Mishaal's Android News Feed
Android 14 adds a new role called ROLE_NOTES. This role can only be granted to apps that target SDK 34 and which handle the android.intent.action.CREATE_NOTE intent with the category set to DEFAULT and the showWhenLocked and turnScreenOn flags. When an app…
(I don't actually have a USI 2.0 stylus connected to a Pixel Tablet, nor do I even have a Pixel Tablet yet lol. To simulate the stylus tail button press, I used the ADB command
FWIW, Keep currently doesn't qualify for the notes role, but I suspect it's going to eventually.
There are rumors the Pixel Tablet will get an official stylus accessory (it supports USI 2.0!) so this feature makes a lot of sense.
If you're a developer of a Notes app or are just curious about how to implement this, @thegreatporg will soon share details on GitLab. They forked the OSS Notes app "Quillpad" to test this API/notes role out, so many thanks to them for their help!
input keyevent.)FWIW, Keep currently doesn't qualify for the notes role, but I suspect it's going to eventually.
There are rumors the Pixel Tablet will get an official stylus accessory (it supports USI 2.0!) so this feature makes a lot of sense.
If you're a developer of a Notes app or are just curious about how to implement this, @thegreatporg will soon share details on GitLab. They forked the OSS Notes app "Quillpad" to test this API/notes role out, so many thanks to them for their help!
Android Authority
Pixel Tablet may be getting a stylus and keyboard, according to a Google app
The Pixel Tablet debuted without an official stylus or keyboard accessory, but Google may be bringing them to market soon.
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I've been working on a review of Nothing OS 2.0, and I really like what they've built.
There are some parts that make me go, "why'd they do that?" which lead me to dig deeper.
eg. why did Nothing make their own bedtime scheduler for Glyph and not sync with Digital Wellbeing?
The answer: They can't, because Google doesn't allow it.
There's no way for 3P apps to detect when Digital Wellbeing activates bedtime mode, because the app doesn't send a broadcast or store the state in a Settings table value or something.
But then how can the YouTube app on Android remind you when it's bedtime "when [your] phone's bedtime mode is on"?
It turns out that Digital Wellbeing does send a broadcast when bedtime mode is enabled, but it can ONLY be received by the YouTube app.
The Intent action, by the way, is
If the bedtime mode broadcast was open, they could do some other cool stuff, like maybe enable the monochromatic icon pack at bedtime but use the color (themed) icon pack otherwise.
Anyway, this is just a small tidbit from my upcoming Nothing OS 2.0 review! There's a LOT more I'll talk about, so look forward to that!
(If anyone on the Digital Wellbeing team sees this, I'd love to know if there's some privacy reason why the bedtime mode broadcast is restricted to YouTube!)
Regardless of whatever hacks Nothing could make to the OS to detect the broadcast, I think an open bedtime mode broadcast would be useful for a lot of apps!
Other video apps like Netflix, Prime Video, etc. could also add a bedtime mode alert like YT.
Social media apps could add an alert to stop doomscrolling when it's bedtime (...though obviously they want you to keep doing that lol)
3P VoIP apps could detect when you're in bedtime mode and silence most calls/automatically send a message to the caller.
There are some parts that make me go, "why'd they do that?" which lead me to dig deeper.
eg. why did Nothing make their own bedtime scheduler for Glyph and not sync with Digital Wellbeing?
The answer: They can't, because Google doesn't allow it.
There's no way for 3P apps to detect when Digital Wellbeing activates bedtime mode, because the app doesn't send a broadcast or store the state in a Settings table value or something.
But then how can the YouTube app on Android remind you when it's bedtime "when [your] phone's bedtime mode is on"?
It turns out that Digital Wellbeing does send a broadcast when bedtime mode is enabled, but it can ONLY be received by the YouTube app.
The Intent action, by the way, is
com.google.android.apps.wellbeing.action.ACTION_WIND_DOWN_STATE_CHANGED. I'm not sure why Google locked down this broadcast to just YouTube, but as a result, Nothing had to duplicate a bedtime scheduler UI for Glyph lights.If the bedtime mode broadcast was open, they could do some other cool stuff, like maybe enable the monochromatic icon pack at bedtime but use the color (themed) icon pack otherwise.
Anyway, this is just a small tidbit from my upcoming Nothing OS 2.0 review! There's a LOT more I'll talk about, so look forward to that!
(If anyone on the Digital Wellbeing team sees this, I'd love to know if there's some privacy reason why the bedtime mode broadcast is restricted to YouTube!)
Regardless of whatever hacks Nothing could make to the OS to detect the broadcast, I think an open bedtime mode broadcast would be useful for a lot of apps!
Other video apps like Netflix, Prime Video, etc. could also add a bedtime mode alert like YT.
Social media apps could add an alert to stop doomscrolling when it's bedtime (...though obviously they want you to keep doing that lol)
3P VoIP apps could detect when you're in bedtime mode and silence most calls/automatically send a message to the caller.
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Google has announced that unknown tracker alerts is beginning to roll out to users on Android 6.0+ this month! Unknown tracker alerts helps you detect unwanted Bluetooth tracker tags that may be traveling with you.
The unknown tracker alerts feature is part of a dynamically delivered module that's downloaded by the Google Play Services app. Since Google Play Services is preinstalled on all Android devices with GMS, that's why this feature is coming to most Android 6.0+ devices!
There are multiple ways you can use this feature. After turning it on, it can work automatically to scan for and detect unknown tracker tags traveling with you. You'll get an alert in the form of a notification if one is detected.
You can also perform a manual scan of your surroundings by going to Settings → Safety & Emergency → Unknown tracker alerts and tapping the “Scan Now” button. It will take about 10s to scan for nearby unknown trackers, and the results will be shown in a list.
Either way, when an unknown tag is detected, you'll have multiple ways to take action. From the notification, you can learn more about the tracker and see a map of where it was seen. To locate it, tap "play sound" to force the tracker to make noise (without alerting its owner).
When you tap the tracker against your phone (NFC), the tracker may share some information like its serial number or the last 4 digits of its owner's phone number. The details page will also provide a link to instructions on how to physically disable the tracker.
Unknown tracker alerts currently works with the Apple AirTag but Google says they'll continue to work with tag makers to expand support. For more information on unknown tracker alerts, see this support page.
The unknown tracker alerts feature is part of a dynamically delivered module that's downloaded by the Google Play Services app. Since Google Play Services is preinstalled on all Android devices with GMS, that's why this feature is coming to most Android 6.0+ devices!
There are multiple ways you can use this feature. After turning it on, it can work automatically to scan for and detect unknown tracker tags traveling with you. You'll get an alert in the form of a notification if one is detected.
You can also perform a manual scan of your surroundings by going to Settings → Safety & Emergency → Unknown tracker alerts and tapping the “Scan Now” button. It will take about 10s to scan for nearby unknown trackers, and the results will be shown in a list.
Either way, when an unknown tag is detected, you'll have multiple ways to take action. From the notification, you can learn more about the tracker and see a map of where it was seen. To locate it, tap "play sound" to force the tracker to make noise (without alerting its owner).
When you tap the tracker against your phone (NFC), the tracker may share some information like its serial number or the last 4 digits of its owner's phone number. The details page will also provide a link to instructions on how to physically disable the tracker.
Unknown tracker alerts currently works with the Apple AirTag but Google says they'll continue to work with tag makers to expand support. For more information on unknown tracker alerts, see this support page.
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Google has shared an update on what's happening with Android's Find My Device network: They're holding the rollout "until Apple has implemented [unwanted tracker alert] protections for iOS."
The Find My Device network was announced at I/O 2023 alongside the unwanted tracker alert feature that Google just announced is rolling out starting today. FMDN would leverage the billions of Android devices with GMS to make a peer-to-peer location pinging network.
This would let you find the location of your lost or misplaced Android phones and other items using a range of compatible Bluetooth tracker tags. Several brands like Chipolo are ready to ship tracker tags compatible with FMDN, but can't.
What's the hold up? Seems that while Google is ready to roll out unwanted tracker alerts, Apple isn't ready to do the same. If iOS doesn't have unwanted tracker alerts, then Google releasing FMDN could be harmful as Apple users could be stalked by the new Bluetooth trackers.
Before you pull out your pitchforks, there's a bit of nuance here. Google's blog post says they're "working in partnership with Apple to help finalize the joint unwanted tracker alert specification by the end of this year." Notice they say the specification isn't finalized yet.
Yet Google is ready to roll out unwanted tracker alerts on Android nonetheless. How? Their implementation would either have to be based on the draft spec or be custom (I've heard it's the latter).
Given the already demonstrated, in-the-wild abuse of tracker tags, I can see why Google might want to push out unwanted tracker alerts even if it's based on a custom implementation and not the joint specification. They could always update to meet the spec later on, after all.
However, if Apple is choosing to wait for the unwanted location trackers spec to be finalized before rolling out support for it on iOS, then that puts Google (and all their partners who committed to making Bluetooth trackers that support FMDN) in a bind.
The Find My Device network was announced at I/O 2023 alongside the unwanted tracker alert feature that Google just announced is rolling out starting today. FMDN would leverage the billions of Android devices with GMS to make a peer-to-peer location pinging network.
This would let you find the location of your lost or misplaced Android phones and other items using a range of compatible Bluetooth tracker tags. Several brands like Chipolo are ready to ship tracker tags compatible with FMDN, but can't.
What's the hold up? Seems that while Google is ready to roll out unwanted tracker alerts, Apple isn't ready to do the same. If iOS doesn't have unwanted tracker alerts, then Google releasing FMDN could be harmful as Apple users could be stalked by the new Bluetooth trackers.
Before you pull out your pitchforks, there's a bit of nuance here. Google's blog post says they're "working in partnership with Apple to help finalize the joint unwanted tracker alert specification by the end of this year." Notice they say the specification isn't finalized yet.
Yet Google is ready to roll out unwanted tracker alerts on Android nonetheless. How? Their implementation would either have to be based on the draft spec or be custom (I've heard it's the latter).
Given the already demonstrated, in-the-wild abuse of tracker tags, I can see why Google might want to push out unwanted tracker alerts even if it's based on a custom implementation and not the joint specification. They could always update to meet the spec later on, after all.
However, if Apple is choosing to wait for the unwanted location trackers spec to be finalized before rolling out support for it on iOS, then that puts Google (and all their partners who committed to making Bluetooth trackers that support FMDN) in a bind.
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Mishaal's Android News Feed
Google has shared an update on what's happening with Android's Find My Device network: They're holding the rollout "until Apple has implemented [unwanted tracker alert] protections for iOS." The Find My Device network was announced at I/O 2023 alongside the…
Apparently that is what Apple seems to be doing, though, which means that unless Google changes their mind, we won't see the launch of the Find My Device network until sometime after the finalization of the unwanted location trackers spec.
This is unfortunate news for anyone who's been looking forward to the FMDN. I don't necessarily think Apple is wrong to wait for the spec to be finalized, but I do think they should add unwanted tracker alerts ASAP as it solves a problem they arguably created in the first place.
This is unfortunate news for anyone who's been looking forward to the FMDN. I don't necessarily think Apple is wrong to wait for the spec to be finalized, but I do think they should add unwanted tracker alerts ASAP as it solves a problem they arguably created in the first place.
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Google has announced that its Credential Manager Jetpack library is now in Beta with a finalized API surface.
Credential Manager is a library that unifies the interfaces for traditional sign-in methods (like passwords and federated sign-in) and the new, passwordless sign-in method (passkeys). Users can see all their sign-in methods in one place so they don't have to tap three different places.
Credential Manager also makes it easier to pick the right sign-in method by deduping and automatically proposing to the user the safest method (eg between a password and a passkey the latter will be shown).
For developers, Credential Manager unifies the implementation of multiple sign-in methods within a single API. That means developers can add support for passwords, federated sign-in, and passkeys with a single API.
Credential Manager supports passwords and federated sign-in on Android 4.4+ (though Google Play Services recently dropped support for KitKat) and passkeys on Android 9+. On Android 13 and lower, Credential Manager is backed by Google Password Manager which is part of Play Services.
On Android 14, Credential Manager is part of a system app and is able to support multiple (including third-party) password managers. 3P password managers that implement Credential Manager are able to save and retrieve passkeys in Android 14.
At Google I/O, the company revealed that multiple 3P password manager developers including 1Password, Dashlane, Keeper, and Okta will support Credential Manager.
Credential Manager is a library that unifies the interfaces for traditional sign-in methods (like passwords and federated sign-in) and the new, passwordless sign-in method (passkeys). Users can see all their sign-in methods in one place so they don't have to tap three different places.
Credential Manager also makes it easier to pick the right sign-in method by deduping and automatically proposing to the user the safest method (eg between a password and a passkey the latter will be shown).
For developers, Credential Manager unifies the implementation of multiple sign-in methods within a single API. That means developers can add support for passwords, federated sign-in, and passkeys with a single API.
Credential Manager supports passwords and federated sign-in on Android 4.4+ (though Google Play Services recently dropped support for KitKat) and passkeys on Android 9+. On Android 13 and lower, Credential Manager is backed by Google Password Manager which is part of Play Services.
On Android 14, Credential Manager is part of a system app and is able to support multiple (including third-party) password managers. 3P password managers that implement Credential Manager are able to save and retrieve passkeys in Android 14.
At Google I/O, the company revealed that multiple 3P password manager developers including 1Password, Dashlane, Keeper, and Okta will support Credential Manager.
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Neat: You can send an entire folder from your Android device to other Android devices, Chromebooks, or Windows PCs from the Files by Google app!
Just long-press on any folder in the Files app and then tap the Nearby Share icon in the top right.
I'm not sure exactly when folder sharing was added to the Files by Google app. I haven't seen any articles mention this yet, but Nail Sadykov says the earliest he saw someone mention it was back in May.
If this isn't new, then I hope this post at least serves as a heads up!
Just long-press on any folder in the Files app and then tap the Nearby Share icon in the top right.
I'm not sure exactly when folder sharing was added to the Files by Google app. I haven't seen any articles mention this yet, but Nail Sadykov says the earliest he saw someone mention it was back in May.
If this isn't new, then I hope this post at least serves as a heads up!
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I normally use Nearby Share to share files between my Android devices, but sadly, it doesn't have a fallback mechanism that supports iPhones.
TIL though that Samsung's Quick Share can upload files to the Internet as a fallback so any device can grab the files, even iPhones.
This is something that would be great to have in Nearby Share! I would honestly consider using Samsung Quick Share more often because of this, but sadly, I'd rather share files locally first since it's faster. However, Quick Share only works locally between Samsung devices.
Google's Nearby library (which powers Nearby Share) is open source, though, so theoretically, Samsung could make Quick Share interoperable with Nearby Share so that Nearby Share targets can appear in the Quick Share UI.
It's necessary right now for a lot of OEMs to maintain an alternative to Nearby Share because Nearby Share is bundled with Play Services which isn't available on China market devices.
Google has been working to integrate the Nearby library into AOSP since Android 13, though, so hopefully in the future, all OEM alternatives to Nearby Share will be interoperable. Provided, of course, the OEMs implement support for it into their services.
TIL though that Samsung's Quick Share can upload files to the Internet as a fallback so any device can grab the files, even iPhones.
This is something that would be great to have in Nearby Share! I would honestly consider using Samsung Quick Share more often because of this, but sadly, I'd rather share files locally first since it's faster. However, Quick Share only works locally between Samsung devices.
Google's Nearby library (which powers Nearby Share) is open source, though, so theoretically, Samsung could make Quick Share interoperable with Nearby Share so that Nearby Share targets can appear in the Quick Share UI.
It's necessary right now for a lot of OEMs to maintain an alternative to Nearby Share because Nearby Share is bundled with Play Services which isn't available on China market devices.
Google has been working to integrate the Nearby library into AOSP since Android 13, though, so hopefully in the future, all OEM alternatives to Nearby Share will be interoperable. Provided, of course, the OEMs implement support for it into their services.
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Earlier, I mentioned that Android 14 Beta 4 introduces a bunch of new profile picture images, as shown in the attached image.
However, these images are exclusive to Pixel and thus won't appear on all Android 14 devices. It's up to OEMs to add their own. Here's how they'd do that.
All they need to do is create a Runtime Resource Overlay (RRO) that overrides the resource array avatar_images with a list of bitmap drawables. Images referenced in this array are shown to the user in the profile picture picker activity as preselected avatar images.
In addition, content denoscriptions for each of the images have to be specified in the avatar_images array.
The preselected avatar images that Google made for its Pixel devices running Android 14 can be found in the SystemUIGoogle__auto_generated_rro_product APK.
Obviously, this isn't a major change, but I often get asked about whether a certain feature is Pixel exclusive. Often changes people see in Android betas are assumed to be available in the base OS, but that's not always the case. I'll of course try to mention where they aren't!
However, these images are exclusive to Pixel and thus won't appear on all Android 14 devices. It's up to OEMs to add their own. Here's how they'd do that.
All they need to do is create a Runtime Resource Overlay (RRO) that overrides the resource array avatar_images with a list of bitmap drawables. Images referenced in this array are shown to the user in the profile picture picker activity as preselected avatar images.
In addition, content denoscriptions for each of the images have to be specified in the avatar_images array.
The preselected avatar images that Google made for its Pixel devices running Android 14 can be found in the SystemUIGoogle__auto_generated_rro_product APK.
Obviously, this isn't a major change, but I often get asked about whether a certain feature is Pixel exclusive. Often changes people see in Android betas are assumed to be available in the base OS, but that's not always the case. I'll of course try to mention where they aren't!
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