Video sharing is now faster in Google Photos for Android.

Google just made it easier and faster for us to share our videos through its excellent Google Photos app for Android. The frustration of not being able to share your videos right away due to a slow connection is now an experience that the new update to Google Photos promises to get rid of. As of now, uploading videos is not the best of experience.

The updated Google Photos will make that faster by uploading a low-res version of videos, small enough for quick sharing. The app will later replace the low-res video with the high-res video you recorded once your Android device connects to a good enough internet connection.

No more waiting to share videos with your family and friends. Wait no more and go grab the update in Google Play Store.

CNN re-introduces swiping on articles in its Android app.

Here’s a small but useful update to the CNN app for Android that flew under my radar. CNN completely redesigned their Android app back in February and since, they have been gradually adding new features to the app. Actually, they are re-introducing features that were present in the old version into the new one.

This update re-introduces side-by-side swiping between articles so you don’t have to navigate back to the app’s main page to get to a new article. Simply swipe to go to the next or previous article.

This small update raises the app version number to 5.7 and can be downloaded in Google Play Store.

Apple fixes an issue that prevented users from adding to their library.

About a week ago, Apple brought an important update to Apple Music on Android. The company added a feature for users to follow their friends to see the music they are listening to and the playlists they shared. To enjoy this, users are required to create a profile to “discover music with friends.” In addition, Apple also included Voice Search powered by Google. Users can “touch and hold the home button or say “OK Google” to use your voice to play artists, albums, songs, and Beats 1 on Apple Music.” That was it for version 2.2.

Today, the Cupertino company released another update, albeit a minor one which raises the version number to 2.2.1, which fixes an issue that “may prevent users from adding to their library.”

That’s all there is to it, so head over to Google Play Store to download this update.

SofaScore for Android now lets you change language in-app, provides heatmap for players and more.

SofaScore, the sports live score app for Android, has been updated to version 5.43.0. Users will now be able to change the language in the app settings independent of the device language. The list of supported languages is quite extensive.

This new version also includes a new feature for soccer fans where they will now get a player heatmap. I am not sure what that is, but if I were to make a guess, it sounds like app users will get a map showing players positioning on the field. The area where they spend more time will be showed in red, yellow or orange. The image below kind of says it all. 

This update adds vROI to the app which SofaScore says is a value which “is now visible on the table (value in orange). This is the actual value by which we sort our predictors.” Does that make sense? vROI is also available in user profile.

The news page has been replaced by SofaScore forum in the navigation drawer. Should you want to access the forum in your browser, go to forum.sofascore.com.

The last item in this update provides the “number of titles won by a current title holder and location of the host in tournament details.”

Sports fans can get the update in Google Play Store. 

Microsoft fixes Yammer crash on devices running Android 8.0 Oreo.

Yammer, Microsoft’s social network for the enterprise, has been updated on Android. The update does not add new features to the app, but includes some fixes that make it compatible with Oreo, the latest iteration of Android. This version of the popular mobile OS is also known as Android 8.0 and was released last month. However, the update is available on Google’s remaining Nexus and current Pixel devices. No other device manufacturers have released the update yet, but some, like Motorola and HTC have already announced the upgrade will be made available for some of their devices without specifying any dates.

That said, Microsoft has published an update for Yammer on Android that will prevent the app from crashing. In other words, Yammer is now Oreo friendly. Microsoft also fixed a crash on Android 5.1 and below version when downloading an attachment.

If you’re a Yammer user, grab the update in Google Play Store.

Telegram 4.3 adds the '@' badge for users to never miss messages in the chat list and more.

Earlier this year, Telegram allowed its users to create groups with up to 10,000 members from 200 initially. Tracking messages in a large group can be quite tedious and irritating. Telegram is adding a new feature today that will let users easily keep track of mentions and replies thanks to a ‘@’ badge in their chat list. The badge will disappear after they’ve read the messages.

This update contains a bunch of other features. Telegram allows users to create and upload stickers into the app and this update will let users who uploaded 5 or more stickers will be able to add individual stickers to their favorites, making them easily accessible at the top of the sticker panel in the ‘star section’.

Telegram is also introducing stickers for groups. “…large groups with 100 members and more can now choose an official sticker set for all the members of the group to see and use while they’re chatting in the group without the need of adding it to their panels.”

The ‘Invite Friends’ feature has been revamped. Basically, invitees with contacts in Telegram will appear at the top of your list.

And there’s more:
• Twitch videos are now supported in the Telegram in-app player, so you can watch Twitch streams in Picture-in-Picture mode while chatting with your friends.
• When on a Telegram voice call, you can now check the signal strength thanks to the new indicator.
• On iOS, you can edit any photo you pasted directly to a chat from clipboard before sending.
• On Android, when forwarding a message, you can long tap to select multiple recipients.
• On Android, when viewing photos in Shared Media, you can go to the place in chat where the photo was posted.
• On Android, if you have many new messages in many active chats, synchronization will happen much, much faster.

If you’re a Telegram user, make sure you download version 4.3 in Google Play Store.

View Instagram Stories in mobile web browsers.

Instagram Stories lets you "share all the moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile." Basically, you're sharing multiple photos and videos in a slideshow format and they will disappear after 24 hours. Up until today, Stories were only visible through the Instagram app on mobile devices. Well no more.

According to Instagram, 250 million users use Stories every day. Instagram will, in the coming weeks, make Stories available to users who use Instagram on the web. Stories is indeed coming to mobile web browsers. Another thing. Stories will be available for viewing only in mobile browsers. But Instagram said in a blog post that users will be able to post Stories from mobile web in coming months.

Until then, point your favorite mobile browser to instagram.com to view Stories when they become available. Otherwise, use Instagram for Android in Google Play Store.

Source: Instagram