#Workspace
G Suite legacy free edition might get a free replacement, at least for personal, non-business users
9To5Google

Google has announced that they are shutting down G Suite legacy edition and want those users who are still using it to upgrade over to Google Workspace. Recently there is some new information being found.

Ron Amadeo posted on Twitter, saw that there is a FAQ section of the support page for those that “use G Suite legacy free edition for personal use and don’t want to upgrade to a Google Workspace subnoscription.”

Not everyone use G Suite legacy edition for their businesses, some use it with their family or friends or probably a small team. Google received the feedback and decided to create a survey for those “customers [that] may not use G Suite legacy free edition for business” sign-up to receive “updates on more options for your non-business legacy account.”

This is only targeted at accounts with "10 seats or less," and Google will also ask how you are using the G Suite legacy free edition, there are options for family use, manage a business, both or other.

Google is just receiving feedback from those users for now and haven't taken any action just yet. We will keep you updated about it though.

#YouTube
YouTube Shorts is preparing voiceover feature
XDA Developers

Short vertical format videos seem to be the mainstream way to consume video content nowadays, and YouTube introduced Shorts in 2020 to compete on the platform, so far it has been going well. YouTube keep improving its in-app tool so that Shorts creators don't need to rely too much on third-party applications, and recently they are working on a voiceover feature, according to what XDA Developers has found:
<string name="shorts_trim_edu_text">Drag to adjust video</string>
<string name="shorts_trim_segment_import_done_text">Done</string>
<string name="shorts_voiceover_icon_denoscription">Voiceover</string>


<string name="shorts_voiceover_noscript">Voice Over</string>

This voiceover feature will let users add custom audio chip into their recorded videos, for now there is no such option in the app. According to the support page, YouTube mentioned that you can record 15-second audio clips and later add into your video, and this could be probably related to the voiceover feature but we can't be sure about it just yet.

The feature is hidden and spotted in YouTube for Android version 17.04.32 beta, with no official announcement when it will be released.

#News #ChromeOS
Gaming Chromebooks is under development and might debut with RGB keyboards
9To5Google

What's in your mind when you think about Chromebook? Most of you will say it is mainly use for education and business organisation purpose which is true, but a recent founding shows that a dedicated gaming focus Chromebook is on the way.

9To5Google found out a new flag which is recently merged in the Chromium Gerrit, the flag is about enabling support for RGB keyboards which could probably bring in customisations for the key brightness, colors intensity and more.

There isn't a clear timeline or any rumor saying when will the RGB keyboard equipped-Chromebooks will be coming to the consumer market.

#GooglePlay #PlayStore
Play Store 'Offers' tab widely rolling out in selected countries, more to come later this year
Google Blog

It is discovered earlier that the Play Store is testing out adding "Offers" tab in the bottom navigation bar, Google has officially announced the rollout of the Offers tab.

Google mentioned that this Offers tab can help users find deals easily, section like “Offers for apps you might like” shows what might be relevant to their personal taste. They also said they will be partnering up with popular apps & games developers to bring in new deals daily.

People who are currently live in US, India and Indonesia will be the first batch of users to see the rollout, with more countries to get it later this year.

#Apps #Messages
Google Messages will soon let users have the ability to disable pinch to zoom text size
9To5Google

Google Messages is one the messaging client to implement pinch to zoom text size feature, but some may find it annoying it with it, hence Google is preparing a toggle to let users disable the feature.

Once disabled the toggle, Google Messages followed your instructions and won't zoom in the text anymore when you pinch the screen. Also the app will remember the text size you're currently on. so once you are satisfied with it, you can go ahead and disable the toggle to lock in the current size you've chosen.

The toggle seems to be rolling out via server side with the app version 20220121 beta.

Download (20220121 beta):
Play Store

#Chrome
Mute tabs with a single click on Google Chrome is now possible
9To5Google

It had be nice to mute tabs with a single click and Google has finally decided to implement such feature into Chrome.

When a tab is playing audio, you can identify it by finding the tab which displays a speaker icon. Soon Google could let users muting it instantly after pressing on the speaker icon, which is much more convenient to do (via Chrome Story & u/Leopeva).

The feature is currently live in Chrome Canary and require enabling chrome://flags/#enable-tab-audio-muting flag. Hopefully Google doesn't remove the feature when it reaches stable branch as it is very neat & useful.

#Workspace
G Suite legacy free edition users can opt for switching to personal Gmail address for free
9To5Google

Earlier it is hinted that Google is preparing free replacement option for those who use G Suite legacy edition only for personal and non-business uses. Now we have a much more clearer definition on what Google could be preparing.

First spotted by Ars Technica, Google has quietly added some more information over in their support page. They mentioned that they will be providing option to let users "move your non-Google Workspace paid content and most of your data to a no-cost option." Premium features like custom email and multi-account management won't be there after the migration is complete.

Google seems to be telling that they will be transfering your data over to, probably a regular personal Gmail address (@gmail.com). Affected users can “evaluate this option prior to July 1, 2022 and prior to account suspension.”

#News #A12L
Android 12L Beta 2 is now available for Lenovo Tab P12 Pro
9To5Google

Android 12L Beta has been released a few weeks ago for Pixel phones, and now it is finally releasing for Lenovo Tab P12 Pro.

Lenovo and Google partnered up earlier to bring Android 12L Developer Preview 1 over to the tablet. If you own it, you can download the firmware images over at Lenovo developer site. This update brings in December 2021 security patch, and some minor fixes & improvements from Android 12L Beta 2 itself.

#Apps #Translate #MY
Google Translate Material You redesign is now rolling out to all Android devices
XDA Developers | Previous post

A few months ago, Google has rolled out Material You redesign of the Translate app to older Pixel devices, and by today, it has widely roll out to all Android devices.

As long as you have an Android device running Android 6 or later and installed the latest version of Google Translate app, you will get to see the new Material You redesign. With Android 12, it will change the accent color according to your device wallpaper.

Download (6.28):
Play Store | APKMirror

#Chrome
Chrome for Android will soon warn you whether to close all tabs
XDA Developers

You can easily close all open tabs in Chrome on your Android phone by tapping on the overflow menu and select "Close all tabs," but there could be chances you pressed on it by accident.

To prevent users from closing everything they have opened, Techdows discovered that Google has added “Close all tabs modal dialog” flag (chrome://flags/#close-all-tabs=modal-dialog), which will popup a warning dialog when you are planning to close all tabs at a time. The warning dialog will give you option to cancel the operation and let you proceed to close all tabs. Once confirmed, the browser will close everything and quit. Reopening will open a new tab automatically for you.

The flag is only recently added to the Chrome Canary channel, it might take a few months before it reached the stable channel.

#YTMusic
YouTube Music for Android new 'Add to playlist' UI could be inspired from the web version
9To5Google

YouTube Music app for Android is set to gain new "Add to playlist" UI which is similar to the web version.

The new redesign "Add to playlist" UI show the Recent section in a carousel format, it displays how many songs are there in each playlist which previously the current menu doesn't. All playlists section still show in a list but now it show the artwork and tracks amount, which is much easier to identify.

Currently, the new UI isn't widely rolled out and there are still several bugs as reported by user.

#Google #EasterEgg
Google Search add Chinese New Year Easter Egg, celebrating the Year of the Tiger
9To5Google

2022 Chinese New Year is around the corner, and Google Search is already ready to celebrate it.

Searching any query that are related to the celebration like Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, Tiger zodiac... will show you the Easter Egg. There will be fireworks effect which show a tiger face and later faded away.

The Easter Egg might be only available during the celebration of Chinese New Year, so do go give it a look before it disappear.

#Apps #Gboard
Gboard's Emoji Sticker now support creating unique sticker with tiger emoji
9To5Google

2022 is the Year of the Tiger, as Chinese New Year is around the corner, besides adding Easter Egg in Search, Google has also now supports creating sticker of tiger emoji combination with Emoji Kitchen.

There a ton of combinations you could do, you can create a "tiger king," tiger wearing sunglasses or probably a "tiger cowboy," and the list goes on.

The tiger emoji is now supported in the Emoji Kitchen with the Gboard app version 11.3. The update also bring in minor UI update for your information.

Download (11.3):
Play Store | APKMirror

#News #Android
Job listing suggests Google thinks that tablets are the future
Android Authority

Google is now really focusing in the tablet market, as they introduced Android 12L to the public. Now a further evidence shows that Google really want to dominate the tablet market.

A job listing for “Senior Engineering Manager, Android Tablet App Experience,” mentions the following:
We believe that the future of computing is shifting towards more powerful and capable tablets. We are working to deliver the next chapter of computing and input by launching seamless support across our platforms and hero experiences that unlock new and better ways of being productive and creative.

The listing doesn't really hint Google will be releasing a new tablet, but they want their employees to partner up with OEMs and make a great Android tablet. At this point, Google seems to have understand if they want Android tablets to be successful, they need to provide support to other OEMs.

Attention! There has been some small ban waves from Google on those account who uses spoofing system props to get Google Photos unlimited storage. Please use it with cautions.
Most confirmed that the ban will be removed if all Gphotos clients currently active with your Google account report back to their servers your real device information.
Note: I cannot confirm this issue for now. I did the fix but as written on XDA post: I do not recommend everyone to joy around the spoofing.
By wello

if you're using pixelify or any other modules like that, remove it immediately.
if you're on pe or other roms that spoof any pixel, uninstall google photos for the time being.

this is a screenshot from someone using pixel experience 12 getting their google account disabled. i recommend playing it safe and removing it until further notice