Chainfire’s FlashFire app has moved out of Google’s BETA program, even though the app is still considered experimental and for advanced users only. This release also works around all known issues with the N Preview 3, and also improves upon adb backup and restore functionality.
You know what time it is. It’s the weekly Google-Apps-update-extravaganza! This week, Google has mysteriously decided to bump Hangouts from version 8 to version 10.
What’s changed? After using the app for a couple of minutes, there are some minor changes here and there. Let’s run down what we’ve found so far:
Seems pretty minor for what’s supposed to be a big version bump, no? What’s inside the APK tells a different story about this update – that Google hasn’t yet given up on Hangouts as a chat platform.
Sure, they’re sending us mixed messages what with the convoluted mess that is Allo and Duo but it’s nice to see that the aging Hangouts app still has more to offer. Well, at the very least, Hangouts is finally getting a feature that has existed on dozens of other chat platforms for some time now – the ability to send public group invitational links so that anyone can join your group chat simply by clicking the link. Other popular group messaging applications like Telegram or Discord offer these capabilities already, so Google is merely playing catch-up here.
Disclaimer: The evidence we dig up from the APK file of an app is not definitive. Google may choose to pull these features without any indication in a future release.
Group Invitations are Finally Here, But Is it Ready?
What Sharing a Hangouts Group Video Call Currently Looks Like
Within the latest Hangouts 10.0 APK, there are some strings that are pretty clearly pointing towards the introduction of group link sharing. I’ll let the evidence speak for itself:
<string name="conversation_group_link_sharing_option_button_text">Share Group Invite Link</string>
<string name="conversation_group_link_sharing_option_title">Group Invite Link</string>
<string name="conversation_group_link_sharing_option_enabled_description">Link sharing on</string>
<string name="conversation_group_link_sharing_option_disabled_description">Link sharing off, tap to enable</string>
<string name="conversation_group_link_sharing_option_dialog_title">Link sharing is now enabled</string>
<string name="conversation_group_link_sharing_option_dialog_message">People who join this group can see all previous messages in this Hangout.</string>
<string name="conversation_group_link_sharing_option_dialog_confirm">Got it</string>
<string name="conversation_dialog_retrieving_group_link">Retrieving conversation link</string>
<string name="conversation_group_link_request_failed">Failed to retrieve conversation link</string>
<string name="conversation_group_link_description_text">Join the conversation on Hangouts</string>
<string name="conversation_group_link_share_intent_text">Share link</string>
So first of all, when you’re in a group conversation there will be a new option for you to click called “Share Group Invite Link.” Clicking this will generate a URL that you can share with anyone to join your group conversation. Sharing this link with someone will allow them to see the entire history of your group chat when they join, so they won’t be missing out on anything you’ve been talking about. Hangouts will bring up a share intent that will allow you to share this link in whatever app you want. Who can enable link sharing within the group? It doesn’t look like there are any restrictions judging from these strings, unfortunately. As seen in the strings below, however, you will at the very least be notified whenever someone else has enabled/disable group link sharing.
<string name="system_message_enabled_group_link_sharing">You enabled sharing the group conversation through links</string>
<string name="system_message_enabled_group_link_sharing_external">%s enabled sharing the group conversation through links</string>
<string name="system_message_disabled_group_link_sharing">You disabled sharing the group conversation through links</string>
<string name="system_message_disabled_group_link_sharing_external">%s disabled sharing the group conversation by link</string>
Being able to share a group link is a step in the right direction, but I really hope Google doesn’t release this feature half-baked. It would be pretty awesome to be able to share a public URL to create a Hangouts group chat, but Google would really need to add group moderation features as well as improve the performance of the app, as I would imagine large groups would pretty significantly slow down the app in its current form. If you’re looking to add small numbers of known contacts to a Hangouts group, however, then shared links should do the job just fine.
That’s all we found in the latest Google Hangouts update. Stay tuned to future posts in our series when we investigate what’s new and what’s coming in Google’s Apps.
Lenovo’s K4 Note has finally received its taste of Marshmallow, as Lenovo is rolling out Android 6.0 to the K4 Note. The rollout begins today, and will likely continues in a phased manner till all devices are covered.
The OnePlus 3 has been leaked over and over again by now, and we just about know everything there is to the device. The 6GB RAM totting variant also made it through TENAA, so we can hope for a very good package overall.
The final pieces of information flowing in before the launch of the device is the launch date itself. While previously restricted to unsubstantiated murmurings in the tech circles, it is now officially confirmed that the OnePlus 3 will launch on June 14, 2016. The OnePlus 3 launch event, just like that of the OnePlus 2 before it, will be held in Virtual Reality this year. The VR stream will begin at 4.30 pm UTC/GMT, or 12.30 pm Eastern Time.
Perhaps the most interesting piece of information flowing in today is that the OnePlus 3 will be released and made available for sale Invite-free. Unlike previous devices from OnePlus which kept up with the tradition of much-hated invites, the OnePlus 3 thankfully abandons it completely. This means that you can purchase the device from its date of sales without jumping through the hassles of invites, invite giveaways, or invite competitions.
“With the OnePlus 3, we’re officially saying goodbye to invites. It’s a big step for us as a company, our fans, and fellow tech enthusiasts. After sending out millions of invites over the past two years, it’s hard to not think back to the early days and how far we’ve come. We’re proud to have reached a point where we feel confident in making our new device available without invites from day one.”
Along with this, OnePlus’s recent partnership with Amazon in the UK coupled with the invite-free sales should theoretically make the OnePlus 3 much more easy to access. We do have a tiny bit of apprehension of OnePlus pulling it off with zero hitches, but an invite-free sales method is still plenty good news. The OnePlus 3 will go on sale during the first two hours of the VR Launch event to provide the audience a chance to participate in a “global VR shopping experience”. Post the event, sales of the device will begin on OnePlus.net at 3 pm Eastern Time or 7 pm GMT/UTC. Download The Loop app to catch the launch event live. Whether you love OnePlus or hate them, there is one less point to complain about with the OnePlus 3. We hope the company manages to address all other remaining issues and complaints prior to the device launch.
What are your thoughts on the OnePlus 3, now that it is invite-free? Let us know in the comments below!
In Google’s unending quest to create multiples of everything, Google announced today they were making finding your lost device even easier. You may be familiar with the Android Device Manager application which already does this, but is hidden in an overflow menu on the Play Store website that few know where to find. Well Google obviously took the difficulty to use and find to heart and moved it to the awesome My Account feature you can access at myaccount.google.com. In an interesting twist of fates Google did not create a whole new application like one would think – based on their past – they just re-skinned and moved the Android Device Manager features to this new home. All functions of “Find My Phone” through the My Account page are done through the ADM application installed on your phone.
The Find My Phone dashboard lists all your devices including tablets and devices like the Nexus Player. While you cannot locate Android TV devices, you can sign out of them which is a welcomed feature. Surprisingly Google has seen fit to include Apple devices, but in a more limited capacity. My wife’s iPhone was available through the site, it included a handy link to iCloud to lock or wipe the device and allowed me to logout of my Google account on the device. I would assume it would invalidate any logins for the Apple email client and remove your account from apps like Hangouts, Google Play Music and the Google app
So how does it work? To sum it up, pretty awesomely.
Once this was announced I tried it out on my HTC 10 and it worked within seconds allowing me to ring and locate my phone. If ringing your phone doesn’t work, or it 
Other options include the ability to call your phone or sign out of your device and it reminds you to contact your carrier and local law enforcement. Finally, Google allows a thermonuclear option that will blow up your phone erase your device immediately upon a network connection. For MicroSD card users it appears Google MAY be able to wipe your card, but it clearly states it may not be able to, my guess is Marshmallow devices and up will have their MicroSD wiped, a feature I don’t plan on testing.
Anyways this is a welcomed addition to Google users regardless of platform, but especially for Android users. It is always great for to see Google making it easier for its users to lock and recover their lost devices!
The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has just ruled that a warrant is not required in order for police to obtain your location data. However, this only applies to those who have agreed to give their location data to a 3rd-party company (like Google). Since you freely gave up this data, the court feels this data isn’t protected under the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment.
Microsoft has been partnering with Android OEMs so they can get their apps pre-installed on as many devices as possible. Their latest partnership is with Xiaomi and they tell us the Chinese Android OEM will start shipping Microsoft Office and Skype on Xiaomi Android smartphones and tablets. This deal also includes a cross-license and patent transfer agreement which could help them expand into the US.
