal Savings is continuing this winter with Nest Thermostats starting to show the prompt. Over the past week, Google has been prompting users about Winter Seasonal Savings in the Nest app and on their…
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Google Doodle celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2021

January 18, 2021
Across the United States, the third Monday of January is set aside as a day of service and community in honor of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. This year, Google is joining in the celebration with a homepage Doodle depicting the past and present fights against racial…
MobileNews

Google previewing new Nest Hub alarms with more customization, tones, and ‘Sunrise’

January 18, 2021
In announcing the big UI revamp for Assistant Smart Displays last October, Google also teased the addition of Sunrise Alarms. That Android feature is now beginning to roll out as part of a new alarms experience for the Nest Hub. Today, “Hey Google, show me my alarms” or swiping up from the bottom of a Nest Hub and tapping the alarm icon brings up a carousel where each alarm is placed…
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MobileNews

Google may require AV1 codec support on all new Android TV devices starting March 31st

January 17, 2021
Google’s Android TV platform powers set-top boxes, dongles, projectors, and even TVs themselves. As the shift to Google TV has been ongoing, Google is laying down a new requirement for all new Android TV devices — they must support the AV1 streaming codec. If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because rumors of this news have been swirling for several months at this point.
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