I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Google's Dave Burke confirmed to me in an interview that the company's Ferrochrome project - which enables running Chrome OS in a virtual machine alongside Android - was just a tech demo.
More details here.
More details here.
Android Authority
Google says Chrome OS on Android was, sadly, just a fun proof of concept
Google says its project to run Chrome OS alongside Android was just a fun proof of concept instead of something they're shipping.
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We got to interview Sameer Samat (President of the Android Ecosystem) and Dave Burke (VP of Engineering for Android Platform) for the Android Faithful podcast! Check it out!
YouTube
Inside Google at I/O: Gemini, AI and Android 15 - Android Faithful 44
Google I/O 2024 kicked off with lots of news and updates about how Google is integrating artificial intelligence even deeper into Android with Gemini. We're incredibly thrilled to get the opportunity to sit down with Sameer Samat (President, Android Ecosystem)…
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Android's Photo Picker will finally get the ability to search through your local and cloud galleries!
This basic feature has been missing since launch, but it's good to see Google will add it soon.
This basic feature has been missing since launch, but it's good to see Google will add it soon.
Android Authority
Android's Photo Picker will finally let you search your gallery
Android’s Photo Picker will soon support local and cloud search. Currently, it shows your photos in albums in reverse chronological order.
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Health Connect on Android will soon add some much-needed features: the ability for apps to sync more than 30 days worth of data (and do so in the background)!
More details can be found here.
More details can be found here.
Android Authority
Health Connect will finally let apps sync more than 1 month of data
Health Connect is adding support for history reads, which lets users give apps access to all stored data, as well as background reads.
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Android 15 Beta 2 quietly added a new adaptive vibration feature for Pixel phones that uses your phone's sensor to automatically adjust its haptic feedback level!
More details here.
More details here.
Android Authority
Android 15 can automatically adjust vibration strength on Pixels
A new “adaptive vibration” feature in Android 15 automatically adjusts your Pixel phone’s vibrations based on your environment.
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Here's every device the Android 15 beta is available on:
* Google Pixel 6
* Google Pixel 6 Pro
* Google Pixel 6a
* Google Pixel 7
* Google Pixel 7 Pro
* Google Pixel 7a
* Google Pixel 8
* Google Pixel 8 Pro
* Google Pixel 8a
* Google Pixel Fold
* Google Pixel Tablet
* HONOR Magic6 Pro
* HONOR Magic V2
* iQOO 12
* Lenovo Tab Extreme
* Nothing Phone (2a)
* OnePlus 12
* OnePlus Open
* OPPO Find N3
* OPPO Find X7
* realme 12 Pro+ 5G
* SHARP AQUOS sense8
* TECNO CAMON 30 Pro 5G
* Vivo X100
* Xiaomi 13T Pro
* Xiaomi 14
* Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro 12.4
* Google Pixel 6
* Google Pixel 6 Pro
* Google Pixel 6a
* Google Pixel 7
* Google Pixel 7 Pro
* Google Pixel 7a
* Google Pixel 8
* Google Pixel 8 Pro
* Google Pixel 8a
* Google Pixel Fold
* Google Pixel Tablet
* HONOR Magic6 Pro
* HONOR Magic V2
* iQOO 12
* Lenovo Tab Extreme
* Nothing Phone (2a)
* OnePlus 12
* OnePlus Open
* OPPO Find N3
* OPPO Find X7
* realme 12 Pro+ 5G
* SHARP AQUOS sense8
* TECNO CAMON 30 Pro 5G
* Vivo X100
* Xiaomi 13T Pro
* Xiaomi 14
* Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro 12.4
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Android in the streets, Chrome OS in the sheets.
Here's Chrome OS running in a virtual machine on Google's Pixel Tablet. Stylus, keyboard, and mouse input work, according to the person who shared this photo (skiman10).
If you're wondering how, this person followed the same steps that I did to run Chrome OS in a VM on my Pixel phone.
Here's Chrome OS running in a virtual machine on Google's Pixel Tablet. Stylus, keyboard, and mouse input work, according to the person who shared this photo (skiman10).
If you're wondering how, this person followed the same steps that I did to run Chrome OS in a VM on my Pixel phone.
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The Wear OS 5 Developer Preview is out, and it includes two features Google didn't mention in their blog post: the new grid-based app launcher and a privacy dashboard!
More details plus screenshots can be found in my latest article on Android Authority.
More details plus screenshots can be found in my latest article on Android Authority.
Android Authority
Wear OS 5 Developer Preview has two new features Google didn't tell us about
Wear OS 5 will bring the long-awaited grid-based app launcher to the Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2, as well as a privacy dashboard.
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Multiple T-Mobile users are reporting that they now have access to Android 15's Satellite Messaging page, and that this page says their account is eligible to send texts via satellite 👀
More details on what this rollout means can be found in this article I wrote for Android Authority.
More details on what this rollout means can be found in this article I wrote for Android Authority.
Android Authority
Satellite messaging could be coming to T-Mobile users on Android 15
T-Mobile users on the Android 15 beta have discovered a page that tells them whether their account is eligible for satellite messaging.
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Dave Burke, VP of Engineering on the Android Platform, shared an interesting statistic during an interview on the Android Faithful podcast.
Android 15 improves standby battery life by up to 3 hours on some devices.
More details on how this was achieved can be found in this article on Android Authority.
Android 15 improves standby battery life by up to 3 hours on some devices.
More details on how this was achieved can be found in this article on Android Authority.
Android Authority
Android 15 improves standby battery life by up to 3 hours on some devices
Google says they’ve sped up how fast phones enter doze mode by 50% in Android 15. The result is improved standby battery life.
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Android 15 Beta 2 adds a new "Google Pixel Avatar Picker" app that can automatically sync your Android profile picture with your Google Account photo.
Surprised this functionality wasn't there already, but it's good to see it finally be added!
Surprised this functionality wasn't there already, but it's good to see it finally be added!
Android Authority
Android 15 gets a new avatar picker app that syncs your Google Account photo
Android 15 Beta 2 can now automatically sync your Android profile picture with your Google Account photo, thanks to a new app.
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If you have a Pixel phone, good news: Android 15 Beta 2 finally restores the ability to control the volume of speaker groups you're casting to!
This feature was removed from Pixel in late 2021 due to the Sonos lawsuit, but it's finally back!
More details can be found in this article.
This feature was removed from Pixel in late 2021 due to the Sonos lawsuit, but it's finally back!
More details can be found in this article.
Android Authority
Android 15 Beta 2 fully restores Cast volume controls for speaker groups on Pixel phones
With the release of Android 15 Beta 2, Pixel phones can once again control the volume of Google Home speaker groups while casting.
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Google TV is finally adding a Find My Remote feature!
Find My Remote already launched on that new Walmart Onn 4K Pro streaming box, but it seems this is a new platform feature that's coming to more Google TV devices.
More details can be found in this article.
Find My Remote already launched on that new Walmart Onn 4K Pro streaming box, but it seems this is a new platform feature that's coming to more Google TV devices.
More details can be found in this article.
Android Authority
Google TV is finally adding a native Find My Remote feature in Android 14 for TV
Google TV is finally adding a new "Find my remote" feature that helps you locate your lost TV remote by playing a sound.
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Patreon, Grammarly, and Adobe are among the first third-party companies to get access to Google's on-device Gemini Nano model. Adobe will use Gemini Nano to summarize and let users ask questions about documents in Acrobat.
More details can be found in this article.
More details can be found in this article.
Android Authority
Adobe Acrobat may soon use on-device AI to summarize documents on Android
Adobe Acrobat may soon use Google's Gemini Nano to power on-device generative AI features like summarization.
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Google TV is finally adding support for picture-in-picture mode! This is coming in the Android 14 for TV platform update.
However, there's a catch: It won't be available on all devices and won't work with all kinds of content.
More details can be found in this article.
However, there's a catch: It won't be available on all devices and won't work with all kinds of content.
More details can be found in this article.
Android Authority
Picture-in-picture mode is finally coming to Google TV, but there’s a catch
Google TV is adding support for picture-in-picture mode, which puts app content in a tiny window overlaying the screen, in Android 14 for TV.
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The Daylight DC1 was just announced! It's an Android tablet with a 10.5in "LivePaper" display that's supposedly as calming to read on as eInk but much smoother like LCD (up to 60Hz refresh rate). This is BIG if true.
I chatted with the founder, Anjan Katta, back in September and came away pretty optimistic about the whole project, so I can't wait to try this myself!
By the way, the reason we chatted is because Anjan seems to really like the hacking/modding community. He told me he's open to letting tinkerers play around with the device by allowing its bootloader to be unlocked. I also told him it'd be nice if they could provide a factory image to restore the device back to stock.
Edit: refresh rate is 60Hz, not 120Hz
I chatted with the founder, Anjan Katta, back in September and came away pretty optimistic about the whole project, so I can't wait to try this myself!
By the way, the reason we chatted is because Anjan seems to really like the hacking/modding community. He told me he's open to letting tinkerers play around with the device by allowing its bootloader to be unlocked. I also told him it'd be nice if they could provide a factory image to restore the device back to stock.
Edit: refresh rate is 60Hz, not 120Hz
X (formerly Twitter)
daylight (@daylightco) on X
Introducing the Daylight Computer
It does less…
So you can be more 🍃
Order now: https://t.co/MWYzSM4534
It does less…
So you can be more 🍃
Order now: https://t.co/MWYzSM4534
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The next version of Android TV OS, Android 14 for TV, will bring some welcome performance improvements. A lot of Android TV devices have underpowered hardware, so any performance increases are welcome!
More details on these changes can be found in this article.
More details on these changes can be found in this article.
Android Authority
Android 14 for TV will bring some welcome performance improvements
The next version of Android TV OS, Android 14 for TV, will improve boot latency, cold start-up times, and scrolling performance.
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The Amazon Kindle app for Android is letting some users in Europe buy books again. Amazon has seemingly enrolled in Google Play's "alternative billing without user choice" program.
Android Authority
You can buy books through the Amazon Kindle app again, but only in this region
Some Android users in Europe are able to buy books through the Kindle app again, thanks to a Google Play program announced in 2022.
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After 8 and a half years, Google Play is once again raising its app price limit: Developers can now charge up to $1,000 for apps or in-app content, up from $400.
Who will be the first to release a meme app that costs $1,000?
Who will be the first to release a meme app that costs $1,000?
Android Authority
Watch your wallets! Google has more than doubled Play Store's app price limit to $1,000
Developers can now price their products on Google Play as high as $999.99. The previous app price limit was $400, set back in late 2015.
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Yesterday, Daylight launched the DC1, a tablet with a REALLY interesting display that allegedly solves issues with both E Ink and RLCDs.
We have photos & videos from the launch event, and we found some interesting things.
The demo units at the event were using Niagara Launcher as the default home screen launcher!
Not only that, but the DC1 had Google Apps and a 120Hz refresh rate!
(Thanks to X user LordServerReset for sharing their photos, videos, and experience from the launch event.)
For more details, read this article.
We have photos & videos from the launch event, and we found some interesting things.
The demo units at the event were using Niagara Launcher as the default home screen launcher!
Not only that, but the DC1 had Google Apps and a 120Hz refresh rate!
(Thanks to X user LordServerReset for sharing their photos, videos, and experience from the launch event.)
For more details, read this article.
Android Authority
A first look at the Daylight DC1, the tablet with a potentially game-changing display
The Daylight DC1 is a new tablet that debuts with Live Paper display technology, which aims to solve one of the biggest issues with E-Ink.
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Mishaal's Android News Feed
Oh wow, Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)! The Amazon Appstore on Windows and all apps and games dependent on WSA won't be supported starting March 5, 2025. Any apps or games you installed prior to today will still be…
WSA might be sticking around after all, at least in China.
In March, Microsoft announced they were ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android after March 5, 2025. WSA lets you run Android apps & games on Windows PCs.
Today, Microsoft announced a partnership with Tencent to bring Tencent App Store mobile apps to the Microsoft Store. Microsoft's announcement doesn't explicitly mention WSA, but it sure sounds like WSA is sticking around, at least for users in China.
For example, the blog post mentions that the "computer version of Tencent App Store" will also rely on Intel Bridge (IBT) and Celadon to enable running ARM apps on x86 PCs. The underlying Android OS is based on Android 13, which was the last version WSA utilized. Android apps are treated like native Windows apps in terms of windowing/search/launching.
It makes sense for WSA to stick around in China, where people are more likely to actually want to run mobile games on PCs. Microsoft ending its Amazon Appstore partnership was likely due to a lack of use, making it hard to justify continued development.
H/T @MlgmXyysd
Edit: Another possibility is that the Microsoft Store will instead download/utilize Tencent's Android emulator instead of WSA. Tencent's emulator seemingly uses Project Celadon's CaaS images with VirtualBox. Their current images might be updated to Android 13, with improved multi-window functionality and Windows integration.
We won't know for sure what technology is used until this actually goes live, though. Thanks to @hmtheboy154 for pointing this other possibility out.
In March, Microsoft announced they were ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android after March 5, 2025. WSA lets you run Android apps & games on Windows PCs.
Today, Microsoft announced a partnership with Tencent to bring Tencent App Store mobile apps to the Microsoft Store. Microsoft's announcement doesn't explicitly mention WSA, but it sure sounds like WSA is sticking around, at least for users in China.
For example, the blog post mentions that the "computer version of Tencent App Store" will also rely on Intel Bridge (IBT) and Celadon to enable running ARM apps on x86 PCs. The underlying Android OS is based on Android 13, which was the last version WSA utilized. Android apps are treated like native Windows apps in terms of windowing/search/launching.
It makes sense for WSA to stick around in China, where people are more likely to actually want to run mobile games on PCs. Microsoft ending its Amazon Appstore partnership was likely due to a lack of use, making it hard to justify continued development.
H/T @MlgmXyysd
Edit: Another possibility is that the Microsoft Store will instead download/utilize Tencent's Android emulator instead of WSA. Tencent's emulator seemingly uses Project Celadon's CaaS images with VirtualBox. Their current images might be updated to Android 13, with improved multi-window functionality and Windows integration.
We won't know for sure what technology is used until this actually goes live, though. Thanks to @hmtheboy154 for pointing this other possibility out.
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