Google Play Books v4 hints at audiobooks with casting, Android auto support and more

Google_Play_Books

Google Play Books v4 just hit the Play Store, while the update didn’t bring many changes, it hints at the launch of audiobooks with Android auto, casting support and more. In fact, few users have spotted the banner of audiobooks on Play Store with 50% off on first audiobook offer listed.  Continue reading “Google Play Books v4 hints at audiobooks with casting, Android auto support and more”

Alexa app update brings Alexa voice integration to all Android phones

Amazon_AlexaHuawei Mate 9 was the first phone to come integrated with Amazon’s virtual assistant; Alexa voice support. There are very few phones on the market that support. Installing the Alexa app wouldn’t bring the Google Assistant type support, rather it was just limited to controlling Echo devices. Now Amazon says that it is rolling out Alexa app update bringing Alexa voice integration on all phones. Continue reading “Alexa app update brings Alexa voice integration to all Android phones”

Facebook to prioritize news from trusted sources in the news feed

Facebook

Facebook recently announced an overhaul of news feed to improve interaction between friends and family. Today the company has yet again pushed revealed another change which lets users choose the type of news and news from trusted sources.  Continue reading “Facebook to prioritize news from trusted sources in the news feed”

Instagram testing text-only stories and screenshot alerts

Instagram is on the verge of introducing two new features; ‘text-based stories’, and stories screenshot alerts which are currently under testing. Text-based stories are not new, they are available on WhatsApp and Facebook. Continue reading “Instagram testing text-only stories and screenshot alerts”

WhatsApp v2.18 beta brings notification channels on Android 8.0 Oreo

WhatsApp_Notification

Android 8.0 Oreo bought a cool new feature called notification channels that lets you decide how individual notifications from the same app appear and sound, and vibrate, or not, on your phone. WhatsApp has now rolled out Notification Channel on Android 8.0 Oreo, and the feature was spotted in V2.18.18 beta release. Continue reading “WhatsApp v2.18 beta brings notification channels on Android 8.0 Oreo”

Xiaomi Mi Explorer Overview [Update – Now you can turn off ads on MIUI devices as well]

Update – January 19: Mi Explorer has received an update that now lets you turn off recommendations (advertisements)  from the settings on MIUI devices as well, so you don’t need the workaround anymore we had mentioned in the article previously. Continue reading “Xiaomi Mi Explorer Overview [Update – Now you can turn off ads on MIUI devices as well]”

WhatsApp might launch UPI-based digital payments service in India next month

WhatsApp

WhatsApp UPI-based digital payments service has been in the news for quite some time and it now looks like the company is finally all set to launch the feature as early as next month according to reports. The WhatsApp payment will give a big boost to digital payments in India and will compete with Google Tez that was launched last year and already has over 12 million users. Continue reading “WhatsApp might launch UPI-based digital payments service in India next month”

Instagram ‘Show Activity Status’ lets you see when a user was last active

Instagram new logoFacebook-owned Instagram seems to be following the footsteps of WhatsApp and Messenger as new ‘Show Activity Status’ feature shows when a user was last active. You can now see when a user last used Instagram from the direct message screen.  Continue reading “Instagram ‘Show Activity Status’ lets you see when a user was last active”

WhatsApp Business app launched, allows small businesses to easily connect with customers

Facebook-owned WhatsApp back in September last year announced that it it is testing new tools through a closed pilot program that will allow people to communicate with the businesses they want to reach on WhatsApp. Today the company has officially launched standalone WhatsApp Business App for Android that enables small businesses to have a business presence on WhatsApp, communicate more efficiently with your customers, and help grow their business, separating customer and personal messages, and creating an official presence.

Continue reading “WhatsApp Business app launched, allows small businesses to easily connect with customers”

WhatsApp for iPhone gets YouTube integration with picture-in-picture mode

In the last few years, WhatsApp has been busy  adding several value-added features like voice calls, video calls, end-to-end encryption, and the company is even rumored UPI-based WhatsApp payment system. Before that, WhatsApp on iOS has received a new feature, which enables users to watch YouTube video inside the WhatsApp application. Continue reading “WhatsApp for iPhone gets YouTube integration with picture-in-picture mode”

Facebook is testing ‘Watch Party’ to let group of users watch video at same time

Facebook Watch Party

Facebook last week said that it is overhauling news feed to highlight posts from friends, family to improve social interactions. Today the company has mentioned that it is testing a new video watching experience called ‘Watch Party’ to let a group of users watch the same video at the same time. Continue reading “Facebook is testing ‘Watch Party’ to let group of users watch video at same time”

Google Gboard v6.9 hints at Smart Reply suggestions, creating own GIFs and more

Gboard

Google rolled out a new update to Gboard bringing version number to V6.9, while the update doesn’t bring any major changes, it does hint at many upcoming features. The update hints at Smart Reply suggestions, new keyboard, creating own GIFs and more. Continue reading “Google Gboard v6.9 hints at Smart Reply suggestions, creating own GIFs and more”

Xiaomi takes blame for WhatsApp obsolete error, announces a fix

WhatsApp is one of the most used instant messaging application. This is mainly due to the fact that, it is a cross-platform application and offers a lot of value-added services like voice calls, video calls, multimedia sharing, group chat, and not to forget the end-to-end encryption of these messages. On 13th January, several users, especially the ones with Xiaomi smartphones started noticing an error, which blocked the users from using instant-message with a message “This version of WhatsApp has become Obsolete on 13-Jan-2018” and asked the users to update the same using Google Play store. Continue reading “Xiaomi takes blame for WhatsApp obsolete error, announces a fix”

Hike Total offers essential services like messaging, news, recharge and more without internet

Hike Total

Hike today announced ‘Total’ feature with an aim to bring internet to the next billion users. It is capable of bringing essential services like messaging, news, recharge and more without needing an active data connection. For the sections that require data, Hike is offering data plans for as low as Rs. 1. Continue reading “Hike Total offers essential services like messaging, news, recharge and more without internet”

Facebook to redesign Messenger with real time communication, customer care channels and more

Facebook Messenger

Facebook started asking people to install Messenger app a few years back and the company kept on pushing it with features to a level that made the app clumsy and cluttered. In its goals for 2018, the company’s David Marcus, head of the messenger highlighted the changes that are coming to messenger this year. Continue reading “Facebook to redesign Messenger with real time communication, customer care channels and more”