7 Must-Have Android Apps for 2017

Want to add more apps to your android device? But choosing an app from millions of apps in the Play Store might seem daunting. That’s why we are here to guide you!

Here, we present you the list of 7 amazing apps for your android app.

Facebook F8: 5 Things Everyone Should Know

In the Facebook’s annual developers conference, formally called F8 held at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, the company unveiled its vision for the future by launching new tools and technologies.

From introducing new VR apps to chat bots to offering offline mode in Instagram, Facebook has envisioned its future in the right digital realm.

Here are the top 5 announcements from the conference:

Snapchat ratings drop to 1 star after Evan Spiegel’s alleged statement

A day after the alleged statement came into limelight, Snapchat’s app rating dropped down to ‘single star’ from a distinct ‘five star’ rating on the App Store.

The bashing started when variety reported the disparaging comment of Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel about his disinterest in expanding overseas when Anthony Pompliano expressed his concern on expanding the user growth in 2015. Evan allegedly said “This app is only for rich people,” and added that he don’t want to expand the user base into poor countries like India and Spain.  

Google launches ‘Areo’ app for food delivery & home service in India

Google has silently launched a new app for food delivery and home service called ‘Areo’ not in the U.S. But for the Indian market.

The app is currently live in Mumbai and Bangalore, allowing the user to order food from nearby restaurants, providers, and chefs and avail home service professionals, including electricians, beautician, painters, cleaners, plumbers and more.

Karnataka Launches ‘Suraksha’ - A Security App for Women in Bangalore

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday launched a security app named ‘Suraksha’ for the safety of women in the state capital.

Introduced by the Bangalore City Police, the app is integrated with the police control room and aimed to provide safety and security for women in emergencies.

Meet M - The Brand new AI Assistant for Facebook Messenger

The social networking giant Facebook on Thursday rolled out a virtual assistant named ‘M’ for the messenger app in US. The digital assistant is powered by Artificial Intelligence and designed to enrich the way we communicate in the messenger chat.

Although the digital assistant is branded as ‘Artificial Intelligence’, it is not likely to compete in the race with Google Assistant, Siri, Cortana, Alexa or even with Bixby. This is because M is not advanced compared to other personal assistants. But it can provide users with simple and helpful actions in the “chat, exposing features people may not have known were available right in Messenger”.

YouTube Go: An ‘Offine-First’ App in India

Alphabet Inc’s Google on Tuesday announced that it will roll out a video mobile application called ‘YouTube Go’ for India, enabling the users to view videos even in regions with a spotty network connection.

The new app is a redesigned version of Google’s video app - YouTube with a view on low data consumption. Announced in the last September, YouTube Go is now officially released in India for Android users.

Facebook Messenger Adds Live Location Sharing

Facebook on Monday has announced that it is rolling out a live location sharing feature for its own app - Messenger. The new feature allows the user to share the location with friends and family an hour at a time.

App Usage in India is growing at 43%, Music and Video Apps on Top: Flurry Analytics

Yahoo-owned analytics app, Flurry on Thursday unveiled the findings for ‘State of the App Nation in India’ - a study about app activity and usage, emerging app categories and device adoption trends in India. The study revealed an astonishing fact that India’s app usage is growing at a faster pace of 43% and app categories like music, video, and finance are whopping the app market.

Samsung unveils its Virtual Assistant - Bixby

Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft are known for its artificial intelligence powered personal assistant and now you can add ‘Samsung’ into the mix. The South Korean tech company has announced on Monday that it is developing a voice-powered digital assistant named ‘Bixby’ for Samsung powered smartphones, smart homes, and other devices.

Bixby is designed to interact with the devices in such a way that machine learns and adapts from the human interaction and not the other way around. “Samsung has employed artificial intelligence, reinforcing deep learning concepts to the core of our user interface designs. Bixby is the ongoing result of this effort,” said Jong Rhee, Executive Vice President of Samsung.

A new way to view your video attachment on Gmail

Great news for the Gmail users! No need to download the video the file to your desktop to view it. Just stream it!

Google on Thursday announced that they are improving the video file attachment for the desktop users and has added a new feature which allows you to stream the video attachment without downloading it to your device.

With this update, you can stream the video right inside the gmail without having to download it. The video will display a thumbnail from the clip, tapping on which, leads to the online streaming of the video. One of the great advantages of the streaming feature is that you don’t need a native app to play your files.

Take the Android Taste Test to find the perfect theme for your smartphone

Went over the entire Play Store with a fine-tooth comb to customize your phone for an amazing outlook? Tired of getting the perfect theme for your phone? Chill! Google has got your back.

Google has launched an online tool called ‘Android Taste Test’ to offer widgets, themes, and icons based on your preference. Though it gives the recommendation based on your preference, it doesn’t take matters completely in its hands, instead, allows you to choose the desired theme or icon.

All you need to do is to take the test. Simply answer the question and get the perfect theme for your phone. The rapid-fire questions are aimed at understanding your traits, based on which the online tool helps you find the right theme for your home screen. The online tool is available on the android website.

Facebook 360: The Social Network’s First-Ever Dedicated VR App

Facebook on Wednesday launched its first-ever dedicated virtual reality app - Facebook 360 to make sure its users find and enjoy 360-degree photos and videos. While the novelty of 360-degree images picking up its pace, it’s the Facebook which initiated exploring the changing landscape of VR more vibrantly. But one caveat is that the app is currently available only for the Samsung Gear VR headset powered by Oculus.

One major difference between the normal Facebook app and Facebook 360 app is that Facebook 360 won’t let you browse images and photos via news Feed. A dedicated feed of four different sections is created to help users browse across the content available on the social network. The four different feeds are Explore, Following, Saved, and Timeline. 

Amazon Prime Video signs exclusive deal with Lionsgate

The two e-commerce biggies-Amazon and Lionsgate on Friday announced an exclusive long-term deal which will make the Amazon Prime Video the subscription streaming home for all the projects undertaken by the hollywood studio.

The list encompasses Lionsgate’s top acclaimed films, television series, and upcoming new releases. And the deal encloses blockbuster like ‘La La Land’ which has won six Academy Awards and grossed $370 million at the international box office, along with the other event films including ‘The Divergent Series: Allegiant’ and ‘Deepwater Horizon’.

Line is teaming up with Sony and LG to take on Alexa in Asia

During the Mobile World Congress (MWC) on Wednesday, Line CEO Takeshi Idezawa announced that the company will partner with Sony and LG to develop its own voice-based assistant, named Clova.

Clova is being developed in partnership with the South Korea’s biggest internet portal Naver Corporation and will be available as a mobile application and a speaker named ‘Wave’ in South Korea and Japan in early summer. “The Clova platform allows Line’s existing services to interconnect, moving users post-touch, post-display, and even post-smart portal, into a new future. We are aiming to make Clova Asia’s leading cloud AI platform.” said Idezawa.

Paytm Crosses 200 Million Users and Launches Paytm Mall App

Paytm on Monday announced that they have a reached a milestone of 200 million users and launched a standalone app-Patym Mall. Within three years of launching the app, Paytm has achieved a great milestone and proved itself as the most preferred platform across the country.

"At Paytm, our goal is to help merchants and consumers transact digitally at zero extra cost. Reaching 200 million registered users and more than half a million users on a daily basis is a great showcase of the country's trust in our payment solution. It reaffirms our belief in the need for a quick and easy cashless payment method. Going forward, we would continue to drive strong consumer-focused innovation in the category to reach the widest set of merchants and consumers in India." said founder & CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

Gmail’s Unexpected Sign Out is not an Indication of Phishing or Account Security Threats: Google

If you are signed out of your Gmail account today, don’t worry. You are not the only one!

Google has acknowledged that its users are reportedly facing unexpected sign out and receiving notifications asking for account action, has been reported on its Help Forum. Though the search giant is presently investigating the issue, it has made a clear statement that the unexpected sign out is no way related to any security threats.

“We've gotten reports about some users being signed out of their accounts unexpectedly. We're investigating, but not to worry: there is no indication that this is connected to any phishing or account security threats.

Whatsapp New Status Update ropes in Snapchat-like Photo and Video Stories

Marching towards its eighth birthday later this week, Whatsapp has announced a major revamp on one of its core features - Whatsapp Status. Last Monday, the facebook-owned messaging app had made an announcement that it will roll out snapchat-like features which enable the user to update images, videos and Gifs as status.

“Starting today, we are rolling out an update to status, which allows you to share photos and videos with your friends and contacts on WhatsApp in an easy and secure way. Yes, even your status updates are end-to-end encrypted” said Whatsapp CEO and C0-founder Jan Koum in a blogspot published on the company’s official website.

Facebook is Developing a Video App for your T.V

At the Code Conference in Dana Point, Facebook has announced that it is developing a video app to view the shared videos on connected Televisions.

The social network giant on Tuesday has announced new updates for watching video on its app. The new update allows the user to view the vertical videos in a larger format on both iOS and Android. You can minimize the video screen to picture-to-picture view while browsing the newsfeed. In addition, the update brings in sound fade in and out for videos as the user scrolls down the newsfeed.

Facebook Lite hits 200 million users, rolls out to four more countries

Facebook has announced that the stripped-down and low bandwidth version of its prime app ‘Facebook Lite’ is growing fast and now has reached more than 200 million users. 

Facebook Lite launched in 2015, was aimed at providing a solution for the emerging marketers in the developing countries, regardless of the network and device they use. The app was stripped down to its core functionalities like News Feed and messaging service without a separate app – Messenger, with less data consumption. Owing to its popularity and usage, Lite has reached 100 million monthly users by March 2016 and by now, the app is doubled its size to 200 million users.

“In several countries around the world, many people are mobile first or mobile only – and that includes business owners. FB Lite is helping business owners grow and reach customers on mobile even when bandwidth is at a minimum.” said Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in her post on Wednesday. Sheryl also quoted an example of a wedding photographer Altiery Monteiro, depicting how Lite helps in connecting people and developing business in a low bandwidth world.

Is Google killing one of its Best Android Launchers?

Google currently has two android launcher apps in the Play Store—Google Now Launcher and Pixel Launcher. But, over the coming weeks, you can witness only one app. 

Google Now Launcher has been a great launcher for the Android users over the years. However, according to the Android Police, the tech giant will be reportedly removing the launcher app from the Play Store and will refrain itself from offering any major updates in next few months. 

Chrome 56 For Android Brings New Update

Released last week for Mac, Windows, and Linux, Google is now rolling out Chrome 56 for Android. But what makes it more quirky is the new update on performance improvement and the revised feature on ‘new tab’ pages.

Version:  56.0.2924.87

Platform: Android

Available On: Google Play Store (Updated)

With chrome 65, you can easily use an email/mobile number/address, just by tapping them in the web page. The ‘new tab’ page allows the user to easily access the downloaded files and even enables offline viewing. In addition, you can long press on an article to download it to your phone for offline view.

From Ridesharing App to Online Food Delivery App: Uber Nailing it All

The famous ridesharing app Uber has now launched a new standalone app for online food delivery - UberEATS in India.

Started in 2014 as an online food delivery service mobile app under the name UberFRESH in California, now the on-demand app has extended its territory across India and several parts of the world. The Uber Technologies Inc. rebranded the product and changed the name ‘UberFRESH’ to ‘UberEATS’ in 2015. After a whopping success across 50+cities, finally, the food ordering app has made it to India.

A blog spot mentioning the launch of Uber post has reported in their official newsroom. “I am incredibly excited about bringing UberEATS to India. This is a significant investment, it spans multiple cities and regions, and it has the potential to change the food industry – with the push of a button – in one of the most vibrant food cultures in the world.” said Allen Penn Asia Pacific’s head of UberEATS.

Trekkies can now command ‘Computer’ to wake up Amazon Echo

The smart speakers from Amazon - Echo has added a new feature in the recent time, and it’s a dream come true moment for the Trekkies.

Amazon has added a wake word to access the Echo through its voice-assistant Alexa. If you have a device at home, you’ll probably see three wake words in your app: Alexa, Amazon, and Echo. But, now adds the fourth and the best wake word - Computer.

Android Wear 2.0: Everything You Need To Know

Last year Google announced that they’ll launch a pair of Android wear 2.0 smartwatches in partnership with a third-party manufacturer. Now a reliable tipster Evan Blass cracked the code on VentureBeat.

The third-party manufacturer is the Nexus-styled partnership with  LG and the first smartwatches to support Android wear 2.0 are LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style.

Reliance Jio rolls out new health and fitness app - JioHealthHub

Reliance Jio Digital Services Pvt. Ltd. has launched a health and fitness app named JioHealthHub for the Jio users.

As the name suggests, Reliance Jio has made a mobile application that monitors your overall health and fitness. It allows the user to create a profile/account where they can provide their medical information such as family history, blood type, allergies, etc. The users need to login with the Jio ID, restricting it to the Jio users. And available only for the Android platform.

When AI meets Adobe - The Creativity Unfolds

Artificial intelligence enabled voice assistant like Siri, Cortana and Alexa are doing great in the market and gaining more popularity among the mobile users. But, what happens when AI meets Adobe?

Yahoo To Be Named ‘Altaba’ After The Verizon Deal

It’s time to say Goodbye to Yahoo. It’s official, unbelievable yet true.

Last Monday, Yahoo made it official in a public filing that the company will be named Altaba Inc and the CEO Marissa Mayer will resign from the board after the closing of its deal with the Verizon Communication Inc.

Yahoo has sold its core internet business including the email service, digital advertising, and other apps to the telecom titan Verizon for $4.8 billion in July 2016.

However, the terms of the deal might get amended or may even be called off, after the yahoo's recent discovery of data breach involving theft of personal information from one million users that occurred in 2013 and 2014. Though the investigation is in full-swing, Yahoo is still fighting hard to keep the deal intact.

BHIM App: In and Out

Last week at the Digi Dhan programme in New Delhi, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a new payment mobile application called BHIM - Bharat Interface for Money - named after Bhim Rao Ambedkar. The e-wallet app is a part of cashless transaction drive and the 2016 demonetization of 500 and 1000 rupee currency banknotes. It aims at directing the nation towards a cashless economy, allowing the users to send and receive money through the digital platform.

Features:

Though there were several UPI-based apps are available in the market including, BHIM app stands out from the rest of the apps, with its own unique easy-to-use features.

• Easy Method of Payment - You can easily transfer the money to/from your friends and family using the UPI (Unified Payment Interface) address or through their mobile number. If you want to send the money to a non-UPI supported bank account, you can make use of the IFSC and MMID code to do your transaction.