YouTube for Android TV has a new UI for the video denoscription/comments box.

Instead of overlaying the video on the right side (left), it now sits side-by-side with the video (right). I prefer this UI since it means I can read the denoscription/comments without obscuring parts of the video.

Edit: Seems like this was announced 2 days ago!

Google Contacts is rolling out a new "contact ringtones" page that lets you "add a custom ringtone to individual contacts to help you recognize who's calling."

Some users are starting to see this on the latest version (4.27.26), but I don't have it, so it's likely a server-side rollout.

Let me know if you see this feature!

(Credits to winner00 and scuttlefield on my Discord for the screenshots!)

This has started to roll out in the last few days for many users. If you open Android's Photo Picker, it should now automatically pull content from your Google Photos account. You should also see a menu item to open the "cloud media app" settings.

Depending on your device, "cloud media app" may also appear under Settings > Apps. Let me know if this has rolled out for you as well!

Google Keep is rolling out its new "help me create a list" feature to some more users. This feature uses generative AI to help you create a list.

If "help me create a list" has rolled out to you, you'll see a dialog upon opening the app that informs you. You'll then see a "help me create a list" button when you're creating a new note.

I haven't seen this yet in Google Keep, but let me know if you have it!

According to 9to5Google, this started slowly rolling out to some users since last month.

(Thanks to Arturo De La Rosa for the screenshots!)

Google Meet on Android 14 QPR2 supports Android's new app screen sharing feature, which lets you mirror a single app instead of your entire screen.

This lets you share an app screen during a presentation without risking you sharing your private messages or notifications.

The app screen sharing/casting feature is available starting in Android 14 QPR2 for Pixel but should be available on other devices with Android 15.

Source

ICYMI: Qualcomm this week unveiled the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3.

The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 is tiered slightly above the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, while the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is right below the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The 7+ Gen 3 offers boosted CPU and GPU performance and Wi-Fi 7 support versus the 7 Gen 3. The 8s Gen 3 has slightly lower CPU clocks, an older GPU, and an older modem, but it has the same Arm CPU IP.

The key feature of these new platforms is that they bring support for running many popular LLMs on-device, such as Baichuan-7B, Llama 2, Gemini Nano and Zhipu ChatGLM. This will bring on-device generative AI features to more price points.

Expect to see a lot of "flagship killer" and upper mid-range smartphones powered by these new chipsets, with vendors like
Honor, iQOO, Realme, Redmi, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and SHARP adopting one or both platforms.

Android 15 Developer Preview 2 is OFFICIAL! Google has just announced the release on the Android Developers blog. Here’s what Google says is new in Android 15 DP2:

- Android 15 DP2 adds some UI elements to ensure a “consistent user experience” for devices that support satellite connectivity. The update also expands platform support for satellite connectivity by adding a new ServiceState.isUsingNonTerrestrialNetwork() API that apps can use to detect when a device is connected to a satellite. Android 15 also lets SMS/MMS/RCS apps use satellite connectivity for sending and receiving messages.

- Android 15 is adding a property (WindowManager#COMPAT_SMALL_COVER_SCREEN_OPT_IN) that developers can use to show their Application or Activity on the small cover screen of a clamshell foldable phone (AKA a “flippable” device). Since these screens are too small for most apps, you need to opt in to support them. Plus, this only works on flippable devices that add support for this feature.

- Android 15 lets apps detect when they’re being recorded! Apps can use WindowManager’s addScreenRecordingCallback(...) API to receive a callback when they transition between being visible or invisible in a screen recording. This lets apps that are performing sensitive operations inform the user that they’re being recorded. Notably, this expands on the screenshot detection API introduced in Android 14.

- The PdfRenderer API is getting a lot of improvements in Android 15! The API now lets apps add advanced features like rendering password-protected files, annotations, form editing, searching, and selection with copy. Linearized PDF optimizations are supported to speed up local viewing and reduce resource use. Google is moving PdfRenderer to a Mainline module that can be updated via Play System Updates. On Android 11+, the PdfRendererPreV API provides a backported version of these changes.

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