Wear OS by Google gets a redesign

Easier access to notifications, more help from the Assistant, and smarter health coaching.

Learn more on the Google Blog:
https://blog.google/products/wear-os/wear-os-google-health-and-help-are-just-swipe-away/

Android Pie will be coming to Motorola phones this fall

Motorola announced the following phones will be getting Android 9.0:
moto z3
moto z3 play
moto z2 force edition
moto z2 play
moto x4
moto g6 plus
moto g6
moto g6 play

Motorola upgrade information:
https://support.motorola.com/us/en/softwareupgrade


More details from +Motorola
https://blog.motorola.com/2018/08/15/baked-android-pie-coming-motorola/

Project Fi will turn off automatic text forwarding September 12.

This will not affect automatic call forwarding, or manual forwarding of individual text messages.

If you have text forwarding set up, you should have received an email from Project Fi about the change.

Via +Android Police
Project Fi shutting down text forwarding on September 12 https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/08/15/project-fi-shutting-text-forwarding-september-12/

How Smart Linkify in Android 9 Pie uses machine learning to find clickable links for addresses and phone numbers

Looking for phone numbers and postal addresses in text is a difficult problem. Not only are there many variations in how people write them, but it’s also often ambiguous what type of entity is being represented (e.g. “Confirmation number: 857-555-3556” is not a phone number even though it it takes a similar form to one). As a solution, we designed an inference algorithm with two small feedforward neural networks at its heart. This algorithm is general enough to perform all kinds of entity chunking beyond just addresses and phone numbers.

Get the details on the +Google AI blog:
https://ai.googleblog.com/2018/08/the-machine-learning-behind-android.html

Google's Digital Wellbeing Beta available for the Pixel and Pixel 2

In May, Google announced a new program offering "Digital Wellbeing" tools for popular apps. Now if you have a Pixel phone running Android 9 Pie you can try out the features.

* A Dashboard that helps you "understand how you’re spending time on your phone, with a daily overview, a graphic of how frequently you use different apps, how many times you unlock your phone, and how many notifications you receive."

* App Timers to limit your usage of specific apps

* Do not disturb settings

* Wind Down turns on Do Not Disturb, and fades your screen to help you disconnect at bedtime

Sign up for the Android Digital Wellbeing Beta program
https://www.android.com/versions/pie-9-0/digital-wellbeing-beta/

Learn more about Google's Digital Wellbeing program
https://wellbeing.google/

Read: Try out Digital Wellbeing to find your own balance with Pixel on the Google Blog https://www.blog.google/products/pixel/try-out-digital-wellbeing-find-your-own-balance-pixel/

Introducing Android 9 Pie

Android 9 harnesses the power of machine learning to make your phone smarter, simpler, and tailored to you. Read all about the new consumer features here. For developers, Android 9 includes many new ways to enhance your apps and build new experiences to drive engagement.

* "Machine learning at the core"

* Adaptive Battery to optimize battery usage

* Slices can help users perform tasks faster by enabling engagement outside of the fullscreen app experience

* App Actions take advantage of machine learning to surface your app to the user at just the right time, based on your app's semantic intents and the user's context.

* Text Classifier and Smart Linkify hello understand selected links

* New system navigation and a simpler interface

* Better notifications and Smart Reply

* Camera improvements

Much more!

When will it be available?

Starting today, an over-the-air update to Android 9 will begin rolling out to Pixel phones. And devices that participated in the Beta program from Sony Mobile, Xiaomi, HMD Global, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, and Essential, as well as all qualifying Android One devices, will receive this update by the end of this fall! We are also working with a number of other partners to launch or upgrade devices to Android 9 this year.

Details are on the Google Blog
Android 9 Pie: Powered by AI for a smarter, simpler experience that adapts to you https://www.blog.google/products/android/introducing-android-9-pie/

Learn more on the +Android Developers blog. http://android-developers.googleblog.com/2018/08/introducing-android-9-pie.html

New Gboard sticker pack with classic emoji: The blobs live on

For world emoji day, Google has released a new sticker pack for Gboard with animated versions of the classic yellow blob emoji.

To get the stickers:
1. While you are using Gboard, tap the emoji icon to the left of the space bar
2. Tap the sticker icon
3. Tap the + to add stickers
4. Tap The Blobs Live On to view and heart to add the stickers to your favorites

The stickers are also available in Android Messages.

(Hangouts has always had a set of yellow blob emoji stickers)

Via +The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2018/7/17/17580912/google-blob-blobmoji-android-messages-gboard-update-world-emoji-day

Google AR Measure app comes to Pixel and other Android phones with ARCore

It's a neat app if you want to take a rough measurement and you don't have a tape measure handy.

Get the app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.tango.measure

Phones that support ARCore
https://developers.google.com/ar/discover/supported-devices

Project Fi now lets you add your kids to your group plan using Google Family Link

 Starting today, you can add your children under 13 to your Project Fi group plan using a Google Account managed with Family Link. When you add a child to your plan, you’ll both enjoy the Project Fi features you know and love—like easy data alerts, seamless switching between networks, and automatic connection to free Wi-Fi hotspots—in addition to the features already available in the Family Link app that you can use to set digital ground rules that work for your family.

Google Family Link
http://families.google.com/familylink/

Learn more
https://www.blog.google/products/project-fi/project-fi-now-works-your-whole-family/

Have questions? Head over to the Project Fi help forum
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/project-fi/YrBL49pKvTE

Three new phones for Project Fi:  Project Fi: the moto g6, LG G7 ThinQ, and LG V35 ThinQ

If you’re ready to get your hands on our new devices, the moto g6 is already available for preorder. The LG G7 ThinQ and LG V35 ThinQ will be coming to Project Fi next month. In the meantime, you can learn more about these phones or sign up for updates on the Project Fi website to know when they are available. Whether you’re considering Project Fi or looking for a new device, these phones provide you with more options to choose from.

Pre-order the MotoG6 for a special price of $199

Purchases through Project Fi are eligible for 0% financing, and device protection for $5/month.

Start here:
https://fi.google.com/about/phones/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=fi-blog&utm_campaign=new-device-launch-may-2018#compare

Details on the Google Blog
https://www.blog.google/products/project-fi/three-new-fi-friendly-phones/