Category: Android

Microsoft has quietly made available the Copilot app for Android. The app has been around for almost a week now, and the company hasn't bothered to announce it widely. It allows using the company's AI chat bot on the most popular mobile platform. The apps provides the dialog-based UI, and doesn't require the Bing app.

It is likely that Google will start reporting battery degradation on Android smartphones. Unlike iPhone users who can easily access battery status information in the settings, Android device owners are currently required to use third-party apps or special commands to check their battery health.

In typical company's fashion, Google will drop support for its online cinema service, Google Play Movies & TV. The company has already transitioned iOS and Android users to the Google TV app, as well as removing the service from Roku set-top boxes and most smart TVs.

Google is currently testing a new Smart Search feature that aims to enhance the process of finding information within PDF files and images. It is integrated in the Files app on Android, which is a file manager. By utilizing local machine learning, this option improves the searchability of files. The Smart Search option is able to scan the contents of files on the device automatically, resulting in more accurate search results.

Google Calendar will no longer work on devices running Android 7.1 (Nougat) and older. The latest manifest version of the application has a new line, UnsupportedOperatingSystem__enabled. It contains a message that users need to update their OS to Android 8 (Oreo) or later to continue using the application.

Google has announced that RCS (Rich Communication Service) messages will now be end-to-end encrypted by default, signaling a move towards replacing traditional SMS messaging.

Starting August 2023, Google will no longer release updates for the Android KitKat platform. Devices will no longer receive Play Services APKs after version 23.30.99.

OpenAI is set to release a free official ChatGPT application for Android, replicating the features of the web version. It should become available next week, so it will be 2 months after the release of the iOS app.

Let's Encrypt has issued a warning that starting from February 8, 2024, certificates will no longer work on Android 7 and older versions of the mobile operating system. This change is a result of the expiration of cross-signed intermediate certificates and the end of the partnership between Let's Encrypt and IdenTrust.

GetContact is a popular mobile application that serves as a call manager for Android with the spam blocking feature. It allows identifying who is calling you by maintaining a large database of phone numbers. As a user of GetContact, you can see how the number is saved in other users' address book.