Tag Archives: developer

Android, Mobile

Early Android 13 Developer Previews are Already Showing New Features  

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Not all of us got Android 12 yet but it seems like Google is eager to get more features into Android and excited about their next major development path – Android 13. Android 13 is inevitable; we know that it is going to come as well toward the end of this year 2022 at Google I/O 2022 edition. What we don’t know is what Android 13 will bring to the table. For that, we need to scour around and look at the Developer Preview for Android 13. So far there has only been two iterations of Android 13 Developer Preview, but we are already seeing some interesting things emerging. 

DP1: Universal Search, now with Google Photos 

Pixel Launcher search photos old
Source: 9to5 Google
Pixel Launcher search photos 1
Source: 9to5 Google
Pixel Launcher search photos 2
Source: 9to5 Google

For the Google Pixel, Android 12 brought a universal search bar. The universal search bar not only acts as a search button for apps. It allows users to search through pretty much everything in their smartphone via a search bar in their app drawer. There is the Google Search bar widget, yes, but Android 12 allows the app drawer search bar to act as the Google Search bar too. There is still a lot to explore with the search bar.  

In Android 13 Developer Preview, it seems like Google is integrating Google Photos with the search bar. That means that you can use the search bar to not only instantly pull things from Google Photos, but also potentially get the full search algorithm functionality from Google Photos in the search bar itself. You could be looking for a contact, for example, and Google Photo’s facial and object recognition kicks into high gear to find you the most relevant photos to your search.  

With that kind of implementation on Google Photos, we will not be surprised as well if Google decides to integrate apps like Gmail and Calendar to the list of integrations with the search bar. It would be nice if we just need to tap into the search bar to search for things in our emails or calendar without even opening the apps. But we digress, all we can do is wait for Android 13 to see light of day. 

DP2: Notifications, now an Option 

image3
Source: Google

One feature that Android lacked (but was rumoured to feature soon), and iOS has for a while now is opt in notifications. What is that? IOS allows you to choose which applications sends you notifications. It is one way to ensure that your notification bar is not loaded with notifications that you hardly care about.  

It seems that we are going to see a form of that for Android 13. Via the preview, it also seems like you can prioritise notifications. Which also means that only certain notifications go through and load up your notification screen in differing modes. It is a small tweak, but a welcome one. 

DP2: Better Media Player Visuals 

Screenshot 20220317 133726
Source: The Verge

On the visual part, Android 13 seems to feature a redesigned media player layout on the notification screen. Having media controls on the notification screen is nothing new for Android. Having nicer visuals is. If you fire up Spotify, the media player control in the notification screen shows part of the artwork. The control panel seems to be a little larger in the preview too, allowing more controls over the app itself other than the Previous, Play/Pause, and Next buttons.  

And Even More 

These are just some of the highlighted changes that we can expect in Android 13 though. The Developer Preview has shown much more changes that we can sort of expect in the next iteration of Android. To know more about Google’s planned update for Android 13 or even to experience the Developer Preview yourself, you can visit their website. 

Accessories, Computers, iOS, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

WWDC 2021 is Happening! Purely an Online Affair from June 7, 2021 Onward!

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The Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is a huge yearly ensemble for Apple. The annual conference is one of Apple’s most significant in a year. We see Apple upping the ante for WWDC every year too, and this year is no different. Apple this year is looking to make WWDC21 the biggest one yet.

WWDC is where we see the evolution, or the new iterations of Apple’s software. You can expect to see a new macOS, tvOS, watchOS, iOS, and even iPadOS. Sometimes, you might get to see some new hardware, or get an announcement as big as hardware dependency change like last year’s announcement. If you forgot, WWDC20 saw Apple announcing that they are moving away from relying on partner processors and move their supply chain to rely on their own Apple Silicon processors. Later in the year 2020 we saw the Apple M1 chip.

2020’s WWDC was also completely online due to the global situation that is the pandemic. There are some good that came out of last year’s WWDC though. It was accessible to everyone in the world, no matter their location or time zone. Last year’s WWDC was what Apple claimed to be its largest ever so far. They are expecting around 28 million developers around the world to tune in for this year’s WWDC.

While hardware has not been much of a focus for WWDC, we should not be surprised when Apple does make some announcements on hardware additions to their line-up. In 2019 and 2017, Apple launched new devices and even desktops during their WWDC keynotes. As usual also, there are no new details on what Apple will announce this year at WWDC. Although, some are speculating that Apple might launch their long-awaited AR glasses or some sort of VR headset. These are rumours based on the visuals Apple chose for this year’s WWDC21 tease.

Apple’s WWDC 21 is happening 7th June 2021 onward all the way to the 11th of June 2021. As per the current pandemic situation and like 2020, the event will be an all-virtual affair. For more information on WWDC21 you can head over to their website.