Official Blog
News and notes from Android team
Silent Night with Night Light
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Any time is a good time to read, but at night is perhaps the best. What better way to drift off to sleep than with a great book? Our readers agree. Looking at reading time across the world, we see that activity peaks between 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm local time. But we also know looking at a bright screen before bed can be hard on your eyes. Cue the announcement!
Today we’re introducing Night Light, a new feature that makes night time reading more enjoyable and easier on the eyes. When turned on, Night Light gradually filters blue light from your screen, replacing it with a warm, amber light as the sun sets. Night Light automatically adapts to the amount of natural sunlight outside based on the time of day, giving you just the right temperature and brightness. The color adjustment is more comfortable on your eyes and greatly improves low-light night reading.
Night Light is rolling out to Android and iOS readers now, and turning it on is easy. To activate Night Light on your phone or tablet, update your Google Play Books app to the latest version through
Google Play
or the
App Store
. Then open a book and turn on the Night Light mode option (you’ll see a pop up in the app). After that, Night Light will always adjust to the perfect setting. We hope Night Light will help you drift off into a peaceful slumber once you finish just one more chapter.
Posted by Greg Hartrell, Senior Product Manager, Google Play Books
Android Wear: Dress things up with new designer watch faces
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
What makes a watch worth wearing? It should be beautiful and useful. Save you time and express your style. Like mechanical watches,
Android Wear
watches come in countless sizes, styles, and brands. And the different ways to wear what you want keep growing—just last month, Swiss watchmaker
TAG Heuer
and fashion brand
Fossil
launched their first watches powered by Android Wear.
But a watch’s physical design isn’t the only way to express your style with Android Wear. You can also choose from thousands of inspiring, useful, and downloadable watch faces. Today, we’re sharing new watch faces from nine iconic fashion brands.
Ted Baker:
Reveal your sophisticated side with ten gorgeous designs.
Melissa Joy Manning:
Rock a different birthstone for every month of the year.
Vivienne Tam:
Watch Opera Girl twirl, take a selfie, and more.
Nicole Miller:
Stay on track and in style with Nicole Miller’s pop art.
Y-3:
Sport the styles of Yohji Yamamoto, inspired by the beauty of human movement.
Mango:
Add instant chic to any outfit with this ready-to-wear watch face.
Zoe Jordan:
Free your time of clutter with the clean lines of modern design.
Harajuku Kawaii!:
Express your playful side with this adorable and vibrant watch face.
ASICS:
Motivate yourself to stay active with the help of your fitness buddy.
Android phone owners can
download these watch faces
today. And iPhone owners can find these unique designs in their Android Wear mobile app in the coming days. ‘Tis the season for festivities and fun! Pick your fashion favorites to match your outfit, mood, or occasion.
Posted by Kaitlyn Hurst, Product Marketing Manager, Android Wear
Tap. Pay. Next.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Since
our launch
this Fall, we've seen millions of people set up Android Pay, and the vast majority of them are using tap and pay with their Android devices for the first time. There are now over 1 million locations across the United States that already accept tap and pay, with more being added every day. In short, the response from customers and merchants has been tremendous.
Now we’re ready for the next step: We're working to bring Android Pay's simplicity and security to purchases within apps, and to people in more countries around the world.
Android Pay in apps
Starting today, you’ll be able to use
Android Pay
to speed through mobile checkout within many of your favorite Android apps in the US.
No more pulling out your credit card while on-the-go. No more errors thanks to clumsy thumbs. Just tap the Android Pay button in the app, confirm your information, and you’re done! And just like your purchases in stores, Android Pay never shares your card details with merchants.
Meet our growing collection of apps
In the next few months, you’ll see more and more of your favorite apps adding Android Pay to help you speed through mobile checkout. For a limited time, you’ll also get special savings by using Android Pay in select apps—from $20 off on OpenTable* dining, $10 off your Lyft ride*, $10 off DoorDash* to 30% off Vinted*—there’s something for everyone. Visit
our collection
to view all the offers.
Developers: want to add Android Pay to your app? You can visit the
Android Pay API developer site
to learn how to accept Android Pay for the purchase of physical goods and services. We’ve worked with leading payment providers to make accepting Android Pay a breeze.
Android Pay in more countries
We're also taking the first step to bring the convenience of Android Pay to Android users across the globe. In the first half of 2016,
Android Pay will arrive in Australia
. We’re working closely with many of Australia’s major financial institutions—including ANZ, Westpac and many other banks—with the aim of bringing Android Pay to their MasterCard and Visa card holders. You will be able to use Android Pay wherever NFC payments are accepted in the country, including merchants such as 7-Eleven, McDonald's and Telstra.
And Australia is just the start. We’ll be adding more countries throughout 2016. This was a big year for Android Pay, and we're excited about what's to come.
Posted by Pali Bhat, Director of Product Management, Android Pay
* Subject to merchant terms and conditions.
Google Play Music: Now playing for your family
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
In a family of music lovers, there’s a soundtrack playing throughout our daily lives. My husband likes to listen to
The Smiths radio
while he works; I like
Entering Beast Mode stations
when I hit the gym; and we listen to
Michael Bublé
as a family while we cook dinner. What can I say, we’re a pretty fun bunch! But it means my family ends up paying for multiple subscription music accounts which can add up over time.
For families like mine, we’re happy to start offering the Google Play Music family plan today. With the family plan, you and up to five family members can subscribe to Google Play Music - together - for just $14.99 per month. You’ll unlock all of the same features you’d get from having individual subscriptions, including ad free, unlimited access to more than 35 million songs and the ability for each family member to stream simultaneously on any device, all for one low price. Now, you can keep your listening experiences separate from your partner and get music recommendations tailored to the music you like. So, my husband’s Depeche Mode singles will never show up in my account - only my true favorites will be front and center. And a family plan on Google play will also get your family access to YouTube Red in the US.
You and your family will be able to sign up for a
Google Play Music
family plan in the coming days on Android devices in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, France and Germany, with more countries coming soon. You and your family members can listen on Android, iOS and the web.
Posted by Eunice Kim, product manager for Google Play
Labels
Android
1
Android Blog
131
apps
1
chrome + chrome os
1
Archive
2016
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Jul
Apr
Mar
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Aug
Jul
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Feed
Google
on
Follow @Android
Follow
Give us feedback in our
Product Forums
.
Follow