Apps
Android Auto users get hazard reporting feature in the US
Google has rolled out a hazard reporting feature for Android Auto in the US, which was previously available for Google Maps on Apple CarPlay. The new update brings the ability to report road incidents directly from their car screens for Android Auto users.
This long-awaited update allows drivers to quickly share important information without having to use their phones. It notifies others about accidents, traffic jams, and even speed traps in real time.
Before this update, drivers could only report issues using the Google Maps app on their phones. While the Waze app along with Google Maps on Apple CarPlay already had this feature, Android Auto users felt left out.
Now, with the new Android Auto update, drivers will see a triangle-shaped hazard button below the compass on the Google Maps display in their cars. By tapping this button, they can report things like traffic jams, lane closures, and crashes.
Moreover, the app provides prompts during navigation to confirm the status of reported incidents. Notably, the hazard button might not show up if the Android Auto layout doesn’t have enough screen space for Google Maps. Some users have reported about the visibility of it.
Despite this limitation, the hazard reporting feature of Android Auto users helps drivers communicate important information about road conditions to make journeys safer. As more Android Auto users get this feature, the company is expected to enhance it in the coming days.
One UI 7 could revive Multi Sound for Android Auto disabled in One UI 6.1.1
Google Phone is testing a new UI with buttons for accepting and declining calls. The refreshed user interface includes two dedicated buttons to decline and answer calls. It looks almost similar to iOS and matches Samsung’s One UI.
Currently, Google Phone offers a swipe gesture method for accepting and declining an incoming call. Swiping up the phone button accepts the incoming call while swiping down declines the incoming call.
The new UI that Google is testing includes two buttons. The button to decline a call (RED) is placed on the left, while the accept call button (GREEN) is placed on the right. It is the same placement as the iOS dialer app, with no swipe gestures like One UI.
Smartphones running stock Android use Google Phone as the default dialer app. Samsung has its own Phone app, which is way more advanced than Google’s. Apple’s iPhone runs iOS software, and the phone app is designed differently.
With the One UI 6.1.1, Samsung allows accepting and declining calls by tapping on the buttons. Previous versions only allowed the operation through left-to-right or right-to-left swipe gestures on the buttons within the UI.
Google is currently testing the new user interface with dedicated buttons. It is not available to general consumers on a wide scale. We expect a future Google Phone update will bring it to Pixel smartphones.
I have used Pixel 7 Pro pretty long period as my daily driver. The swipe gesture becomes quite annoying sometimes. I also faced unwanted declines due to a mistaken swipe-down gesture while taking the phone out of my pocket.
Users of the Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 have reported issues with the Wonderland lock screen feature following the One UI 6.1.1 update. Many have encountered that their Wonderland backgrounds disappeared.
After installing the One UI 6.1.1, when users tried to apply the Wonderland background back, they received pop-ups mentioning the animations were no longer available.
Recently, a Galaxy user shared their experience on the community, noting that their chosen Wonderland background disappeared after the latest Galaxy AI update. When they tried to reapply it, they got an alert message stating that the animation had been removed.
Despite this, the user confirmed that their animation settings were still set to 1.5x. This issue is raising questions about compatibility and functionality after the update.
In response, a community moderator has acknowledged the inconvenience and assured users that the issue is being addressed. He has mentioned that the development team is actively working on a fix the issue related to the 1.5x animation setting and improvements will be included in the next app update.
However, the moderator hasn’t confirmed any exact timeline for a new update that will bring the fix. We can expect that Samsung will soon release a fix with the Wonderland app update. Users are advised to keep their apps updated and stay tuned for the latest information on fixes and updates.
Samsung Wonderland 1.5.21 update fixes AOD setting menu issues and more
Google Wallet is getting a huge boost with a series of updates. The latest updates to Google’s digital payments and wallet application span the Wear OS app (passes), website, and Gmail integration (train tickets).
As part of “improving the passes experience for Wear users,” the Google Wallet app on your wrist now supports:
- Grouped passes appear together in the list. When tapped, “each pass will be shown on a carousel.”
- Pass archiving: Open a pass and scroll down for “Archive” alongside “Delete pass” and “Open on phone.” Will move to “Archived passes” section at the very bottom of the Wear OS app
- “Unscannable passes”
Google announced that these updates are now widely available.
Earlier this year, the US tech giant debuted wallet[dot]google[dot]cot. It helps users manage Google Wallet and Google Pay on the web. With the latest update, the website is now available in many more countries.
- Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland
- France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein
- Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal
- Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UK
- Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
Google says this is “just phase 1 of our journey of making it available to every GPay and Wallet user, everywhere!”
Apart from this, Google announced that Google Wallet for Android is also expanding to more markets including Bermuda, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guernsey, Kosovo, Morocco, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and Tajikistan.
Other Google Wallet updates (for developers) include:
- “The closed loop transit API now supports physical to digital card conversion.”
- “Google Wallet now supports VDV (((eTicket Services Motics spec for secure mobile ticketing in Germany. Transit agencies and developers are welcome to leverage Google Wallet specifications here to cryptographically secure tickets from copying, falsification or fraud.”