Latest news with #PlayServices
Mint
6 days ago
- Mint
Move over, passwords: Android's next big update lets your smartwatch unlock your phone anytime, anyplace
Google is working on a new update that could quietly change how you unlock your phone in public spaces. Hidden details in recent Play Services beta code reveal that your smartwatch might become your new ally in digital security. This shift points toward making everyday tech both safer and less of a hassle when you are out and about. Today, Android's Identity Check depends on trusted locations like your home or office. Once you leave these comfort zones, your phone gets stricter about demands for PINs or fingerprints. This serves as a barrier to thieves and is meant to protect you, but it can get annoying when you are on the move and want quick access. Hints from the latest Play Services suggest something new. Soon, if your Android smartwatch is connected and near, your phone may recognise that as a sign you are still in control. Instead of always asking you to verify your identity, the phone could let you in more easily as long as it senses your watch. As a result, people who keep their watch on and use a PIN to secure it might face fewer login interruptions, even outside their regular safe places. This is not a total removal of security. It is a way to make authentication smarter. If the watch is there and locked to your wrist, the risk that someone else is holding both devices is low. But if you get separated from your phone or your watch, the extra checks and verification would still kick in. Google's update is about making things less intrusive for regular users. Your daily routine should get easier, but not at the expense of safety. You will still need your PIN, fingerprint, or face scan at times. The difference is that you might only need them less often if your smartwatch is acting as a backup. People are putting more of their lives on their phones and wearables. Payments, travel alerts, private chats - all of it sits in your pocket or on your wrist. With more important data in one place, user-friendly security now matters as much as tough security. Some concerns remain. If someone steals both your phone and your watch at once, this system alone won't protect you. But for most people, the convenience far outweighs this rare risk. Having a trusted device like a smartwatch as an added barrier can mean less hassle and more protection in busy daily life. It's important to note that this information was found in an APK teardown, which means that this feature may or may not ever see the light of day.
Android Authority
24-06-2025
- Android Authority
Google's answer to Apple's Handoff is coming with a welcome upgrade for Android (APK teardown)
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Google is working on an Android-wide 'Handoff' feature for multi-device syncing. This feature will enable access to apps and media across your devices, and even sync notifications between them. Apple has a similar Continuity feature called Handoff, albeit without notification syncing. Last week, we spotted an in-development 'App Cast' tool within Google Play Services. Based on the strings, we speculated that Google could allow Android devices to stream apps installed on other hardware linked to your account. It seems Google has bigger plans for App Cast, as it could be one of the tools present in Android's version of Handoff. Yes, Google seems to be working on Android's own version of Handoff. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. Google Play Services v25.25.31 beta includes these new strings: Code Copy Text Continue tasks and access apps, media, and notifications across your devices Handoff Sync notifications across your devices Notifications Access your files across your devices Files & media sharing As you can see, the App Cast feature is tied to the upcoming 'Handoff' feature. The strings explain that this ecosystem feature is intended for multi-device syncing, letting users access apps, media, and notifications across devices. As is explicitly mentioned, your notifications will be synced across your devices (finally!), and you will also be able to share files and media between them. We know from the previous APK teardown that you will also be able to access your apps on your primary device remotely on your other devices. Handoff sounds familiar? Well, Apple has a similar Continuity feature called Handoff. Users can start a task on compatible apps on one Apple device and resume the task on a different Apple device, as long as both devices are signed into iCloud using the same Apple account. Samsung also has an App Continuity feature that lets you share and transfer files, answer calls, connect earbuds, enable hotspots, and more across your connected Galaxy devices. It's very clear where Google is getting its inspiration for the Handoff feature. Thankfully, the Google Play Services version of Handoff will also sync notifications, which is a big pain point for multi-device ecosystem users as users end up having to clear actioned notifications across multiple devices. We've previously spotted the notification syncing feature, but at the time, it wasn't very clear whether the feature would be a Pixel-exclusive or be coming to all Android devices. With these new strings now being spotted in Google Play Services under the Handoff umbrella, this is likely an Android-wide feature, as long as you have Google Play Services. Google has yet to announce anything related to Android's Handoff feature. We'll keep you updated when we learn more. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
21-05-2025
- Android Authority
Quick Share's mobile data toggle is finally rolling out
Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Last year, we spotted Google working to bring a mobile data toggle to Quick Share. In February, Google formally announced the feature as part of a Play Services update. Three months later, the toggle is finally rolling out to the public. On one hand, data is data, and whether we're sending our files over USB, by Wi-Fi, or over a carrier's cellular network, it all ends up the same in the end. But there are also lots of practical considerations that belie that kind of blanket statement — we may want to choose to download YouTube Music tracks over Wi-Fi, for instance, rather than running down our cellular data allotment. While limitations on how we move around data can be useful like that, we'd also rather the choice be ours, instead of one made for us. Right now, Google's updating Android Quick Share to address exactly those kind of concerns. When Nearby Share became Quick Share, it lost an occasionally useful option in the process: the ability to send files over cellular networks. Last fall, we got our first hint that Google was working to do something about this, though, as we spotted early progress towards restoring a 'use mobile data' option. And sure enough, a few months later, in February, we saw Google publish a Play Services update that announced this mobile data option was returning. If you've been wondering where that's been ever since, you're probably not a beta tester (as those users got it immediately), but now 9to5Google has noticed that the change is finally starting to hit devices at large. We can confirm that we're now seeing this on Android 15 hardware running Google Play Services 25.18.33. Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Admittedly, needing this feature was probably more of an edge case than most, and many users have been able to get by just fine even with Quick Share's limited data options. At the end of the day, though, this is the kind of choice we still want to have, and we appreciate that Google finally followed through on its work to restore this control to users' hands. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Mint
07-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Google's settlement with CCI over Android TVs: A win-win?
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) recently issued its first settlement order in relation to Google's alleged anti-competitive conduct in the Android TV ecosystem. India had allowed settlement of some competition law cases with the CCI in March 2024. Soon after, Google applied to the CCI to settle its smart TV (STV) case, in which the director general (DG) of investigation had already found evidence to suggest that Google's conduct was abusive. Within a year of the settlement application, the CCI decided to close its proceedings against Google based on a set of behavioural commitments and a settlement amount of ₹ 20.24 crore. Also Read: Why CCI matters for protecting customers from digital players The DG revealed that Google's licensing regime required STV makers to pre-install the complete bundle of Google's apps on their STVs, only two of which were found to be necessary (Android TV Play Store and Play Services). By requiring STV makers to install other apps such as YouTube and Google Assistant, Google reaped revenues not only from its 'must-have' apps, but also from others. Additionally, as a pre-condition to install its proprietary apps, Google restrained STV makers from partnering with rival operating systems or developing such systems by means of Android forks, an open-source option. This restriction applied not only to STVs, but also to other devices sold by STV makers, including smart phones and smart watches. This impeded innovation and reduced consumer choice, as STV companies were restricted to Google's ecosystem. To address these concerns, Google proposed the following commitments to settle the case with the CCI: (i) the introduction of an alternative fee-based licensing regime permitting STV manufacturers to access/ install only the two 'must-have' apps; and (ii) a waiver of the restriction that prevented STV makers from developing Android Forks or partnering with competing operating systems across their device portfolio. Three out of four CCI members found Google's settlement package effective in addressing the competition law concerns identified by the investigation. One member disagreed. His point was that Google's proposal to parallelly continue with its existing anti-competitive licensing regime may not adequately address the problem. The dissenting member has proposed a single regime free of all antitrust issues, instead of the two parallel regimes proposed by Google. Also Read: There's no arguing with the broad thrust of CCI's order on WhatsApp's use of data Although the majority view on Google's settlement proposal may pass muster on grounds of proportionality and practicality, the dissent order cannot be completely disregarded. Since the old licensing regime continues, Google may get several STV makers to opt for (and continue with) the old regime. This could render the new regime's existence a mere compliance formality and diminish the intended effect of the settlement. Effective implementation of behavioural remedies has been a challenge for antitrust authorities worldwide. Even mature jurisdictions, such as the European Union (EU), have struggled to ensure that remedies are implemented in their true spirit and achieve their intended effects. The European Commission recently conducted an 'ex-post evaluation of the implementation and effectiveness of EU antitrust remedies.' It revealed that in over half of all non-cartel cases considered, there was no evidence that remedies were effective, despite implementation. The study highlighted that, unlike structural remedies, behavioural remedies were hard to monitor. Without a robust monitoring mechanism, companies may be able to exploit loopholes to delay or even bypass effective implementation of remedies. In many cases, parties could compromise the spirit of a remedy package whilst formally complying with its letter. There is no doubt that the CCI's remedy packages will also be critically evaluated for their effectiveness. However, the CCI must continue to learn from the best practices emerging from the experience of mature jurisdictions and endeavour to ensure that remedies and their monitoring mechanisms achieve their intended effects to the extent possible. The real carrot that would draw companies to opt for settlements is an opportunity to engage in constructive discussions with the CCI to arrive at remedy packages that could broadly address competition law concerns without disrupting their businesses. There is no such prospect if remedies are imposed by the Commission through contravention orders. In such cases, companies resort to litigation to challenge the commitments imposed. Also Read: Google's ad-tech dominance is easier to fix than its search monopoly Recently, for example, Meta challenged a CCI order in the WhatsApp privacy policy case, claiming that the behavioural commitments imposed by it would lead to a potential collapse of its business model. Indeed, even Google has in the past contested remedies imposed by the CCI in other cases related to its search engine, Android smartphone ecosystem and Google Play Store. The CCI also benefits from settlements. It frees up its limited resources and helps attain procedural efficiency. Since settlement orders cannot be appealed, there seems no better way of bringing finality to CCI orders. A large part of the penalties can be recovered as settlement amounts. This mechanism may also prove crucial for timely redressal of anti-competitive concerns in digital markets, as India's digital competition law is still far from seeing the light of day. The authors are competition lawyers.
Indian Express
22-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Google settles India's antitrust probe in Android TV case
India's competition regulator said on Monday it has approved the settlement proposal of Alphabet's Google in the Android TV case, under which it had charged the company over anticompetitive practices. The Competition Commission of India had said the U.S. tech giant abused its Android operating system's position in the smart television market in the country. India is one of Google 's key markets. CCI had alleged Google engaged in anti-competitive practices by creating barriers for firms wanting to use or develop modified versions of Android for smart TVs. Google then filed a settlement application in which it proposed a standalone license for its Play Store and Play Services for Android smart TVs in the country instead of bundling the services.
