Android 9 Pie (Go edition): New Features and More Options This Fall

Android 9 Pie (Go edition) with new Features to unveil later this year

With the release of Android 9 Pie, the Android 9 Pie (Go edition) will be unveiled shortly. Google announced the introduction of Android 9 Pie (Go edition) as they are keen on focussing on the entry-level smartphone users. Android 9 Pie (Go edition) will be succeeding the Oreo (Go edition) which was introduced in December 2017.

With the Android 9 Pie (Go edition), there will be an additional 500MB of storage out of the box as compared to the Oreo (Go edition) and more than double that of a non-Go edition device. Security features like verified boot will see an improvement, there will be faster boot time and a dashboard to check out data consumption.

Google plans to roll out the Android 9 Pie (Go edition) later this fall, but no exact dates have been stated. Smartphones that have the Android Oreo (Go edition) will also be getting a software update towards the end of this year or early next year.

Last year we saw the introduction of Android (Go edition). The sole purpose was to give first time users and entry-level smartphone users a fast and good experience. The first batch of Android (Go edition) smartphones rolled out in April. There are more than 200 smartphones selling in more than 120 countries which include India, Nigeria, South Africa, U.S. and Brazil. They had not only improved the core operating system but also added new and useful features in various apps like YouTube Go, Google Go and many more.

There is a Go edition device for everyone and they are even selling at $30. It may vary with a HD or regular VGA display, have either 4GB or 8GB or 16 GB storage and support 3G or 4G. There are more than 100 manufacturers who are planning to sell these devices by the end of this year.

Additional Features of Android 9 Pie (Go edition) 

The Android 9 Pie (Go edition) is slated to bring in a redesigned set of Google apps basically to serve the entry-level smartphone users.These entry-level smartphones with Android 9 Pie (Go edition) will see new features that include

An additional 500MB storage out of the box.

The boot time will be faster.

A dashboard to help monitor and track data consumption.

Improved security features like verified boot.

The Android 9 Pie (Go edition) will have lesser preloaded apps and new apps that are lighter. It will come with a built-in security feature and offline app install scans.

According to Sagar Kamdar, Director of Product Management, Android, these new features of Android 9 Pie (Go edition) will take care of most of the problems entry-level or first- time users experience. It could either be security issues, device performance, managing data or storage.

Google had updated the YouTube Go app with a .yt file extension wherein the users with Android Oreo (Go edition) could save YouTube offline videos to their Gallery. There was an update of the webpage voice dictation and also a new navigation for Google Maps Go extension app.

Google One with Cheaper Plans, Extra Benefits in US

Google had recently held the Google One cloud storage packages premiere in USA. Google One is a new name for storage packages that Google users can subscribe for. The Google One storage plan is open for individuals and small business alike. However the Google Drive platform still remains unchanged.

Prices range from everything in between $1.99 to $9.99 for various amounts of storage. Most people have a lot of storage when it comes down to it. You can store your music on Google Play Music which is soon to be called YouTube Music. You can store your pictures for free if they’re not above 13MP and wouldn’t you rather surf for videos on Netflix or YouTube rather than spend money on buying a storage plan. When you’ve taken into account videos, photos and music, there’s really not that much else to be stored is there?

Prices for Google One: 

 

The Google One storage platform starts from $1.99 a month for 100 GB of data with tiers for $2.99 per month for 200 GB and $9.99 per month for 2TB of data on Google One as compared to 1 TB in Google Drive. I don’t know about you, but 2 TB of data is more than anyone needs.

If this is still not that good enough, then there are larger packages with a larger price tag as well. These packages are much like Google Drive.

Google One- a Family Pack: 

The Google One package can be used for storage by the whole family too. That is up to five family members.

As a member of Google One packages, there will be incentives like certain discounts in the Google Store and so forth. But at present there’s not much to that and it maybe not that great of an incentive too.

What’s Free on Google One? 

The same 15 GB of data space is there, which is split across all tiers like photos, videos and Gmail, which most seemed to forget come under the 15 GB free bracket.

After a while that 15 GB of free space too seems to be limited and if you’ve started using Gmail form the beginning then somewhere about now you’ll be finding your space getting smaller.

Are you on the Google One plan? 

If you’re already a Google Drive user and are residing in the US then you automatically come under the Google One plan.

On the other hand if you’re a new subscriber to Google, then you’ll be signed up on a new Google One account.

If you’re not a US Resident: 

Google One is only available in the US as of now, but will shortly roll out to other countries as well. If you’ve paid for a Google Drive storage plan, then no worries you won’t loose out on what you’ve paid for but will be automatically transferred to the Google One storage plan as soon as it rolls out to your country of residence.

In a few months, Google plans on rolling out Google One to other countries as well.

Google Tracks Your Movements, You Like It or Not

You Are Being Watched as Google Tracks your Movements

Whether you like it or not Google keeps track of your daily movements. You may not want it to do so, you may switch off your location history but Google is always tracking your movements. Why you ask? Well the answer lies within Google wanting to make big bucks when it comes to advertising. By getting your location and the places you frequently visit, Google is able to tailor advertisements based off of that data.

An Associated press investigation team has learnt that Google tracks your movements even when you expressly tell them not to. How do they do this, you say? The answer is simple. They track your movements from your android phone or iOS.

Being Upfront about Tracking your Movements: 

Most of the time Google is upfront when it comes to tracking your movements. They ask your permission and if you decide to give it, then Google prepares a timeline showing your movements over a period of time.

But of course many are opposed to the idea of their movements being tracked. Alas, that has not stopped the tech giant from tracking your movements. It makes sense too that people are not so keen on letting Google track their movements.

Police have previously used the data stored by Google in nabbing suspects in an investigation. But who’s to say that data pertaining to tracking your movements will be used only by the correct authorities.

There is considerable risk of some unknown parties getting that information and using it in ways that we have not even thought about.

What does Google say about Tracking your Movements? 

According to Google, the company does not remember where you move on a daily basis. This it does when your location history is turned off.

But the reality is much different. Even with location history being off, Google still tracks your movements from various Google apps.

Take for example Google Maps, as soon as you open the app, Google immediately takes a snapshot of where you’re at. If that’s not enough for you, then knowing that when you get automatic weather updates, it pinpoints your exact location will force you to wonder how Google is getting all that info.

Forget the apps for just a second, what about innocent searches on the net for chocolate chip cookies or anything else for that matter, on your search results page you get your exact latitude and longitude and I know no one is going to be happy about that.

Who does Google keep track of? 

Studies show that Google tracks movements of nearly 2 billion users worldwide. These can be from android as well as iPhone users who rely on Google for some of their app usage.

When you turn off location history in one place, all places where such data is stored should be turned off, like other Google apps as well. But no matter how straightforward that seems it is not done. It is not that it is impossible to switch of location history on your device but knowing where to switch it off and how, can be problematic.

Android Digital Wellbeing: Google’s Plan for Limiting Screen Time on Android Phones

Why Android Digital Wellbeing could be helpful for you

How much time do you spend on your phone each day? 1 hr, 4hrs or maybe even 6, maybe for some it is even more. For some it maybe a need to use their phones almost constantly for work or otherwise and for some of us…… Phones have become an addiction, there’s no beating around the bush with that. We spend endless hours on our phones doing nothing productive. Google’s android digital wellbeing is a step in the right direction.

Apple’s screen time and Google’s digital wellbeing all seem aimed at one thing- to reduce the time we spend on our phones and to get in touch with life. Both these apps are geared at getting an individual back on track when it comes to living life off the phone.

What does Google’s Android Digital Wellbeing do? 

Apple’s screen time allows users to monitor the time they spend on particular apps and even to set limits on their app patrolling a day. Gradually even Facebook and Instagram have introduced this feature to dissuade users from spending endless amounts on their accounts in a day.

Almost all of the above have introduced a dashboard where you can not only monitor the time spent on your app but also set limits for each activity and snooze notifications to get a better hold on your digital life.

Google’s android digital wellbeing is similar to the above with a few interface differences.

Launched with Android Pie or 9 however you wish to call it, android digital wellbeing seems to be a better approach to our digital wellbeing. But of- course nothing can be said immediately as it is only on beta as of now.

All about studies in using phones: 

Studies have shown that adolescents that spend inordinate amounts of time on their phones are likely to be more susceptible to mental health issues such as depression and suicide risk.

Android digital wellbeing is all about reducing the time we spend on our phones. Android digital wellbeing shows our phone usage as a pie chart showing you how much time you spend on your phone in general in the centre and divided by the time you spend on individual apps. Down below, the android digital wellbeing app, you get to see how many times you’ve unlocked your phone in a day and how many times in the day you have received notifications.

But that’s not all with android digital wellbeing, Google plans on making your interactions more fruitful and productive so that you spend less time on your phone.

Making android more productive with Android Digital Wellbeing: 

A part of making your interactions smoother and faster with android digital wellbeing, is by using gestures instead of the norm.

Android pie is all about gestures instead of the normal home, back and most used apps button. It may take a little time for users to figure out, especially if users are more familiar with the old way.

Display Cutouts: Android P Supporting Edge-to-Edge Screens

Display Cutouts on Android P

Display cutouts, as we commonly know them as notches, were released a few days back with Android P. Android P was released a week or so back with all new features and APIs, besides that we also got to see the all new Google’s version of Apple’s notches- Display cutouts.

With display cutouts on Android P, developers can change the way the display cutouts appear on their apps- whether they want it to overlap with the displays or not and much more. To do so developers can run the Android Emulator on their phones and go to the developer settings to change the way display cutouts appear on their apps.

Using the Emulator to style your own Display Cutouts: 

Once on the emulator, developers can style their display cutouts in the style of their choosing. In the emulator, display cutouts appear at the top of the screen irrespective of the style you choose. These display cutouts do not overlap the status bar so app display information is saved.

But this may not always be the case as different manufacturers may position the display cutouts
differently and this may overlap with the status bar in some cases.

To choose the right display cutouts in an app there is a window layout attribute that allows you to design your app around the format of display cutouts chosen.

You can choose from among three modes of display cutouts for your app.

The different Display cutouts you can choose from: 

The first mode is called LAYOUT IN DISPLAY CUOUT MODE DEFAULT.

The default mode does not allow the display cutouts to extend into the app space. The window is arranged in such a way such that the display cutouts are at the top without extending past the status bar.

The next mode is LAYOUT IN DISPLAY CUTOUT MODE ALWAYS.

In this mode the window of the app overlaps with the display cutout which is present in both portrait as well as landscape mode.

It is up to the developer to see to it that no app information is covered by the display cutouts.

The third mode is LAYOUT IN DISPLAY CUTOUT MODE NEVER.

Here the window space is never allowed to go into the display cutouts area leaving a very small space for app developers to manoeuvre in.

Uniform display cutouts for all manufacturers: 

Google has also given app developers a choice in the status bar when it comes to using display cutouts. The status bar has to be of the size of the notch this will affect the size of the information displayed.

So Google has introduced “Special Mode” that shows a button on the navigation bar with an option to change from letterboxed view to full screen view with the content being wrapped around the notch.
One more guideline when it comes to display cutouts is that phone manufacturers can only support a limited number of display cutouts. Developers can only use a single tall display cutout or a dual display cutout or a corner cutout.