Google also adds that the feature does not collect any personal information, such as name or email address. The ‘app install optimisation’ also does not look at anything outside of the app, such as other apps or content on the device, the company claims.
Google is seemingly working to improve apps’ performance on Android smartphones. As spotted by 9to5Google, the software giant is developing ‘App install optimisation’ on Google Play that needs to be enabled manually to improve the app installation experience. The feature is not currently live, though the support page is accessible. Google explains that when users turn on the app install optimisation, the AI can tell which parts of app users use the first time after installation. “When enough people do this, Google can optimize the app to install, open, and run faster for everyone,” the support page notes. The feature is aimed to improve apps downloaded via the Google Play Store as Android phones are slowly getting heavy applications that read more memory to boot. Hence, select social media giants are reviving the ‘lite’ version of their platform for entry-level smartphones. Google also tried addressing this with App Bundles, a system that lets developers build multiple versions of their apps for different device configurations.
NEW DELHI: Google on Saturday marked the beginning of the spring season with a doodle. The Google Doodle marked the day with a hedgehog, that has flowers on its back. The doodle also features honey bees buzzing around flowers, which together spell out ‘Google’. March 20 is the first day of the spring season in the Northern hemisphere and it continues till June 21. The first day of spring season, also known as Spring Equinox, occurs when the sun passes the equator moving from the southern to the northern hemisphere. At the equinox, days and nights are approximately twelve hours long.
Google has launched a new tool Threadit, to lets users record short videos like in TikTok or Snapchat, that is shareable with colleagues to discuss work. The software giant says that the recorded-short video allows users to communicate without scheduling meetings or quickly summarise lengthy information. Threadit is available to download from the browser or as a Chrome extension, and the video can be shared in an email or chat. Google states that this helps in “reducing unnecessary meetings while still becoming a tighter-knit team.” To use the tool, users would need to speak straight to the camera or share the screen. Users can also record multiple short clips that would get stitched together into one cohesive video message.
As expected anyone can reply with their own video message when they are ready. Speaking more over the development, Keller Smith, General Manager at Threadit says, “I would send a Threadit to my colleagues in Japan during my normal working hours in Seattle; they’d respond during the hours that worked for them in Tokyo. Threadit helped us feel like we were working together in person, even though we were responding at different times from across the world.” Similarly, it seems that users can already record short clips and send them to others via channels such as WhatsApp or even via email. The makers of the tool note that since Threadit comes as a browser extension, it is all a matter of convenience.
In case users use the Chrome extension, they can record clips or anything on the screen at any time, even from within Gmail. It is shareable via a link. The latest tool has been built by a team at Area 120, Google’s incubator division, with the aim to make remote working more competent.
If you have been facing an issue with your Google Fit device where you see that the step count keeps resetting to zero, then you are not alone. User Joshua Lebowitz has posted the issue on Google support pages and over 200 hundred users have upvoted it signifying that they too may be facing it. Responding to the bug, John Bowdre, product expert said that the issue has been escalated to Google and a fix is being rolled out in the form of an application update (version 2.52.13) through the Play Store. Recently, Google announced that it is rolling out the ability to measure heart rate and respiratory rate in its Google Fit app. The company announced that it is rolling out the new features for Pixel phone users but it will expand the feature to other Android devices in the future. According to Google, users will be able to measure their respiratory rate by using their phone’s front-facing camera. “To measure your respiratory rate, you just need to place your head and upper torso in view of your phone’s front-facing camera and breathe normally,” said Google. When it comes to the measurement of the heart rate, users will have to place their finger on the rear-facing camera sensor. According to the internet search giant, both features are said to be in multiple real-world conditions and for maximum people, however, these measurements still should not be used for medical diagnosis or to evaluate medical conditions.
WASHINGTON: Google will invest more than $7 billion in the United States this year and create thousands of jobs, the tech giant’s CEO said Thursday. “We plan to invest over $7 billion in offices and data centers across the US and create at least 10,000 new full-time Google jobs in the US this year,” Sundar Pichai said in a statement. Pichai said Google “wants to be a part” of America’s economic recovery from the pandemic and is investing in some communities that are new to the company, as well as expanding in others across 19 states. The announcement comes as Google faces pressure from dozens of US states that accuse the internet giant of abusing its search dominance to eliminate competition. Google will spend $1 billion in its home state of California. Outside of the San Fransisco Bay Area, Google said it would add thousands of jobs in Atlanta, Washington DC, Chicago and New York. “This will help bring more jobs and investment to diverse communities as part of our previously announced racial equity commitments,” Pichai said. Google’s parent company Alphabet last month reported a 50-percent jump in quarterly profit to $15.2 billion as its digital ad business thrived.
In a move that brings relief to thousands of developers across the world, Google has decided that from July 1 it will take just a 15 per cent cut — down from the present 30 per cent — on the first $1 million revenue earned by apps on Google Play. While the move does not change much for big apps, it does help smaller apps and game developers in a big way.
“Reduction of commission fees is likely to benefit boutique firms, individual application developers and early stage startups,” Manjunath Bhat, Sr Director Analyst, Gartner, tells Indianexpress.com. “It will have little to no impact on large established application development companies in India.”
Sameer Samat, VP of Android and Google Play, wrote in a blog post that “99% of developers globally that sell digital goods and services with Play will see a 50% reduction in fees.” Developers with a total revenue over $1 million each year will still need to pay a 30 per cent fee to Google.
Google’s announcement follows a similar move by Apple last year when the Cupertino company said it will reduce its fee from 30 per cent to 15 per cent from January, for developers who make less than $1 million annually. However, Google’s approach is slightly different. In the case of Apple, the company’s App Store Small Business Program applies to only those developers who earn less than $1 million in annual sales per year from all of their apps – and once they make more than $1 million, they are charged at a standard rate. Google, meanwhile, says the cut applies to the first $1 million regardless of total revenue. “We’ve heard from our partners making $2 million, $5 million and even $10 million a year that their services are still on a path to self-sustaining orbit,” Samat said.
Both Apple and Google in recent months have come under fire from large firms such as Epic Games and Spotify, as well as from smaller developers, who allege that the current business practises applied by the two tech giants are harming the tech market. In fact, Apple’s legal fight with Fortnite creator Epic Games has put the company under increased scrutiny from regulators. Because both Apple and Google control the most popular App Stores as well as the entire smartphone market and the ecosystem, many developers say they have no options but to follow the rules laid by the two companies and pay the fees.
“In a country like India, it particularly makes a big difference,” says Rajan Navani, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, JetSynthesys. “I think in a way it helps support the Indian ecosystem, especially the smaller developers.”
Navani, whose company develops popular mobile games for Android, says a reduction in the Play Store fees will make a bigger impact because the app monetization on Google’s platform is much larger. “If we look at Google’s platform numbers, they are somewhere in the range of 30 to 40 per cent growth in app purchases in India,” he said. “ It’s a good move, because with new developers coming in, more companies will engage with citizens through digital payments,”
The move is more significant also because Android dominates the smartphone market in India. The change, even though not specific to India, comes a few months after Google faced criticism from high-profile local startups including Paytm over a move to charge a 30 per cent commission for in-app purchases.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, called Google “judge, jury and executioner” after the Mountain View giant temporarily delisted the popular payments app from the Android app store for a policy violation. Following the backlash, Google had to delay its 30 per cent Play Store cut in India to April 2022.
“The commission reduction is a step forward in growing this market,” Bhat said. “A lot lies ahead in the journey of platform innovation, democratising access to the platform and monetising platform services in India.”
Taking a cue from Australia, India should enact a law to make tech giants such as Facebook and Google pay local publishers of news content, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi demanded in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention, the former deputy chief minister of Bihar said, “The government must make Google, Facebook and YouTube pay print and news channels for the news content they are using freely.”
The Indian government should take a cue from the Australian parliament that passed the world’s first law last month to ensure news media businesses are fairly remunerated for the content they generate, he said. “I would urge the government of India that the way they have notified Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code to regulate social media and OTT platforms, they should enact a law on the pattern of Australian Code so that we can compel Google to share its revenue with traditional media,” he added.
1/1. हमारे देश का प्रिंट मीडिया/ न्यूज TV चैनल समाचार संकलन करने से लेकर तथ्यपरक सच्चाई के लिए एक बड़े संस्थागत स्वरूप में विविध विधा के कर्मियों के साथ अरबों रुपये खर्च कर हमें समाचार प्रदान करता है। इनकी आमदनी का मुख्य स्रोत विज्ञापन है।— Sushil Kumar Modi (@SushilModi) March 17, 2021
Information repository Wikipedia, that has been offering tons of knowledge on a plethora of topics for free, is set to launch a paid option soon, as per a report by Wired. Wikimedia Foundation, that runs Wikipedia has launched Wikimedia Enterprise, a commercial platform that will serve the content of Wikipedia directly to the Big Tech companies. That means Apple and Google will have to pay to the Wikimedia Foundation for its articles and other informative pieces. Till now, the Wikimedia Foundation has remained an organisation that has seen the rapid leaps of the tech giants while remaining a nonprofit itself, subsisting on grants and donations. Like the Big Tech companies, Wikipedia is a well-known name and on Google Search, is usually amongst the top search results. As per the report, The Wikimedia Enterprise aims for “the sale and efficient delivery of Wikipedia’s content directly to these online behemoths (and eventually, to smaller companies too).” The program will reportedly launch later this year. Wikimedia LLC, a new subsidiary of the Wikimedia Foundation, and the Big Tech companies have already entered into discussions, and agreements could be inked by June, claims the report. The report doesn’t shed light on the names of the particular firms that are into talks with the Wikimedia Foundation but most likely, they are going to be Apple and Google. The Foundation, the report adds, doesn’t have plans to scrap the original, no-pay search option of its free encyclopedia. Not for now, atleast. The Enterprise thing looks to be more of in the testing-the-waters phase for now.
Apple Maps will now show COVID-19 vaccination locations, but the feature is currently limited to users in the US. The company states that information about vaccination centres and other eligibility details have been curated from VaccineFinder, a site run by Boston Children’s Hospital. After updating the native Maps app, iPhone users can search for nearby vaccination sites or ask Siri, “Where can I get a COVID vaccination.” The initial rollout includes more than 20,000 locations, and Apple says it will add more locations in the coming weeks.
Apple Maps will also show contact details of the COVID-19 vaccination centre, as per a screenshot available on its Newsroom. Users can access information such as working hours, address, phone number, and website. Users must note that the new update will not let them book an appointment via the app. Apple says that the update is the latest effort to help users better navigate the pandemic and take the proper steps to protect their health. Apple Maps received an update last year that allowed users to find COVID-19 testing centres. The feature was rolled out in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the US.
It remains unclear whether the new feature would eventually roll out to Apple Maps’ users in India. Notably, Apple’s competitor Google recently announced that users in India would be able to find accurate vaccine information from its apps such as Google Search, Maps, and Assistant. The tech giant expects to roll out the feature in the coming weeks. It essentially means users can soon find COVID-19 vaccine centres via Google Maps. Notably, the company had also added a special panel such as ‘COVID 19 Info’ on Maps to provide direct information to users. The COVID-19 panel also provides a seven-day trend based on data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
BENGALURU: Google has slashed commissions it takes from Android developers that sell in-app digital goods and services on the Play Store. Effective July, Google Play is reducing the service fee it receives to 15% from 30% for the first $1 million of revenue every developer earns each year. “With this change, 99% of developers globally that sell digital goods and services with Play will see a 50% reduction in fees. These are funds that can help developers scale up at a critical phase of their growth by hiring more engineers, adding to their marketing staff, increasing server capacity, and more,” Google said in a blogpost on Tuesday. Research firm Sensor Tower’s data showed Google Play earned $38.6 billion in revenue in 2020. “For the thousands of developers in India that are already using Play to sell digital goods, they can start receiving the benefit of this change as soon as it goes into effect in July,” Google said. Google said these investments are most critical when developers are in the earlier stages of growth, scaling an app doesn’t stop once a partner has reached $1million in revenue. “We’ve heard from our partners making $2 million, $5 million and even $10 million a year that their services are still on a path to self-sustaining orbit. Therefore, we are making this reduced fee on the first $1 million of total revenue earned each year available to every Play developer that uses the Play billing system, regardless of size,” it said. Once developers confirm some basic information to help google understand any associated accounts they have and ensure we apply the 15% properly, this discount will automatically renew each year. Last year, Google clarified the requirements of Google Play’s Payments policy, where it explained that the service fee for Google Play is only applicable to developers who offer in-app sale of digital goods and services. More than 97% of apps globally do not sell digital goods, and therefore do not pay any service fee.