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Samsung’s new Smart Glow LED notification ring leaked on the upcoming Galaxy J2 (2016)

Samsung Galaxy J2 Smart Glow LED ring

Just last week we first caught word that Samsung was working on a new notification system known as Smart Glow. The new system would use a special LED ring on the back of the device surrounding the camera sensor that can display multiple colors to signal users of incoming calls, messages, or other notifications. While we’re expecting this to appear on Samsung’s next flagship, the Galaxy S8, the feature should make its debut on the upcoming Galaxy J2 (2016).


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Chrome 50 released to stable channel with improved push notification reliability [Update]

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Update 4/25: Chrome 50 for Android is rolling out now with the ability to pause and cancel downloads from the notification shade.

Chrome 50 is rolling out now to Mac, Windows, and Linux. The latest version of the browser contains the usual bug and security fixes, but also features an update to improve the reliability of push notifications and speed up page load.


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Cortana Android app will soon let Windows 10 mirror your phone’s notifications

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This is a pretty cool tidbit to come out of Microsoft’s Build conference. Probably thanks to some much more exciting news from Tesla, it went under the radar entirely. Apparently, the Redmond, Washington-based company is planning to soon let a future version of Windows 10 mirror your Android phone’s notifications by way of the Cortana app (via The Verge)…


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Chrome 50 Beta improves reliability and adds features to push notifications, speeds up page load

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With Chrome 49 fully rolled out to desktops, Android, and Chrome OS, version 50 is now in the beta channel. It is expected to bring Material Design to the browser and introduce improved push notifications and other developer focused features.


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Facebook bolstering Android Notifications tab with sports scores, birthdays, more

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If you’re a Facebook user, you’re definitely familiar with the Notifications tab in the company’s Android app. Although it has barely evolved from being a simple stream of your notifications since its introduction many years ago, Facebook has today come out to outline some changes on the way to make it more useful and personalized.
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Chrome 47 beta brings splash screens for Android web apps, notification management for desktop, more

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Google is releasing the beta of Chrome 47 today that introduces as number of new features across platforms including new splash screens for Android web apps, improved management for push notifications on the desktop, enhanced multitasking and more.

For the new splash screens, developers will be able to take advantage of splash screens when their web apps are launched from an icon saved on the homescreen. Google points out that  “apps can take a few seconds to load” and presenting a nice looking splash screen will “allow apps to show something meaningful to users as the app loads, improving perceived performance” for users.

In addition, Chrome 47 beta brings an improved push notification experience for desktop users on Mac, Linux, Chrome OS and Windows by introducing auto dismissing notifications:

“Sites such as social media or email can generate a large number of push notifications that take up screen space and aren’t particularly relevant unless viewed soon after posting. The new version of Chrome now allows developers to configure automatic dismissal of desktop notifications, improving the experience for these kinds of notifications. Sites can set NotificationOptions.requireInteraction to indicate the notification should remain onscreen until the user dismisses it.”

And lastly, the 47 beta release brings what Google refers to as “Cooperative multitasking with requestIdleCallback()”, something developers can take advantage of to improve performance by allowing apps to run during “idle time” when resources aren’t being used by other tasks.

Google has more info on the release here.

Google reportedly ditches secret project to beam location-based retail messages to smartphones

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Fortune reports that Google has abandoned plans to beam location-based retail messages to both Android and iOS smartphones, shortly before launch. The project was reportedly named Google Here, and would have used beacons in retail stores like Starbucks to display offers and reward cards on the lockscreens of smartphones when they entered the store.

Google Here worked by sending a notification to a smartphone user’s lock screen within five seconds of their entering a partner’s location. If the user clicked on the notification, a full screen HTLM5 “app” experience would launch. Google Here would know when to send the notification via Google Maps and beacons placed in the stores of participating partners … 


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Google rolling out Classroom notifications to Android and iOS apps

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We shared last month that a number of changes were coming to Google’s Classroom service for educators and students, and now Google says that one of those changes is rolling out now: mobile alerts. Google says that the Classroom app for both Android and iOS will gain support for mobile notifications this week.

For instance, students will be alerted immediately when they receive new assignments or grades, notes from teachers, comments from fellow classmates, and more—allowing them to stay on top of their schoolwork even more easily.

To support the new notifications feature, Google released an updated version of its Classroom app for Android on the Play Store and iOS on the App Store this week. Google first announced the new alerts feature for Classroom, which it launched last year to help teachers and students manage classwork, alongside other upcoming changes coming to Classroom including a new developer API, a share button for sending work to other services, and the ability to re-use assignments.

PSA: You can now tweak which apps & services show up in Google notifications

Google has lately been shuffling around its notification menu, most recently adding separate Google Photos notifications that tell you when the newly-launched “Assistant” has made a collage, video, or GIF from your library. But there might be some people who don’t want to see their Google Photos notifications (or perhaps more likely, those who don’t want to see their Google+ notifications), and Google has today launched an accommodation for those circumstances. There’s now a familiar gear icon in the notification drop-down that lets you access a new “Settings” page for toggling which notifications you want to receive…
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Latest Chromium build tests prompting users to install web apps for sites they visit often

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If you’ve been following the latest with Chrome for Android, you probably know that Google has been making a big push with web apps. In Chrome for Android beta 42, Google added banners that recommend users install web apps to their home screens, and in beta version 43, the Chrome for Android app now has banners that push native apps on users as well. Now, in the latest build of the Chromium—the open source project that is the basis for Chrome—browser, Google is testing banners suggesting that users add sites to their app shelf.
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Android Wear rumored to be getting speaker support and on-watch calling features

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It wasn’t that long ago that Android Wear got its big update to Android 5.1.1, but now rumors about the next revision of the smartwatch operating system are starting to pop up. According to the well-connected Artem Russakovskii, the Android Wear team is currently cooking up support for watches with built-in speaker hardware, as well as planning to introduce on-watch calling…


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Google pushes mobile web apps forward, launches new ‘Spotlight’ page to feature them

Screen Shot 2015-04-22 at 4.11.44 PMEarlier this week, Google began rolling out Chrome 42 with support for website notifications and an improved “add to home screen” function. With those two new features, Google is clearly making a big push towards web apps on both the desktop and mobile. Now, Google has launched a new Spotlight page to highlight some of the best mobile web apps.


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Google’s Mr. Jingles dresses up to celebrate Earth Day

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Apple may be making its leaves green, but Google is celebrating Earth Day too. They’ve of course changed the homepage logo into a Google Doodle, but Mr. Jingles—the Google+ notifications mascot—is also dressing up to celebrate.

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As we told you yesterday, clicking today’s new Google Doodle will take you to an “Earth Day Quiz” that… tells you which animal you’re most like. It’s a “totally scientific and 1,000% accurate personality quiz,” Google says.

Chrome 42 for Android introduces website notifications, improved ‘add to home screen’ function

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Google has pushed out version 42 of its Chrome browser for Android. Like the desktop counterpart that debuted yesterday, Chrome 42 for Android introduces support for push notifications from websites, allowing you to keep up with changes to your favorite sites without having to constantly check back.


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Gmail for iOS updated w/ share sheet support, ability to archive & reply to email via notifications

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Google this morning has released a major update for Gmail on iOS. The update bumps the app to version 4.0 and packs a handful of new features. First off, Gmail on iOS now supports the ability to archive and reply to messages directly from a notification, a feature many have been requesting since iOS 8 launched.


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Developer hacks Android Wear to show iPhone notifications (Video)

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Android Wear is great, but if you’re an iOS user, it looks like the Apple Watch is going to be your only option for a while. Google has yet to make any of Android Wear’s functionality compatible with Apple’s operating system, and it doesn’t look like they plan to do so any time soon. But that’s not stopping one developer, Mohammad Abu-Garbeyyeh, from hacking Android Wear to at least support notifications from iOS devices.


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Pebble publicly launches 2.3 software update with actionable notifications and Android Wear compatibility

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Pebble announced in December that it would be launching a new update for its smartwatch software that would enable actionable notifications and compatibility with Android Wear-supported apps. By updating to the latest version of the Pebble app for Android and the lastest device software, users can take advantage of any Android Wear action right from their Pebble.


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Google’s Mr. Jingles gets some holiday decorations for Christmas

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It may or may not surprise you to find out that Google has a name for its little notification bell in Google+. Surprisingly, not only does Mr. Jingles have a name, but he has an official Google+ page dedicated just to him. And while Mr. Jingles spends most of the year in his normal bell-like state, he occasionally dresses up to share some holiday spirit on Google’s social network.

Here’s a look at some of Mr. Jingles’ previous costumes, spanning celebrations for fall, New Years Day, Valentine’s day, and Christmas 2013:

This year, Mr. Jingles wanted to make sure that Santa would be able to find him, so he dressed up with some Christmas lights:

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To see Mr. Jingles, just open up your notifications pane in Google+ and click the button in the top right corner to clear all of them. You should see the above Christmas 2014 version of Mr. Jingles, Christmas tree lights and all.

Google shuffles its notification interface around, puts most functionality in Google+ (Updated)

Google has decided to mix up the way it handles Google+ notifications, and you may have noticed the beginning of this shift yesterday afternoon when the design of the normal notification button changed suddenly. Previously a simple bell, the new button has a smaller bell within a circle (see above)…
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