This is a bit personal, but screw it: the All About Android podcast that I've been fortunate to be a co-host of is ending after a 12 year run. Tonight's episode (at 5:00 PM PT) will be the final one.

RIP 😢

A bug in the Android Privacy Dashboard resulted in some WhatsApp users seeing erroneous microphone usage alerts, but Google says updating to the latest version of the WhatsApp app fixes this issue.

It's worth noting that Google doesn't say the bug itself has been fixed, just that WhatsApp no longer triggers this bug.

The Android Privacy Dashboard is contained within the Permission Mainline module. I didn't see any relevant patches in the source code for the May 2023 GPSU, but I'll keep an eye out for the relevant patch.

The /r/Android subreddit is back up, but submissions are currently restricted. The mods are seeking feedback from community members about how to proceed from here, so if you want to share your thoughts, you can do so in this thread.

Thanks to a tip from developer Pratyush, I've found evidence that suggests Google could be making stylus and keyboard accessories for the Pixel Tablet, two accessories it's missing at launch! You can read about the evidence here.

I would've picked up the Pixel Tablet day 1 if it had launched with these accessories, but I'm guessing the surrounding features that Google is working on to make these accessories more useful (notetaking integration in Keep, desktop mode) aren't fully ready yet!

Coincidentally, Android Police just published an article showcasing how a 3P USI stylus can magnetically attach to the back of the Pixel Tablet.

Oh, and this is also my first article for Android Authority 😁 You'll see my name pop up in a few more places soon, including Android Central and Android Police, though with slightly different content for each!

Here's a demo of the redesigned Google Weather UI on phones.

The redesign is currently exclusive to the Pixel Tablet, and I've managed to enable it on the latest version of the Google Search app by spoofing the device's code name to 'tangorpro' (Pixel Tablet).

The UI is now presented as a single feed consisting of current weather, hourly forecast, 10-day forecast and detailed current weather at the very bottom. Clicking on one of the days will open a separate page with detailed weather information and the ability to switch between them in a carousel at the top.

Google News | En

As spotted by Al Sutton over on Mastodon, Google has been using the Pixel Tablet as an Android Automotive OS test device. However, it's not yet possible to build AAOS for the Pixel Tablet as the sources haven't been pushed to AOSP yet.

Since the Pixel Tablet doesn't have mobile data or GNSS, though, I don't think it'd make for an ideal AAOS test device like the Galaxy Tab S5e/Tab S6 Lite that's unofficially in use by several companies now.

On the other hand, the Pixel Tablet will receive official support unlike these older tablets and is always bootloader unlockable (unlike many U.S. variants of these Galaxy tablets)

scrcpy 2.1 has been released with the ability to do audio-only mirroring, capture the device microphone, set a time limit while recording, foldable device support, and fixes for Android 14!

(If you're not familiar, scrcpy [short for 'screen copy'] is a lightweight, fast, and powerful device mirroring tool.)

Okay, so this issue has caught the attention of even more law enforcement agencies around the world.

According to the BBC, police chiefs in the UK and the European Emergency Number Association have warned about the rise of false emergency calls originating from Android phones.

Google told the BBC that it expects OEMs to roll out updates to address the issue.

"To help these manufacturers prevent unintentional emergency calls on their devices, Android is providing them with additional guidance and resources," they said.

"We anticipate device manufacturers will roll out updates to their users that address this issue shortly. Users that continue to experience this issue should switch Emergency SOS off for the next couple of days."

See this post for an explanation of the Emergency SOS feature in Android and about the requirements that OEMs have to meet.

One oddity about the Wear OS 3 release for non-Google, non-Samsung smartwatches was the lack of Google Assistant. But now, the Fossil Gen 6 is getting Google Assistant support back with its latest update, according to Droid-Life!

We still don't know why Google Assistant support wasn't available for non-Google, non-Samsung Wear OS 3 smartwatches.

1) Was there an exclusivity deal?

2) Did the Assistant app just require significant reworking for Wear OS 3 that they prioritized optimizing for Exynos first?

My guess is on #2, but if you know the answer, my DMs are open!

Google announced something quite interesting at I/O that I think many missed: The ability to stream or transfer VoIP calls from your phone to your tablet! One screenshot they showed off suggests you'll be able to stream a Google Meet call from a Pixel phone to a Pixel Tablet.

This will be made possible through a new Jetpack library called Telecom, which is available to developers in alpha right now. More details here.

FINALLY! According to Kamila Wojciechowska, the Pixel 8 may support DisplayPort Alt. Mode, meaning Pixel will finally have proper display output support!

And what'll that be for? Probably desktop mode, meaning Google's finally taking on Samsung DeX!

In my first editorial for Android Central, I wrote about why the Pixel 8 getting desktop mode support is a big deal and also offer a look at Android's current (WIP) desktop mode revamp. Read it here.

For context, read "Google Pixel 8 leak points to deskop mode support" on Android Authority by Kamila Wojciechowska. Her article goes into more depth about what DisplayPort Alternate Mode is!

Great point brought up by Saket Narayan on Mastodon:

DisplayPort Alt. Mode support on the Pixel 8 would also enable it to connect to wired AR smart glasses like the Nreal Air (now called XREAL Air). I wonder how/if this would tie in to a potential new Google Glass.

Although current Pixels won't be able to get DisplayPort Alt. Mode support via a software update, it might still be possible for them to get desktop mode support, albeit in a roundabout away.

For the Pixel Tablet, on-device desktop mode would make a lot of sense, like how DeX on Galaxy Tabs work.

For the other Pixel phones, maybe if you connect your phone to an external display using a DisplayLink adapter, the system could create a virtual display and then an app can use MediaProjection API to record & send only the virtual display over instead of the main display.

Hopefully Google considers some of these alternatives and doesn't lock the feature to the Pixel 8!

You can't use the Pixel Tablet's dock speakers when you have a USB cable connected as pointed out by Al Sutton on Mastodon.

I think the reason is Android sees the dock as a USB audio dock and can't handle routing audio over USB and data over the actual USB port simultaneously.