The new Niagara Launcher beta adds a beautiful set of icon packs called the Anycon Family, but what's REALLY interesting is how the team is trying to solve a problem that other icon packs have: it's impossible to make a custom icon for every single app out there!
Those of you who have used an icon pack or Android's Themed Icons feature before are aware that there are always some (or many) apps that don't have a custom icon. This leads to home screens/app folders/app drawers looking like a hodgepodge of mismatched icons.
The only thing you could do was switch to another icon pack and hope it themed the icons you were missing (and even that icon pack likely misses a few), ask the developer of your icon pack to theme more icons, or ask the developer of the app to theme their icon (if you're using Android's Themed Icons feature).
Niagara Launcher's new Anycons feature solves this problem in a unique way: It automatically assigns apps a relevant (but not fully custom) icon based on categorization. I asked the developers how this works, and they told me that it uses a custom, server-side machine learning algorithm that categorizes apps trained on information it finds on the web as well as on icon replacement data from users who opted into the Icon Assistant feature.
So, say an icon pack doesn't have a custom icon for ProtonMail but does for Gmail. One user might apply Gmail's icon for ProtonMail because the two are similar apps. The algorithm then considers the two apps to be similar, and since it knows that Gmail is an email app, then it'll consider ProtonMail to be an email app too.
When I tried the update, Niagara Launcher indeed was able to change the icon for every single app I use. You'll notice where the app applies a generic rather than custom icon, eg. for many restaurant apps it uses a generic fork & knife icon, but it's better than showing the unthemed icon in my opinion.
The Anycons feature is available in the latest Niagara Launcher beta version as part of Niagara Pro.
Those of you who have used an icon pack or Android's Themed Icons feature before are aware that there are always some (or many) apps that don't have a custom icon. This leads to home screens/app folders/app drawers looking like a hodgepodge of mismatched icons.
The only thing you could do was switch to another icon pack and hope it themed the icons you were missing (and even that icon pack likely misses a few), ask the developer of your icon pack to theme more icons, or ask the developer of the app to theme their icon (if you're using Android's Themed Icons feature).
Niagara Launcher's new Anycons feature solves this problem in a unique way: It automatically assigns apps a relevant (but not fully custom) icon based on categorization. I asked the developers how this works, and they told me that it uses a custom, server-side machine learning algorithm that categorizes apps trained on information it finds on the web as well as on icon replacement data from users who opted into the Icon Assistant feature.
So, say an icon pack doesn't have a custom icon for ProtonMail but does for Gmail. One user might apply Gmail's icon for ProtonMail because the two are similar apps. The algorithm then considers the two apps to be similar, and since it knows that Gmail is an email app, then it'll consider ProtonMail to be an email app too.
When I tried the update, Niagara Launcher indeed was able to change the icon for every single app I use. You'll notice where the app applies a generic rather than custom icon, eg. for many restaurant apps it uses a generic fork & knife icon, but it's better than showing the unthemed icon in my opinion.
The Anycons feature is available in the latest Niagara Launcher beta version as part of Niagara Pro.
🔥121👍23🤮21❤9💩5👎2⚡1😐1
Here are two new features coming to Google Photos:
1) Photo Stacks: Google Photos will now automatically identify and group similar photos that were taken close together into a Photo Stack and select the top pick that best captures that moment. You'll have the option to select your own top pick, modify stacks, or turn off Photo Stacks entirely.
2) Better screenshot and document organization: Google Photos will now better identify and automatically categorize screenshots and documents into more helpful albums like IDs, receipts, and event information. Also, Photos will automatically identify things like dates in screenshots so you can quickly add a reminder in your calendar.
1) Photo Stacks: Google Photos will now automatically identify and group similar photos that were taken close together into a Photo Stack and select the top pick that best captures that moment. You'll have the option to select your own top pick, modify stacks, or turn off Photo Stacks entirely.
2) Better screenshot and document organization: Google Photos will now better identify and automatically categorize screenshots and documents into more helpful albums like IDs, receipts, and event information. Also, Photos will automatically identify things like dates in screenshots so you can quickly add a reminder in your calendar.
❤66👍24🆒9🔥6🎉4
Google has published a Play Store listing for the Pixel's new system "AICore" app that I previously discovered in Android 14 Beta 3.
The denoscription for the app says it powers "intelligent features across Android".
"AI-driven features run directly on your device using the latest foundation models."
"To keep those features smart, your device updates the AI models automatically."
"AI Core manages these updates while providing AI functionality to other apps."
If you access AI Core's Play Store listing on a non-Pixel 8 series device, it says the app isn't compatible with your device. Google previously said the Pixel 8 Pro will run the company's generative AI "foundation" models on-device, so this app could be what installs and updates those models. Though interestingly, the AI Core stub is installed on other Pixel builds plus the Play Store listing has the required OS as Android 12+, so who knows!
H/T Nail Sadykov from the Google News Telegram group for spotting the listing!
The denoscription for the app says it powers "intelligent features across Android".
"AI-driven features run directly on your device using the latest foundation models."
"To keep those features smart, your device updates the AI models automatically."
"AI Core manages these updates while providing AI functionality to other apps."
If you access AI Core's Play Store listing on a non-Pixel 8 series device, it says the app isn't compatible with your device. Google previously said the Pixel 8 Pro will run the company's generative AI "foundation" models on-device, so this app could be what installs and updates those models. Though interestingly, the AI Core stub is installed on other Pixel builds plus the Play Store listing has the required OS as Android 12+, so who knows!
H/T Nail Sadykov from the Google News Telegram group for spotting the listing!
👍51🤡13❤7🤔4🆒3
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Google has updated the desktop AVD in Android Studio. The desktop AVD is an emulator build that's intended to be used by Android app developers looking to optimize their apps on Chromebooks/desktop mode environments.
The new builds are based on Android 13 and add support for commonly used keyboard shortcuts (like CTRL+C/CTRL+V) that are handled by the system, custom shortcuts (not handled by the system), additional keymappings for support keys like Esc/Delete/Backspace, in-app scroll wheel support, and right-click support.
The new builds are based on Android 13 and add support for commonly used keyboard shortcuts (like CTRL+C/CTRL+V) that are handled by the system, custom shortcuts (not handled by the system), additional keymappings for support keys like Esc/Delete/Backspace, in-app scroll wheel support, and right-click support.
👍41🔥8👎1
The Google Play Store may be rolling out a new feature that shows you the installation progress of apps in a bubble overlaid on top of all screens in the app store.
I just noticed this feature on my Pixel 8 Pro with Google Play version 38.3.22. Does anyone else have this yet?
This feature has been in development for over a year now. Its codename is "download buddy" and it can be toggled by going to Play Store settings > expanding "general" > Notifications > show install progress bubble. It was enabled by default for me.
I just noticed this feature on my Pixel 8 Pro with Google Play version 38.3.22. Does anyone else have this yet?
This feature has been in development for over a year now. Its codename is "download buddy" and it can be toggled by going to Play Store settings > expanding "general" > Notifications > show install progress bubble. It was enabled by default for me.
👍73🤨16❤10👎5
Android 14 QPR2 will be Android's first "trunk stable" release. "Trunk stable" is an initiative to bring more stability to the Android OS. (Look up "trunk-based development" and how Google outside of Android handles repos for a bit of context on what this means.)
A couple of weeks back, I talked about Google's use of "aconfig", which is a new flag management system that Android will use to gate features and new APIs. aconfig is part of this new development model to help test new features/APIs during the "QPR" beta process, though these features/APIs will only actually be enabled in what's traditionally been the next major Android release.
During The Android Show, Dave Burke kind of alluded to this initiative. To quote:
"I sometimes call quality the number one feature...One of the things that we did internally is we made a pledge to ourselves that we would ensure that every release was higher quality than the previous release by a set of expanding metrics that we measure in the lab and in the field...it's really causing us to force the bar higher and higher and even internally we're looking at changing some of our developer practices in 2024 where rather than sort of you know go off for a year and work on a release for a very long time, like we break that up to chunks internally so we sort of keep the branch green internally. So that's something that we think will help with that metric, so rather than have the metrics go up and down and have to chase them back up it'll be a smaller ripple and it'll make it easier for us to have an increasing slope." (emphasis mine)
As for why the build ID is AP1A instead of something like U2B1, I don't know the exact reason. I have seen in AOSP that future releases are referred to as 24Q1, 24Q2 and so on, and that Android 15 V should be called 24Q3. The build IDs should thus progress from AP1A, AP2A, AP3A, and so on.
I won't say much more since I'm hoping Google will talk more about this soon. Everything I mentioned here can be gleaned from reading AOSP, btw.
A couple of weeks back, I talked about Google's use of "aconfig", which is a new flag management system that Android will use to gate features and new APIs. aconfig is part of this new development model to help test new features/APIs during the "QPR" beta process, though these features/APIs will only actually be enabled in what's traditionally been the next major Android release.
During The Android Show, Dave Burke kind of alluded to this initiative. To quote:
"I sometimes call quality the number one feature...One of the things that we did internally is we made a pledge to ourselves that we would ensure that every release was higher quality than the previous release by a set of expanding metrics that we measure in the lab and in the field...it's really causing us to force the bar higher and higher and even internally we're looking at changing some of our developer practices in 2024 where rather than sort of you know go off for a year and work on a release for a very long time, like we break that up to chunks internally so we sort of keep the branch green internally. So that's something that we think will help with that metric, so rather than have the metrics go up and down and have to chase them back up it'll be a smaller ripple and it'll make it easier for us to have an increasing slope." (emphasis mine)
As for why the build ID is AP1A instead of something like U2B1, I don't know the exact reason. I have seen in AOSP that future releases are referred to as 24Q1, 24Q2 and so on, and that Android 15 V should be called 24Q3. The build IDs should thus progress from AP1A, AP2A, AP3A, and so on.
I won't say much more since I'm hoping Google will talk more about this soon. Everything I mentioned here can be gleaned from reading AOSP, btw.
👍69🔥9🤔5
Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 adds the previously mentioned "single app" screen recording and screen casting features!
When you start a screen recording, you now have the option to record a single app or the entire screen. Choosing single app opens an app selector with recent apps. The resulting screen recording won't include the navigation or status bar areas.
You can also choose to screen cast a single app instead of the entire screen.
When you start a screen recording, you now have the option to record a single app or the entire screen. Choosing single app opens an app selector with recent apps. The resulting screen recording won't include the navigation or status bar areas.
You can also choose to screen cast a single app instead of the entire screen.
❤58🔥17👍11🎉2👏1
In Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1, the taskbar's app drawer icon has been updated, and there's also finally a search bar in the taskbar's app drawer!
🔥47👍10👏3
Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 introduces a new privacy indicator dialog that appears whenever an app is using the microphone or camera and you tap the privacy indicator chip after pulling down the status bar.
Previously, tapping the chip would launch a full screen activity that was like a mini Safety Center.
Previously, tapping the chip would launch a full screen activity that was like a mini Safety Center.
👍54🔥9🤔5🆒5👎1
The Pixel Launcher is FINALLY preparing to add a toggle that lets you HIDE the At a Glance widget from the home screen. After the widget is hidden, the space underneath it is open to other apps/widgets!
This toggle is not visible yet in Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1, so I had to manually activate it!
This toggle is not visible yet in Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1, so I had to manually activate it!
👍89🔥36😍13🎉10🤡5🙈4🤔3👏2❤1💩1
Android is preparing to add support for "Remote Authenticator Unlock". My understanding is that this is the AOSP platform version of GMS Watch Unlock.
These features let you unlock your phone using your watch. Here's a more in-depth explanation of Watch Unlock.
These features let you unlock your phone using your watch. Here's a more in-depth explanation of Watch Unlock.
👍48🔥8
I think Android is preparing to finally add a pop-up dialog for the Bluetooth Quick Setting tile! I'm guessing this dialog will show your recently connected devices and possibly let you pair to new ones without having to open the full Bluetooth settings.
A new
A new
bluetooth_qs_tile_dialog flag has been added as well as code under com.android.systemui.qs.tiles.dialog.bluetooth, but I don't think the feature is fully implemented yet in this build.👍80❤9🔥8
Spotted a new "Private Space" settings page in Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1. Tapping "Create Private Space" creates a new profile of type
If I had to guess, this "Private Space" will let you hide apps on your phone from other people.
android.os.usertype.profile.PRIVATE, which seems to be a new type of user in Android. If I had to guess, this "Private Space" will let you hide apps on your phone from other people.
👍64🎉10❤8